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First post, Bonnaroo virgin, hope this is in the right place and hasn't been discussed elsewhere. I'm coming down from PA (10-12 hour drive depending on traffic/stops/etc) and probably doing car camping. There will be 3 cars and 8 people. I was wondering if anyone had any input about power inverters? I've been looking at the "cupholder" style ones with maybe a plug or 2 and a USB, max output 200 watts and also at some more "heavy duty" ones with 2 plugs, 2 USBs and max 400 watts. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Definitely charging cell phones, and I was considering the possibility of running a fan. I have a big fan at my parents house...I'll have to check out the wattage on it.
Do not go over the recommend watts. Like if you have a 400 watt inverter, do not hook a coffee pot up to it, they use a lot more than 400 watts and will blow the fuse in your car for that outlet/receptacle (which just means you will not be able to use the outlet again until you replace the fuse) When I camp, I live by a power inverter and deep cell marine battery, that is what lights up my camp. Like PB said, what are you going to use it for?
Running light and charging your phone will kill your car battery with the quickness. It is bad camping etiquette to run your car. You will put exhaust fumes into your neighbors camp. Not good! If you want "light" and such, you should look into a Deep Cell Marine Battery, they run $75-$100, but will give you plenty of power. Use LED lights! You will be able to light your camp, charge your phone, and have power for other things. Also, when you park, manually turn off you car's interior lights. opening your door all week and having that light come on will kill your battery in 2 days!
Running light and charging your phone will kill your car battery with the quickness. It is bad camping etiquette to run your car. You will put exhaust fumes into your neighbors camp. Not good! If you want "light" and such, you should look into a Deep Cell Marine Battery, they run $75-$100, but will give you plenty of power. Use LED lights! You will be able to light your camp, charge your phone, and have power for other things. Also, when you park, manually turn off you car's interior lights. opening your door all week and having that light come on will kill your battery in 2 days!
As far as charging your cell phone via the auxiliary power receptacle (cigarette lighter). As long as your receptacle is always powered (not needing to turn on the key) you will be fine to charge your cell phone from that provided your battery is in good condition. Charging a cell phone takes milliamps at 5 volts DC.
I leave my satellite radio on all night (or multiple days) in my car and the car starts up fine every morning. So with that said charging your cell phone for a hour a day you will have no issues.
If you have any doubts give it a try a couple of times before June.
Running light and charging your phone will kill your car battery with the quickness. It is bad camping etiquette to run your car. You will put exhaust fumes into your neighbors camp. Not good! If you want "light" and such, you should look into a Deep Cell Marine Battery, they run $75-$100, but will give you plenty of power. Use LED lights! You will be able to light your camp, charge your phone, and have power for other things. Also, when you park, manually turn off you car's interior lights. opening your door all week and having that light come on will kill your battery in 2 days!
Yeah man get yourself a Deep Cell/Cycle battery and hook that up to your inverter. Don't waste the precious energy in your car's battery; you won't be able to start the car. A Deep Cycle battery is expensive but worth the investment if you will be car camping often and you can always recharge them. At the shop, we charge batteries for free and I imagine you could find a shop close by that will do the same. It's also a great idea to turn everything in your car off manually or just disconnect your positive battery cable to make sure everything stays off all week. One silly light left on for just 2 days = dead car. For lights, I go old school and use kerosene lanterns. Last all weekend and they aren't using electricity.
I have one of these. A full charge is usually enough for all of my power needs for the weekend without having to run my car. But you can plug it into your car if need be.
