So confused y inverters.

You can charge all those devices without an inverter. However if you want to use an inverter a 300W or 500W inverter would be fine. And yes you can use a Cig Lighter inverter although they come with alligator clips and clipping onto the battery terminals direct is a better option.

Remember though you can charge you Ipod with a Ipod 12V Car Charger as with laptops and even rechargeable batteries. Running an inverter is fine but you are drawing more power this way than just using 12v methods for re-charging.

Missy
The simplest and easiest thing for you to do is just buy a
300 watt minimum pure sinewave inverter.
The little cigarette lighter inverters usually will not be large enough to run/charge a laptop. Of cause there are other ways and probably better
but you wanted an easy answer and what I have given will do all that
you require...

Chris

As TerraFirma has said you can obtain chargers for those devices that you have nominated which will operate directly from 12 volt without the need for an inverter. However, you would need to purchase and carry these 12v charging modules, probably a different one for each device. Also some of these devices are poorly manufactured and I have damaged batteries in both my phone and camera with what seemed quality 12v chargers.

My recommendation is to use an inverter as it can be useful for many things within its power capacity. I suggest that an inverter of at least 350 watt rating. Note that there are tree types of inverter: Square Wave, Modified Sine Wave, and Pure Sine Wave in ascending order of price. This refers to the waveform of the 230v output and some devices such as computer power supplies do not take kindly to the Square and Modified types, so to be sure and to protect your expensive devices it is best to pay extra and use only Pure Sine Wave types.

There are many sources on the market so you could shop around but I purchased a 380 Watt Pure Sine Wave inverter from Jaycar (MI-5162) for $269.00 and am happy with it. See here.

The "little cigarette lighter inverter" would be unlikely to supply your laptop.

You could plug the inverter into the 12v plugs in the back of the ute or into the cabin cigar-lighter socket although the ignition may need to be "on" for this one to work but not necessarily "moving". However take care not to flatten your cranking battery using this outlet.

If by "compressor" you mean one capable of inflating your tyres then no. Such a compressor would draw too much power and in any case they are normally designed to run from 12 volt only.

I do not agree with TerraFirma that an inverter would draw more power than the 12v chargers. These chargers usually use a "Voltage Regulator" type of circuit which is not very efficient.

Thanks for your answers.

The laptop is a Dell. On the power pack it says it is a 65w. Does that sound right?

To the PP can you link me to a page with one on it?
Can you also tell me about your "other" methods?

From what you said a 150w inverter will do the trick . Can type with cig lighter plug now rated at 150w (about $80) and you don't normally need expensive pure sine wave inverter.

We use modified sine wave (often called square wave) for similar things for 3 years no problems.

Look for simple solutions, BUT not el cheepo I would suggest.

Bet you're even more confused now :-)
If you hang around this site long enough you'll find there is no simple answer to any question.
But you'll get lots of different opinions and ideas and from those you'll need to make up your own mind.
So let me add to your dilemma. I would suggest you not buy the smallest inverter for the job (assuming that's what you decide to get) - buy the next size up and it will cope better.
I have a 300w unit (bought at KMart on special for about $70 some time ago) and it runs all sorts of stuff, including laptop, and charges batteries no worries.
Have fun researching.

As above - a 150W inverter for a 65W laptop should be fine.

The sizing is based on the load - eg, 65W requires say 80-100W allowing for inefficiencies etc, but 150W is a common size.

Last Thursday Aldi introduced a "weekly special" 12V 600W inverter for $59 - a pretty good price. (400mA standby current; not a bad unit except perhaps for its low-quality DC connector - the plastic caps may come off.) For the price it's hard to beat. See aldi-offers-2827_13299

Keep in mind DC current. As an approximation, divide inverter output by 10. EG - a 150W output inverter will probably consume 150/10 = 15A at full output from a battery - though this will be less if the battery is charging (because power Watts = volts x current; battery voltage can vary from (say) 11V to over 14V).
Since a cigar socket is limited to 15A (if that - most are 8A or 10A), 150W is the generally the highest output.

The best is usually to power via heavy cables direct from a battery.
But for 65W laptop, assume 70/10 = 7A which is okay (via a cig socket).
Cables will get warm if they are current stressed.

Other chargers will consume far less.

I originally got a 150W inverter as a universal solution for mobile phones, cameras, shavers, coffee grinders etc etc. It was cheaper buying two 150W inverters than the dc-dc equivalents for each item. (IE - I had a spare if the first failed - not that it ever has.)

Since then I have acquired many dc-dc chargers etc which are far more efficient electrically (not that that maters on the road), but the inverters are still handy for my rechargeable shaver and AC coffee grinder, and for guests with their appliances.


Another consideration - there are two main inverter types - namely "true" sinewave output, and pseudo- or stepped-sinewave.
A sinewave is a nice curvy ripple like waves on water.
A stepped-sinewave is like 3 rectangular blocks placed on top of each other so it approximates a real sinewave.

The stepped-sinewave is electrically noisy and may cause interference, and some loads won't like it.
However charges etc are fairly robust and should not be bothered about that - especially if multi-voltage types (200-250V, 110-240V etc).
I general, anything that has a SMPS (switched-mode power supply) should not care about stepped or true sinewave. And sine most devices there days are SMPS (TVs, mobile-phone chargers etc).
The stepped-sine can cause extra heating of some PSU (power supply unit) components, but this is becoming rarer as PSUs are ruggedised for modern distorted mains supplies, inverters, UPS etc.
(FYI - all inverters can cause interference because of their internal switching. This is separate to the stepped-sine output interference.)

Most inverters are able to supply double their rating for a short period - eg, 150W long-term and a brief 300W. That's to handle load inrush currents.

Did a 20000km trip last year and before going I bought a 500w inverter off Derek Bester (ABR) who advertises on this forum. Worked like a dream....charged everything up and let me operate my 300w Sunbeam vacuum sealer as well. You don't need top shelf stuff at all unless you intend operating sensitive test equipment etc. My laptop is still going strong as is my digital camera and other stuff.

Hey Missy,

seems you've been bombarded with responses. Look I've had a 300W pure sine wave inverter for years and to be honest...it's never bloody used! Like you I need to charge small things like handheld UHF's, AA battery chargers, camera and video batteries and of course the laptop.

I always use a Kerio adapter for the computer as it allows the computer to be powered during use which MAY be an issue with some modified sine wave inverters. Two years back I went to Dick smiths and bought a "coffee cup" 150 watt inverter for $80. It has been great. It has a single 240V plug and a USB plug for Ipods. It utilises a cigarette type plug for powering itself.

What I would recommend is looking underneath the 240V charging cradles and apparatuses that you wish to use. Everyone of them should have the minimum watts required for charge. Ie; my 18V Ryobi cordless drill requires a 75W charge capability. This is easily handled by the DSE inverter. I think you will find that most of the things you need to charge will fall well inside the range of a well made 100W or 150W inverter.

If I could be so bold as to offer a further piece of advice, rather than rely on your factory fitted cigarette lighter, make sure you have a separate cigarette lighter type plug fitted in the cab of the vehicle form your aux battery using heavier cable. This way you know that it will handle any current draw required without overheating and you van fuse it appropriately. I use a triple plug Projecta unit with over load switching. It was about 40 bucks.

I hope this helps and I will endeavour to scour the DSE site to find a link to the actual inverter.


Cheers Mick

Missy,
Forget the air compressor for now, reason being they will NEED be two very different capacities, one is small and other is huge ( capacity & price )

As mentioned a small 300 Watt inverter will do what you want.
I don’t think you should buy less than 300w for the sake of usability.

make sure it’s a *Pure Sine Wave*
make sure it has *fan forced cooling*
is as close to *94% efficiency rating* as you can find.

Maîneÿ . . .

Thanks for everyone's input.

I think we have decided to go for the 300w pure sine inverter.

Now the question is which brand.

We went to Jaycar and they only sell powertec. After a quick google there are a few bad reviews. In everyone's opinions are these warranted? Or is it just that so many people buy them there are always going to be some duds?

Other than this brand where can I walk in and buy a decent brand?

I know I can order via the net but would really like to be able to buy a quality unit in an IRL store.

Any suggestions?