I have a Ford Edge. It has a 150 watt factory inverter. The air pump for my fishing dinghy uses 2A or about 220 watts. How likely am I to blow the fuse by doing that? Is that right on the 'edge', will I be okay, or simply forget it.
TIA.
TIA.
You could measure the real current flow of the pump. I suppose the max current wil be needed when the air pressure gets high. You could inflate by electric pump and do the high pressure rest by hand/foot when connected to your car?
The fuse will blow I guess as it is over the edge. 70W too much (worst case thinking = old fashioned...but valid) and likely high inrush current beyond the capacity of the inverter or its fuse. The test is simple and if it is OK 3 times you're OK. Still I would take some extra fuses with me just in case. If we think like we tend to do in audio I guess installing a 1000W converter will be the tip 🙂
It would not hurt to check the cars battery capacity. If it is a 44 Ah then re-evaluate. The DC power as consumed by the inverter with its nominal 150W load will be around a guesstimated 200 ... 250W so around 15... 20A. Quite a load for a small battery certainly when the dinghy needs much air (long time).
Like in audio we can of course do it better. By using a preferably somewhat lighter rated 12 V DC air pump that is. No conversion losses and longer battery life.
It would not hurt to check the cars battery capacity. If it is a 44 Ah then re-evaluate. The DC power as consumed by the inverter with its nominal 150W load will be around a guesstimated 200 ... 250W so around 15... 20A. Quite a load for a small battery certainly when the dinghy needs much air (long time).
Like in audio we can of course do it better. By using a preferably somewhat lighter rated 12 V DC air pump that is. No conversion losses and longer battery life.
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Gee, can Ford afford it? I get 100W cigar-plug inverters for $3 at yard-sales. Works good too.
Cigar plug is 12V 10A, so 100W is about the limit. 150W hardly seems worthwhile. I have a 1,000W inverter but that needs fat wires to battery.
Do you want to be on a hot parking lot while your kids/dogs/lovers whine about daddy's flat dingie and daddy's dead fuse? How bad can Ford hide fuses? How odd-size can Ford fuses be?
BTW: I had my Honda fusebox (one of three) replaced because it's not just a fusebox anymore.
They have 12 volt pumps that plug into the lighter plug that will do the job. I have also blown up a dinghy like that with a foot pump.
One thing is it seems newer cars have light plugs rated for10A rather than 15A though.
One thing is it seems newer cars have light plugs rated for10A rather than 15A though.
Wire up one of these to the battery (with an 80 amp inline fuse) and you don’t have to worry about how much you draw. Works for a variety of accessories - big inverter, air compressor, the removable sound system, or even in reverse for the charger or a jump start.
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Factory inverters are meant only for phone/electronics dongles(wall-warts?) The 150w is probably optimistic.
Check your DC socket current, and either get a 3-400w inverter or a DC pump, whatever is easier.
Check your DC socket current, and either get a 3-400w inverter or a DC pump, whatever is easier.
Thanks for all your answers. I think I will get a 12 volt or rechargeable pump once I find out a little more.
cheers.
cheers.
So I ended up getting the 12V version of the pump I already have. Low pressure, high volume.Coleman.