Using a small Inverter

[rwbradley]

My skill with electricity and electronics are limited but I had an idea and am not sure if this is a good idea. I have an inverter in my trunk not doing much, that I was given for Christmas a few years ago. It is a 175w non-sinusoidal inverter.
My thought was it would be an easy and free project to add some AC power for occasional emergency charging of cell phones and tablets to my trailer. Physically cabling it and mounting the inverter should be easy.
My understanding however is that non-sinusoidal power is not good for electronics.
Is this a bad idea in the making, am I going to fry my phones/tablets etc if I plug them in? Is there a way to solve this issue?
Thanks

[Almot]

RoyB wrote:
Once you start using this emergency power source it becomes a very necessary item to have around - believe me hehe...

Get a smaller RV :)... People in truck campers don't have a room for "entertainment" other than standard 12V CD/radio or a small 12V TV, and there are no multiple 110V kitchen devices, so they can get way with 175W inverter.

I could too, for a while, in my trailer. Don't need 1500W microwave, don't need 1000W hair drier. But a rechargeable vacuum, although more power than 12V plug-in models, is annoyingly inefficient when you live there for more than a month. Since I'm not using a generator, a small 600W Shop-Vac will eventually force me to upgrade to 1000W inverter. There is no urgency, though. Whatever vacuum leaves out, old broom picks up nicely :).

[RoyB]

My Home Entertainment PSW INVERTER started out being a 150WATT model. This didn't last very long and went to a 300WATT PSW model which was connected directly to the battery circuit. I ran a hidden drop cord using WIREMODE install kits from LOWES to my home entertainment area and also to the sleeping bed area. All you see at these two locations is a multi-connection 120VAC drop cord setup on the back side of cabinet top which includes an ON-OFF switch.


This is on 24/7 in my setup and being PSW I DO NOT have to worry about anyone plugging in something they are not suppose to making it human safe for us. After a year or so of a 300WATT model we finally ended up with a AIMS PSW 600WATT Inverter as the idea keeps getting more and more items you want to use it for. My power consumption is basically around 250WATT on an average but it is nice to have the additional power available for a few things that might get plugged in... We normally use the INVERTER for our home entertainment items from 4PM to around 11PM each day when camping off the power grid. I got my PSW INVERTER from AMAZON for $149 about four years ago...


Once you start using this emergency power source it becomes a very necessary item to have around - believe me hehe...

Roy Ken

[Almot]

175 MSW - what you call non-sinusoidal - is all I have. Cost me $25 on Amazon. Using it for electric shaver, charging cordless drill, phone, laptop. When charging a laptop, I sometimes run the laptop at the same time, so my understanding is that it's running directly from inverter on such occasions, plus charging the laptop battery with whatever amps are left after running the laptop. No problems.

From what I hear, laptops normally don't have issues with MSW. Some TV sets "might".

Now, if you ask me why I don't run laptop from 12V cig lighter socket, avoiding the inverter losses, considering that laptop is essentially a DC machine - this is because I DON'T HAVE a 12V receptacle in my trailer :)... No kidding. Darn Dutchmen (aka Thor Industries) forgot to install it. Or they were cheaper yet than me and didn't want to spend $20 in parts and labor.

So you don't need inverter for laptop or a phone if you have a 12V receptacle. All you need is a car charger cable for laptop or phone. But all the other devices it's easier to run off the inverter, because they either have their own different "wall wart", or don't work on 12V DC, ex. a 120V shaver.

Keep in mind that 12V receptacle is only rated to 100W. If you need more load on the inverter, you need to wire it directly to the battery.

rwbradley wrote:
Is there a way to solve this {non-sinusoidal} issue?

You can get a sinusoidal inverter, called Pure Sine Wave (PSW), at 3 times the cost.

[rwbradley]

BurbMan wrote:
Worst case you would fry the charger, not the device. PSW matters when you are powering 120v electronics like TVs, etc. I had one TV that would not power at all on an MSW inverter, the other one worked fine. Go figure.

For small charging needs like phones and tablets, you could probably get by plugging the inverter into the cig lighter port by the antenna booster.

Honestly it might be more efficient to forget the inverter and use one of these:

Now I feel like an idiot! I looked at that plug in the wall plate and wondered what the big hole was for, it never occurred to me that it was actually a cigarette lighter plug. That is a much easier solution, just bring in one of the cigarette lighter chargers in from the car and charge away...
thanks

[BurbMan]

Worst case you would fry the charger, not the device. PSW matters when you are powering 120v electronics like TVs, etc. I had one TV that would not power at all on an MSW inverter, the other one worked fine. Go figure.

For small charging needs like phones and tablets, you could probably get by plugging the inverter into the cig lighter port by the antenna booster.

Honestly it might be more efficient to forget the inverter and use one of these:

[doughere]

I had a MSW inverter that would power all my electronics (TV, phone charger, battery charger, computer, etc.) EXCEPT a DVD player that will now work with a 150 watt true sine wave inverter.

Most electronics seem to play well with MSW inverters, it did not damage the DVD, just wouldn't work.

I'm very happy with the true sine wave inverter, but it might have been cheaper to just buy another DVD player ??? OH WELL, who knows.

Try it, see if it works with the stuff you want it to; if so, use it.

Regards,
Doug

[time2roll]

I have read some issues with charging Apple products with MSW.
Charging most other stuff should be fine.

[tenbear]

I used an MSW inverter for years to power my laptop and cell phone. No problems.

[Johno02]

I have and use a 400 watt inverter plugged into a power outlet to power my laptop, and anything else that needs a small amount of AC power. For most of these applications, the non-sine power is OK, as it goes into a adapter that converts back to dc anyway. If your inverter has a plug for a power outlet(cigarette lighter). the best choice is to install a GOOD, truck type power outlet wigh plenty of wiring capacity and a fuse. Then just plug in the inverter and do whatever. in addition, you can plug in a USB adapter to power and charge things like phones, tablets, and any USB device. I usually keep my phone and tablets plugged in most of the time.

[ScottG]

It would be fine for charging those items.