150w inverter, 60w draw, car battery life?

AI Thread Summary
Using a 150w inverter to power a Mac Mini and LCD monitor in a truck camper can be feasible, with a 60Ah car battery allowing for approximately 4 hours of use at full draw and up to 10 hours at 60 watts. Regular car batteries should not be discharged beyond 20% to avoid significant reduction in lifespan, while deep cycle batteries are recommended for such applications due to their resilience. Monitoring battery voltage is crucial, as levels below 12.0v indicate a dead battery, while 12.6-12.7v signifies a full charge. If the battery voltage drops too low, recharging it with jumper cables from the truck is advisable. Proper management of battery usage and periodic recharging can help maintain battery health during inverter use.
nesika41
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Using a 150w inverter to power the mac mini & LCD monitor in my truck camper. My Kill A Watt meter shows that the draw (on regular home power) is about 55-60 watts, or .05 KWH per hour. Can I assume that I could use this set-up for several hours, if need be, without danger of depleting my normal/average car battery?
 
  • Like
Likes ggpa
Engineering news on Phys.org
Say you were to draw the full 150watts. This means that the battery will be sourcing about 13amps @ 12vcd to the inverter. Most car batteries these days have around a 60amp/hour rating before they die. This means that with a 60Ah battery, you should be able to run the inverter for about 4 hours safely without the battery going dead. At 60 watts I would say about 10 hours if the battery is good, and hopefully you have enough current to start the truck afterwards. If you are ever worried, you could always start the truck for 15 minutes every once in a while to charge the battery. If you have a bigger battery in your truck, you can probably extend the time a little bit.

The equations are: P (in watts) = VI so 150watts/12vdc = 12.5amps
For a 60Ah battery: 60Ah/12.5amps = 4.8hours at 150watts. I would always extend that time buffer a fair bit..maybe to say 3~4 hours instead of 4.8
 
Last edited:
I have since read that anytime a regular battery (as opposed to deep cycle) is discharged more than 20%, its life is considerably reduced. I haven't verified this.
 
nesika41 said:
I have since read that anytime a regular battery (as opposed to deep cycle) is discharged more than 20%, its life is considerably reduced. I haven't verified this.


Indeed, regular batteries tend to sulphate if they are discharged too far. Although having sulphated plates ruins the performance, you can usually revive them using a high-voltage charger (20 volts or so) for short periods of time. This higher voltage blows the sulphated crystals off the plates so that it can be used again. This is how most automotive shops revive bad batteries. For an inverter application, I would use a deep cycle battery - marine or otherwise - to power the equipment. You should monitor the voltage of the battery even on a deep cycle to make sure that it isn't totally discharged, as deep cycle batteries still can be damaged. Anything below 12.0vdc means that the battery is completely dead. Around 12.6 - 12.7 vdc is where the battery will be fully charged. If the voltage gets too low you can hook it up to your truck with jumper cables to recharge it.
 
Hey guys. I have a question related to electricity and alternating current. Say an alien fictional society developed electricity, and settled on a standard like 73V AC current at 46 Hz. How would appliances be designed, and what impact would the lower frequency and voltage have on transformers, wiring, TVs, computers, LEDs, motors, and heating, assuming the laws of physics and technology are the same as on Earth?
While I was rolling out a shielded cable, a though came to my mind - what happens to the current flow in the cable if there came a short between the wire and the shield in both ends of the cable? For simplicity, lets assume a 1-wire copper wire wrapped in an aluminum shield. The wire and the shield has the same cross section area. There are insulating material between them, and in both ends there is a short between them. My first thought, the total resistance of the cable would be reduced...
I used to be an HVAC technician. One time I had a service call in which there was no power to the thermostat. The thermostat did not have power because the fuse in the air handler was blown. The fuse in the air handler was blown because there was a low voltage short. The rubber coating on one of the thermostat wires was chewed off by a rodent. The exposed metal in the thermostat wire was touching the metal cabinet of the air handler. This was a low voltage short. This low voltage...

Similar threads

Back
Top