How much shit can I run at once off of one of those car inverters?

**paulster2626** · 11-17-2009, 12:53 PM

Going on a long road trip in a couple days, and we want to hook up an Xbox/PS3 in the car to pass away the hours.

Question is: is it possible to run an Xbox 360, 19" computer monitor, and small laptop speaker thingys from one of those 400W 'plug-it-in-the-cigarette-lighter' inverters?

Anyone done this?

**PNWbrit** · 11-17-2009, 01:04 PM

If only someone had invented a way to measure watt electricity would power.

I'd be amped at that.

**highangle** · 11-17-2009, 01:05 PM

Originally Posted by paulster2626

Going on a long road trip in a couple days, and we want to hook up an Xbox/PS3 in the car to pass away the hours.

Question is: is it possible to run an Xbox 360, 19" computer monitor, and small laptop speaker thingys from one of those 400W 'plug-it-in-the-cigarette-lighter' inverters?

Anyone done this?

with laptops, but not home computers

i think a cheapy inverter will give you problems on a home computer
RAM timings and disk motors are the first to be affected by shitty waveforms, then the clock, which needs sub millisecond precision for the rest of the CPU to work right

so with a bad power source, you CPU will constantly vary from an underclocked to an overclocked condition

this will likely make your Xbox unhappy

**BigLineSeeker** · 11-17-2009, 01:20 PM

you can buy pure sune inverters that plug into your car. i am not sure what an xbox draws for watts, but you will likely need something in the 800W range to run all three concurrently.

**paulster2626** · 11-17-2009, 01:40 PM

The 360 is 180W, the monitor is about 50W, and the speakers are next to nothing (they run on 4AAA batteries).

Just wondering how much power you can actually suck out of that 12V outlet.

**Yeti** · 11-17-2009, 01:46 PM

What vehicle? How big is the fuse in your cigarette lighter circuit? Usually the cigarette lighter is limited to 100 to 200 watts (depending on the fuse in the cigarette lighter circuit), so you should expect that level of power output through the cigarette lighter no matter what the inverter's rating. You can get more powerful inverters, but they usually clamp onto your battery terminals.

**Crass3000** · 11-17-2009, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by paulster2626

The 360 is 180W, the monitor is about 50W, and the speakers are next to nothing (they run on 4AAA batteries).

Just wondering how much power you can actually suck out of that 12V outlet.

Add up the watts your going to use dipshit and then do some subtraction. In case you are unaware... ampsXvolts=watts.

**NSOutWest** · 11-17-2009, 04:19 PM

Running off of a cheap Canadian Tire 800w inverter it gives me low voltage indications and shits down when drawing 90w (laptop). This is in a Grand Caravan with a relatively new battery.

And with a laptop, wouldn't the power fluctuations be cleaned up as the 'top is running off of the battery? Or is this how it works.

At any rate, you'll be lucky if it works. Try it, it won't hurt. I'd go 800w for the inverter to be safe.

**allenataylor** · 11-17-2009, 04:22 PM

Hard wire it into your battery with a big fuse or circuit breaker and you will be able to max out the inverter. After that the only question becomes what your alternator can handle. I hard wired a 750 watt inverter into my 4runner and the specs had me use #4 Awg wire, the copper in the wire alone was more than a quarter inch thick. Make sure you use burly stuff. As was stated most circuits in the car including the cigarette lighter can't handle too much juice (technical term).

**JimmyCarter** · 11-17-2009, 04:28 PM

Get a gas powered generator and run it from the backseat. Drive with the windows open.

**PNWbrit** · 11-17-2009, 04:52 PM

Or you could try looking out the window, talking, listening to music or just enjoy quiet contemplation.

**Caucasian Asian** · 11-17-2009, 05:07 PM

And people tell me that having a DVD player in my truck is a bad idea.

**F.D.V.** · 11-17-2009, 06:16 PM

Obviously, not that intelligent...

Originally Posted by PNWbrit

Or you could try looking out the window, talking, listening to music or just enjoy quiet contemplation.

**Crass3000** · 11-17-2009, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by allenataylor

Hard wire it into your battery with a big fuse or circuit breaker and you will be able to max out the inverter.

This is actually a really good idea that isn't too hard to do. As mentioned just make sure it is fused (make sure AT THE BATTERY) and you run large enough guage wire.

**02sedona** · 11-17-2009, 08:28 PM

Visions of Trailer park boys (tv series) and the clearing stick are popping into my mind.

**reganized** · 11-21-2009, 09:28 AM

I was in a car race from New York to New Orleans and we had a 19 inch glass TV, PS3, Rockband, two laptops, cell chargers and a bunch of other crap. I used a cheapo power inverter (400W) and hardwired it directly to the battery with an inline fuse. You don't want to run it through your cig lighter if you can help it. I also noticed that the TV didn't power up directly to the inverter. After installing a surge protector strip, everything worked fine. If you plan on living in your ride. Get a second battery and hardwire a larger inverter.