Device charging - 110v with inverter or 12v plug?

[DonC]

I have a rechargable battery charger that has both a 110v plug and a 12v plug. I can use either.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of using the 110v with an inverter vs just using the 12v plug - either in the camper or the truck cab.

I guess this is really a generic question. If you have the option of either, which is "better" - faster charging, less drain on camper or truck batteries. I don't know if there are other considerations.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I don’t recall anyone on WTW making a comparison, might be an opportunity for an experiment. If I had to guess, I’d say 12VCC charging might be more effective.

 

[larryqp]

I would think that if you convert 12v to 110v you would lose a little energy during the conversion, so that might suggest if you are starting with a 12v system ie truck battery, then using the 12 v option might be better. Just an educated guess and not an expect opinion.

 

[DonC]

direct 12v was my thought also. Without knowing anything about electricity I thought the direct 12v might be more efficient because using the inverter, you are first powering the inverter before anything gets to the devise. But that's just an intuitive thought with no knowledge behind it.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

The best inverters brag about being "93% efficient" or something like that. Cheap inverters can be worse. And we're not even allowing for losses in the charger, and, yes, there will be some.None of these devices are 100% efficient.

So you WILL waste some of your battery's energy if you go 12 volt source > 12 volt to 110 volt inverter > 110 volt to 12 volt charger.

Also, the typical "cigarette plug" on small plug in inverters can definitely limit current flow. You would be better off switching it to Anderson plugs.

 

[ntsqd]

Using an inverter means that you're consuming energy to synthesize 120 VAC and then consuming energy to convert that back to some voltage of DC power. Doesn't sound like this is your situation, but more generically if you need a DC voltage that is greater than 12 VDC you might be better served in looking at DC to DC converters than by going the inverter route. There still will be some consumption in a converter, but it should be less than going the Inverter to DC route.

By design cigarette lighter - power points are maxed out at 15 amps. If your charger pulls more than, say, 10 amps I'd look at other options like the mentioned Anderson Power Poles. If the charger pulls 5 amps or less I would not worry about it in the slightest.

 

[alano]

We usually use a small 110 inverter to charge our phones, tablets, camera batteries etc. Yup, it costs more in energy, but it goes so much faster. Come to think of it, the camera battery chargers only work on 110 - caused me trouble at Crater Lake before we got the inverter.

Anyway, it's good to have options for those times when the devices are low and time is short.

Alan

 

[Vic Harder]

i have a camera charger that only works on AC... I get it. What made me laugh/cry one time was a question (on some other forum!) where the person asked why they couldn't use their inverter - plugged into the camper battery -- to plug in a battery charger and charge the camper battery with it!

 

[ntsqd]

On the tiny trailers forum the (apparently) preferred method for charging the trailer battery is an inverter on the TR with an extension cord reaching back to the charger on the trailer. I'm very unexcited about such a system, particularly if it is raining.

When you need a DC voltage that is higher than truck or camper battery voltage then an inverter may make more sense. I'd say that it depends on the amps needed at that higher voltage.

 

[wuck]

We charge nearly everything starting at 12 volts, phones, tablets, laptop (when I had one), camera etc. It's easier, and you can also charge stuff up in the cab while driving. Probably more efficient, but if you're using a small inverter not that much different (No, I haven't done the math!!) A large pure sine inverter charging a cell phone wont be efficient, but if you already own one, then . . .

If you have the right charger/adapter, there should be no difference in charge time.

Only exception is our sonicare toothbrush which has an induction charging base requiring 120VAC. I've been using a small "Coleman" branded inverter that's probably 20+ years old, square wave out, maybe 100W. Sonicare hasn't complained. However, we recently purchased a new sonicare that still has an inductive charger base, but is quite a bit different. I'll be quite attentive the first time I charge it.

 

[esimmers]

So, the general rule is that if you have the option when the power source is a 12 volt DC battery, power your device with 12 volts DC rather than using an inverter to first convert that 12V DC to 120V AC. You'll use less energy over all because of the losses inherent in converting one type of electricity to another.

The second rule applies if you don't have an option and must use an inverter because your device will only run on AC: size the inverter properly (not underpowered or wastefully overpowered) and spend a bit more money to get a high quality pure-sine-wave inverter that may be necessary for sensitive electronic or other devices.

 

[Wallowa]

Inverter = coffee grinder....everything else is secondary!