Ok, for all of you go-getters who want to power their house from a cigarette lighter socket, I have news for you, good idea but not possible with an inverter. However, there are many things you can power with your cigarette lighter socket.
Anytime you want to power a device with your car battery, you’ll need to determine what device and for how long. If you want to power anything that is 1.5 amps (180 watts) or less you can use your cigarette lighter socket. If your power requirements are more than 180 watts, you’ll have to direct connect to your battery.
A few examples of items you can power with your cigarette lighter socket:
cell phone
handheld games
digital camera chargers
mp3 players
small warmers
small fan
laptop (1.5 amps or smaller)
Love these kind of post, really drives the basics home. By the way does any one out there know a good source for those 12 volt cigarette lighter wall sockets. I need some. In the old days we bought them through the JC Whitney catalog. LOL Remember them?
If I cable directly to my car battery, can I run a really large 5000 watt converter from it? Do I have to keep the car engine running?
Hello Mark,
This will depend on your alternator size, battery size and number of batteries you are using. If you are maxing out the inverter at 5000 watts you will be pulling 416 DC amps per hour from you battery. Most cars will not be able to handle that load. We recommend you add another battery to your system. Any other questions you can call us 888-417-8673.