power inverter Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Is it safe to plug a 300W inverter into my car’s cigarette lighter socket?

Posted on June 30, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Carl: I bought this 300 watt 12VDC to 120VAC power inverter to run my coffee pot and a couple of other items while I’m camping.

While I was researching a related topic online I found a couple of articles that said not to plug an inverter larger than 200 watts into a car’s cigarette lighter because it’ll burn the inverter up.

That’s a problem because the inverter I bought only came with a cigarette lighter plug. You can’t remove it and there’s no place to plug in cables that can connect it directly to the battery.

What I need to know is will my 300W inverter really burn up if I plug it into my car’s cigarette lighter socket? [Read more…]

Review (Update): Vevor 3000W 24VDC to 120VAC Pure Sine Wave Inverter

Posted on May 27, 2024

Important update: I installed this inverter a little over a year ago and all was well until early last week.

All of a sudden the inverter started beeping and shutting down at random times. A quick check revealed that the fan had stopped operating, causing the unit to over-heat.

This was quite unexpected because, as I mentioned in the initial review, the device had always remained cool to the touch and the fan rarely turned on at all during normal operation.

Long story short, this device developed a serious issue shortly after the warranty had expired. For that reason, I can no longer recommend it since it failed even though it was never forced to operate under a heavy load.

My original review continues below… [Read more…]

How to charge any laptop with your car

Posted on September 5, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

These days it’s hard to imagine taking a long drive without having a car charger on board to keep the battery in your cell phone topped off.

But what about your laptop?

While some modern laptops can be charged with a standard USB-type car charger and a compatible cable, there are plenty of others that can only be charged using the AC power brick that came with the laptop. [Read more…]