Thread: Pretty good DC-to-AC inverter for trips?

I'm looking for this:

Ben this is what I use in the company van. I have used several other brands but they only last about 3 months with as much use as they get from me. I like this one since it has a on/off switch for the a/c and the usb port is always on. I also have a newer style Lind smart adapter that I am testing. I drive all day long with my laptop running for work.

What I've noticed is that a lot of the inverters goes into protect mode at engine idle. Because of the voltage drop, the current draw rockets. So keep in mind that raising the idle helps a lot if you are at the inverters output limit.

Hey Ben, I just use a duralast with usb charger for my laptop. Works great and draws like .05v over the course of 4hrs when left plugged in with the car off.



The thing with this is that we almost have to do it because the laptops usually run on 18v-19v. Car is only capable of 14.5 with a good alternator. Have to have some coils to take the charge where it needs to be.

Using a DC-DC converter boosts the voltage to what is needed, basically a switching power supply that runs off of DC instead of AC

I think Chriscar was talking about something like this. It has AC and DC inputs.
Universal Slim Laptop AC/DC/USB Travel Charger : Laptop Chargers | RadioShack.com

My laptop power brick says input is 100-240 volts @ 1.6 - 0.8 Amps. and output is 16 volts @ 4.5 Amps so with an expected input of 160-192 Watts and an output at 72 Watts I believe I am well within the normal limitations of a 12-15 volt car system with a 15 Amp fuse (180-225 Watts minus inefficiency in the inverter).

Cliff says he runs a more power hungry laptop and another small device off of the Duracell inverter and he's fine.

So I'm going with the Duracell (130W continuous, 175W peak) unit because it is made hopefully by a very reputable company with what I hear is modern solid-state electronic and it is relatively inexpensive. I'm told it is very quiet, almost silent, and it is very very small. Tons of people like it, and I think it is what I'm looking for for now. The WAGAN stuff looked great but is well beyond my needs and price range for their good stuff. The cup-holder ones would be good for folks with normal cars. For me, none of the cars we own have good cup-holder designs for this sort of thing. When you see how small the Duracell unit is you'll see why I chose it.

I've been using the Duracell DRINVP175 for a couple tuning sessions now and it is perfect for my needs. I'm quite happy with it and would recommend it to anyone else needing something like this.