where to buy a 12volt blanket.

Thanks Shaker,i tried there web site and could not find this item.
Stuart

LOOK HERE!

Hi Robin thanks for your help.They are a bit pricey considering what they sell for on ebay.How have you found yours ?Can you put them under a woolen under blanket?
Thanks Stuart

Hi Stuart

I have found mine useful - however I do not think everyone would and its touch and go as to wether they are worth it.

They draw little power and have a timer so as to not drain a battery but this also means they have little heat.

They do not have enough heat to penerate a woolen underblanket.

They are quite cozy and warm if you put no more than a sheet on top (including flannalette sheet).

They are also a little small for 2.

A 240 volt one on a small inverter does work better - however this requires more management.

I would never sleep on a normal blanket when running , because of the electric fields generated by AC power - this is where the 12vdc one wins - you can roll over and press the on button when 1/2 asleep and let the timer do its work.

Neither is as useful as a hot water bottle , if you can make one without getting scalded.

You welcome to borrow ours for a couple of weeks - where in knox.

Hi Robin,
I’m curious – what are those electrical fields going to do to you?

Well Dennis you could start quite a discussion on those effects as you could with mobile phones (Note induced effects are of different basic type, AC power mostly magnetic - phones mostly radiation) .

Both have been controversial and current position and most studies show little effect with a few showing side effects (mostly increases in cancers).

The problem with some things like AC electric blankets is the potential for them to be both on and near your brain for a long time.

If you drive them from a non-sinusoidal inverter then any effect will be larger.

So by and large there is no issue unless you happen to be suspectible and our sceince isn't good enough just yet to pin it all down.

Sort of like a very few get peanut butter allergies.

So best to be cautious , when its so easy to be so !

Whew! – only brain damage - you had me worried there for a while.

and the cook says big W aswell

Hi Dozer and the Cook.I had a look on the web address you gave me and could not find them.I have rang Sunbury and Broardmeadows Big W and they both said they dont sell them.
Thanks Stuart

Oh yes good idea...sleep on a 240V device supplied from a source of supply that has no reliable protection.....thats right, the earth leakage wont work.

Realy...have a serious think about the need for such a thing.

cheers

Don't be silly Bantam - you are paranoid about getting zapped.

I have used 240v blanket powered by inverter numerous times works a treat,turn it on,warm the bed before retiring,climb in ,normally warmer than comfortable,turn off inverter,goodnight....

Not being silly whatsoever.

We live in a time where the 240V electrical supply in our homes is very well protected and electrocution in the home is a very rare occurance.

Mostly because of the legal controls put on the way electricity is installed and used in our homes and business....and very much due to the use of earth leakage safety switches.

Most people do not remember a time when electrocution in the home was far from uncommon.
Most people do not remember a time when the matter of electric blankets was of sufficient concern that the government electrical authorities would test them for free.

We need to remember when operating off an inverter or a generator in our vans, campers or tents, none of those protections we take for granted in our homes and business can be relied to work well if at all.
You may have an earth leakage device, but unless it is connected to a permenent mains installation it is worth bugger all.

Combine that will the matter that any camping accomodation with canvas or similar roofing components must be considered a wet area conected to unearthed metal components.

So unless you are within a hard walled & roofed caravan you may as well be in ya bathroom or laundry with metal benches.....in fact you would be far safer in your barthroom or laundry.

We need not to be taking the use of 240V items and supply devices too lightly in these situations.

Inverters and generators and the appliances that they supply can very easily become little portable boxes of death.

There is less and less good reason to use 240V items away from home and every reason to be very cautions about their use.

cheers

Hi Bantam – I don’t have a fear of inverters and they are pretty safe devices when used correctly, particularly when used on items such as electric blankets, and double insulated non earthed appliances. I’d probably have more chance of being hit with lightening than being electrocuted – unless I took the inverter to bed with me and peed myself – haven’t done that for awhile.

No doubt they are safe when correctly used...but all too often people are ignorant of the risks and use inverters to put 240V supply in situations that would not be permitted if it was fixed wiring.

One of those situations is putting 240V devices in tents and tent bassed campers where water and wet surfaces are far from an unusual.

So tell me have you seen a IP rated inverter or an IP rated electric blanket that would permit its use in a wet area.

As I say there are less and less reasons to use 240Volt devices away from permenent supply...to the extent that it can be pretty well avoided all together.

cheers

Being an Electrician for 40+ years I agree it will only be a matter of time before the hazards of 240vac from invertors becomes regulated as Bantam's comments lead to.

A number of people on this site are concerned about portable gensets and inverters with non-bonded earth neutral systems, not having earth leakage protection. The statistics I have seen don’t show these devices as being a problem, if it were the authorities would have banned these years ago.
In our mains supply systems, it’s essential that there is earth leakage protection because they have a bonded earth neutral and this raises the risk of a phase to earth electrocution if an earth fault occurs.

Mate it is the authorities that specify that generators and inverters do not have bonded earths...and for good reasons.

I don't know what statistics you are talking about...I doubt very much that the matter is specifically reported and statisticaly analised.

Two facts remain....

There have been deaths and near death incidents in this country and recently.

The specific risks associated with portable sources of supply are very well understood in the regulatory, safety industries and the electrical industy ...and the matter has been well and truly canvased.

The problem is we have a incredibly safe electrical system in our homes these days.

Unfortunately the general public are completely unaware of the level of regulation and management that exists in the way electrical systems are installed and the layer over layer over layer of safety measures in place.

They have no clue of the incredible level of safety measures in place in their homes that protect them from their own stupidity.

Due to things like earth leakage circuit breakers people no longer have the necessity of being aware in a way that we where in the past.

Thousands of incidents of electric shock are prevented every day due to this one measure alone.

In fact, you pretty well have to do something pre-meditatedly dangerous to get killed by electricity in the home now.

Unfortunately, the general public person using an inverter or generator is completely oblivious of the simple and straight forward electrical safety measures that are necessary when there IS NO CIRCUIT PROTECTION provided by these portable sources of supply.


Being portable allows people to put these devices in places and in applications where 240V supply would never be installed by a licenced electrician and would not be permitted by the regulations.

As far as the government regulating these things.....well in QLD it is specifically illegal to use a battery powered inverter on a construction site...Inverters ARE banned on construction sites.....there are also very specific restrictions on the use of portable generators........its written in legesalation.

In permanent, to regs installations.....it is not the bonding of the item that raises the risks,...it is the bonding to the greater mass of earth that allows us to manage the risk of electricution in a variety of ways.

Without a bond to the greater mass of earth, almost without exception the several safety measures that the general public take for granted simply do not work.

Using the standard trade school toaster example.....if a metal cased toaster has an active fault to earth......in the home..even with the to standard installation from 1960 ( 20 years before earth leakage).....the fuse would blow.

In a floating supply, non bonded earth situation that exists with most generators and inverters.....the case of that toaster would remain live.
All that is then required is another metal cased item and you have a very effective portable killing system.

The bonding of appliances to earth is our primary protection against electric shock..even without earth leakage devices.

People need to understand there is only one safety mechanism ( and only a fair one) protecting against electric shock with floating sources of supply and because of it all other mechanisms (very good ones)do not work.

cheers

This is typical of the hype against inverters and gensets – those you mentioned were most likely used incorrectly – but with your vague reference no one will know.
If it was caused by an amateur hard wiring in to a couple of power points – then it’s hardly the inverters fault.
Luckily the authorities don’t work on hearsay, without detail of what caused the accident, otherwise toasters and bedside lamps would be banned.
Arc welders have killed people when used inappropriately – do you want them banned too?

Nothing I speak of is HYPE.....facts, easily observed, proven and well known....in fact many of them are written in either law or standard or both.

Unfortunately we no longer have authorities that conduct routine inspections, nor do they in general communicate in a meaningfull way with the general public about risk or regulation unless there is a vote to be had or a dollar to be made from fines or licences.

What IS hyped and extensivly is the need for invertersl.

Almost without exception, in this day and age, anything that is practical and safe to use off an inverter is available in a native DC version that is in fact more efficient and far safer.

The use of inverters has reached cargo cult status....people desire them not for any practical reason, but because others have them and they have been told they should have one. AND thay should be running this or that off it.

People are aggressivly sold on inverters with the idea of taking almost any appliance from the very safe and controlled environment of the home and "taking it camping".

They now have a portable 240V source of supply with no effective circuit protection, that for all intents and purposes is unregulated in its use or location....."you can take it anywhere"

Those selling the inverters for the most part are very happy that the buyer is totally ignorant of any safety, regulatory and practicality issues that exist.


Likewise many people buy inverters with no clue of how much current they draw from the DC supply or how this plays out. This is testified to nearly every week on camping and outdoors fourms.

A large portion of those interested in inverters would not purchase if they where properly informed of the safety, regulatory and practicality issues.

Inverters are inanimate objects...they carry no liability, fault or blame.

The fact that inverters are used and installed in unsatisfactory and potentially life threatening ways is not the inverters fault.

The blame lies squarely at the feet of those who consistently fail to inform the customer on the legal and safety issues and those, like yourself, who consistently understate the risks & drawbacks of inverters and generators.

It also lies at the feet of those who promote the self installation of inverters in vehicles, vans and tents screwed to box trailers (sorry camper trailers)......even mounting an inverter is regulated by law and standard for very good reason and is full ticket electricians work.

OH...BTW....how many people got a "certificate of test" from the "full ticket electrical contractor" who installed the inverter in their vehicle, caravan or camper.

An inverter is both and electrical outlet and an electrical appliance.....all the laws and standards that apply to those two classes of article apply...as do the standard safety practices....I won't say common sence, because that is all to rare these days.

Inverters will continue to get cheaper and cheaper.....and less and less needed.

cheers