AUSTRALIA'S ORIGINAL AND BEST CAMP OVEN AND OUTDOOR COOKING CAMPING AND LIFESTYLE FORUM

Jul 5^th, 2010 at 8:30am

Michaelb Offline
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Folks hope someone can advise me, when using the 12v lighter socket in the std family sedan, when the cars not running it obviously drains the from the battery, but what happens when the car is running or you are traveling, is the socket powered by the alternator direct, or is it still run from the battery which in turn is charged by the alternator.

Thanks in advance

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Reply #1 - Jul 5^th, 2010 at 9:38am

Smokeydk Offline
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I found some info.......might not be answer...

How Does An Alternator Work?
Your Charging System Explained
By Matthew Wright,

Battery for Car
Your engine runs on air, fuel and spark. The spark is the center of it all, and for that we need electricity. Your battery supplies electricity,
but only enough to get you a few miles down the road. We need more. That's where the alternator comes in.
The alternator continually charges the battery so that we never have to worry about that whole "running out of juice" problem.
Your battery is 12 volts, but to keep the battery 100% charged and run all of your car's electrical doo-dads at the same time,
the alternator has an output of between 13.5 and 14.8 volts. We'll learn more about that in a second.
The alternator has three main components: The Stator, Rotor, Diode and a voltage regulator.
When the alternator belt or V-belt spins the pulley on the alternator, the rotor inside the alternator spins ... fast.
The rotor is basically a magnet or group of magnets that spin, with all that speed, inside a nest of copper wires.
These wires are called the stator. I won't go into all of the details about why a magnet spinning within a bundle of copper produces electricity, but it does.
The next step in the chain is a diode assembly that changes the electricity from AC to DC current that your battery can use.
There is a final step in the chain, the voltage regulator. In modern alternators, this is a built-in component.
Back in the day voltage regulators were big black boxes that had to be bolted somewhere under the hood and wired into the system.
The voltage regulator is basically a gatekeeper that will shut off the flow of juice to your battery if the voltage goes above a certain level, usually 14.5 volts.
This keeps your battery from getting overcharged and cooked. That's it! As your battery is drained, current is allowed to flow back into it from the alternator and the cycle goes on and on.

http://smokeydk.blogspot.com.au/

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Reply #2 - Jul 5^th, 2010 at 9:51pm

OzJeeper Offline
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Michaelb wrote on Jul 5^th, 2010 at 8:30am:

Folks hope someone can advise me, when using the 12v lighter socket in the std family sedan, when the cars not running it obviously drains the from the battery, but what happens when the car is running or you are traveling, is the socket powered by the alternator direct, or is it still run from the battery which in turn is charged by the alternator.

Thanks in advance

As Smokeydk has said. However. please keep in mind that you can power up the power outlet when the key is switched to accessories. This means the motor is not running and no alternator which will drain your battery.
Another factor is that most car batteries are designed to start engines and are not designed for major power drains. There are special batteries that will tolerate being run flat many times, but these are not fitted to cars normally.

It might help if you let us know what type of equipment you might be asking the battery to power up and maybe we can help further.

cheers

My mother-in-law fell down a wishing well, I was amazed. I never knew they worked.

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Reply #3 - Jul 6^th, 2010 at 9:10am

Michaelb Offline
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Ross, thinking about the trip in Sept to the SA border, I have a 3 way absorption cooler box, I want to run the cooler on the 12v socket or via 240v while we travel, draws 240 v 72 watts @ 0.3 amps or 12v 72w @ 6.1 amps.

The 240 volt is one of those inverters that plugs into the 12 v and sits in the car drink holder.(Called a 120w power can)

I only want to operate this while travelling, once arrived it goes onto the gas bottle.

Don't waste a day, not while your breathing.

Michaelb (A Mexican)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWCVbBkd0j0

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Reply #4 - Jul 6^th, 2010 at 2:17pm

Smokeydk Offline
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it should run via cig socket..but dont let it run when your car isnt travelling...it will flatten the battery very fast

http://smokeydk.blogspot.com.au/

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Reply #5 - Jul 6^th, 2010 at 4:13pm

Robbo Offline
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Got a similar fridge and problem Mick. Have toyed with the idea of using an inverter whilst travelling but still have to make sure it isn't running when stopped.
Think I'm gonna set up a dual battery with a cutout relay for when the cars not running for peace of mind.

Robbo

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May the roof over your head be always strong.
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half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

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Reply #6 - Jul 6^th, 2010 at 5:30pm

outback jack Offline
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i have had one of these setups for a few years now and no problems at all, for the 2nd battery i use an ultima gell deep cycle battery

http://piranhaoffroad.com.au/index.php/default/dual-battery-management-systems?p...

jack

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Reply #7 - Jul 6^th, 2010 at 5:37pm

outback jack Offline
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last post should have read "optima battery"

http://www.optimabatteries.com.au/

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Reply #8 - Jul 6^th, 2010 at 7:41pm

Mackerel Whisperer Offline
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Robbo wrote on Jul 6^th, 2010 at 4:13pm:

Think I'm gonna set up a dual battery with a cutout relay for when the cars not running for peace of mind.

These are the go, Does it all automatically. and won't drain second battery unless you flick the switch on your dash.

http://redarc.com.au/products-and-services/sbi-series-dual-battery-isolator

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Reply #9 - Jul 7^th, 2010 at 8:03am

Robbo Offline
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Mackerel Whisperer wrote on Jul 6^th, 2010 at 7:41pm:

These are the go, Does it all automatically. and won't drain second battery unless you flick the switch on your dash.

http://redarc.com.au/products-and-services/sbi-series-dual-battery-isolator

Some more good info in this link.
http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/dual_bat.htm

You can find the relays on ebay for about $120 as a "buy it now" for a Redarc or $75 for a Sidewinder.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Redarc-DUAL-BATTERY-solenoid-SBI12-Smart-Start-isolator-/...
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/DUAL-BATTERY-ISOLATOR-ABR-SIDEWINDER-DBi120-NEW-MODEL-/31...

Robbo

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven
half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

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