Inverters

Hey Rosco, try Dicky Smith or Jacar... I recently saw in Aldi a small inverter that was can sized that could be sat in a drink holder. Supercheap had some smaller inverters as well. Repco has smaller ones as well, so safe to say that they exist.

Not sure about recharging Ni Hydride but Ni Cad definatley like a bit of a ripple in the charging current. Ni Cads die when dendrites grow internally and "short out' the Centre electrode with the case usually the cathode, Can be regenerated by "zapping" with a higher voltage to dissolve the dendritic growths...

I've had no trouble so far using a Mr Inverters 350W Inverter ($160) to charge laptop, camera batteries and AA NiMH batteries. I went the bigger one so we can plug more in at once while driving, rather than charging at rest and using battery power. Still a very small unit.

ROSCO,
Dick Smith has 12V cig lighter chargers. Can charge 4 x 1.5 Nimh or Nicad AA and AAA. One is DSI Chinese brand and the other is Energizer brand. Around 60 - 80 Oxfords and you also get a 240 V adapter. Not sure of the quality.
Cheers,
Bros.

Waeco have a very inexpensive inverter (about 100w me thinks and about $60) which is available from waeco dealers.

I have a 150w Dicksmith job (digito brand) and have had no probs with it. Has a built in voltage sensor so it will cut the power if the supply is too low or the appliance draw is too high. I use it to recharge camera batteries and to power the laptop, and have had no problems at all.

G'day Rosco,

Bunnings/kmart sell the projecta 300W modified sine wave jobbies for $80 and come with leads. Bargain matey!

Thanks for the tips blokes. I don't know my ar$e from my elbow about matters electrical, but my limited thinking is that the 240V goes through a transformer back down to whatever V DC, hence I would have thought any dodgy current would be tidied up through the transformer. But as I said .. I don't know sh1t from chewed dates. ;-))

Cheers

As others have mentioned, see Can Inverter

Geoff.

And so the saga continues with Superbly Cheep Autos offering a 330w inverter for $89.00 and a 500w unit for $149.00.

Soon they'll be giving away a free inverter with every box of matches sold.....

I would use a brand name one and they do work on laptops and camera's.

My choice would be the Projecta 500W inverter with 2 outlets. You can charge 2 sets of batteries at the same time.



Regards Derek

I have done a lot of research and enquiry re modified sine wave as against pure sine wave. Any electriction I have met has pure sine wave as they choose not to be replacing expensive electronic equipment. It is not about the 50hz but rather how it gets there. Modified sine wave is square and pure is curved. Same as going over corrugations on the road. They naturally form with rounded edges but if they were square (height the same) the tyre life would be much less. Same with electricity. Any thing electronic or motor will be suseptable to damage / reduced life with modified sine wave.
If it seems too good it probably is.
Neil

Rosco
From my understanding it won't hurt the batteries but will not be good for the charge. Chargers are electronic
Neil

Rosco,

There appears to be too many ill-informed people giving poor advice on this topic.

Your stated need is to charge camera batteries via a charger unit and for this purpose, a modified sine wave Inverter (MSW) will do the job without damage to your charger, or the batteries connected to it.

You can buy a good quality unit from Jaycar for as little as $49 for a 150 watt MSW Inverter, or $89 for a 300 watt MSW unit. If size (space) is an issue they also have the "can style" 140 watt MSW units for $69.95 according to their catalogue.

If you intend using the Inverter for other purposes, including things such as a Laptop (some of which will not operate from a MSW Inverter), then and only then, would I consider the more expensive pure sine wave units.
These have reduced in price considerably in recent times.

Jaycar sell a pure sine wave 300 watt unit for $289 and at only 60 dollars more than a 150 watt unit, this is the one I would recommend IF you wished to invest in a Pure sign wave Inverter.

I have referenced Jaycar purely because they have a good online reference on the equipment they sell. Dick Smith's may offer similar equipment but their web site is very poor to negotiate.

As Derek has mentioned, there is also the Projecta brand units.

The final choice is up to you, the use you wish and how much you are prepared to pay.

Hope I have adequately explained the different options for you and removed some of the myths surrounding the Inverter saga.