Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 22:53:41 -0400
Reply-To: Greg Potts <Greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Greg Potts <Greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
Subject: Xbox Xperiment (was Re: CDN Tire Inverter questions)
In-Reply-To: <20050421235205.28448.qmail@web30208.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
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Hi Malcolm,
I did some testing recently with my Canadian Tire 400W Digital Power
Inverter, and thought I'd share my results.
XPERIMENT:
Test the wattage draw of an X-Box and Television used with a digital
power inverter in a Westfakia camper.
EQUIPMENT:
Mastercraft 400W Digital Inverter.
Inexpensive Walmart 13" color TV.
Microsoft X-Box Gaming Console.
Halo 2 Game disc. Possibly the best first-person shooter ever coded.
14W compact fluorescent light bulb.
60W incandescent light bulb.
VW Bus.
PROCEDURE:
I put the XBox and TV in the bus and powered them with a MasterCraft
400W digital inverter.
TV on its own - 20~30 Watts.
TV plus Xbox - 80~100Watts.
Hmm... This was much less than anticipated. In order to verify the
accuracy of the gauge I went in the house to get some lightbulbs.
Adding a 14W compact fluorescent brought the total up to 100-120W.
Adding a 60W light bulb took the total up to 150~160W.
After less than 30 seconds at 150W the inverter crashed. A repeated
test gave a consistent result. This led me to suspect that perhaps the
readout on the inverter was inaccurate. So I unplugged the Xbox and
calibrated the inverter's display using the lightbulbs....
Running the 60W light alone the inverter read 60W.
Running the 14W light alone read 10~20W.
After the experiment the inverter was disconnected and the Xbox was
brought back into the house. The TV remained where it was until we got
back from EveryBus.
CONCLUSIONS
1. The digital readout on the inverter only reports multiples of 10 for
wattage, but it is reasonably accurate.
2. My 400W inverter will not come close to running a sustained load of
even half its rated output. A laptop might just barely run on a 300W
inverter. This is consistent with reports from other inverter users I
know.
3. The power requirement ratings on the back of the X-Box
(2.1A@100-127V) and TV set ( 57Watts @ 110V) are as highly over-rated
as the inverter's output.
4. A 400W inverter will be adequate for use with a TV and Xbox, as long
as you don't run a 60W light bulb at the same time.
5. Compact fluorescent bulbs are recommended both for their impact
resistance and their low power consumption. Or use a full-size
fluorescent if you have room, as the 36" tube on the westrailer only
pulls 30W.
Happy Trails,
Greg Potts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1973/74/79 Westfakia Conversion **Bob the Tomato** LY3H
1977 Sunroof Automatic L63H/L90D
1988 Vanagon GL 8-passenger Automatic
http://www.pottsfamily.ca/westfakia
http://www.busesofthecorn.com
On 21-Apr-05, at 7:52 PM, Malcolm Stebbins wrote:
> Beginning this Saturday CDN Tire is selling a 300W inverter for 1/2
> price = CDN$24.99 (Lighter
> plug or direct to battery).
>
> There is also another 75W inverter for CDN$17.99 (lighter plug only).
>
> http://www.canadiantire.ca/registration/shopping_entrance.jsp Search
> for "inverter".
>
> I want to either run my lap top, or re-charge the lap-top battery and
> I can do this while the
> engine is running, so I will not worry about draining the Aux battery.
>
> My lap top AC to DC converter is rated: Input: 100-240V ~ 1.5A
> 50-60Hz 114-155VA
> Output: 19V --- 3.16A
>
> How big of an inverter do I need? I will only be running the lap-top.
> Can anyone tell me what I should be looking out for?
> I'm NOT very good with electricity, so KISS.
>
> Thanks. M
>
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