LCD and DVD Install
 

I'm trying to install a Sharp 19" LCD and a small (possibly portable) DVd player.
I have to admit that my electrical knowledge is limited. My boat has an inverter/charger that works when shore power is connected. I also have a regular home type 120v outlet below deck near the lcd placement.
I know many say you can just wire the tv right into a 12v system IF the tv came with a power cable that has one of those little transformers...but mine doesn't. Here are the specs on my lcd:

Specifications
Screen Size Class 19"
Diagonal Measurement 18.5"
Panel Type Active Matrix – TFT TN LCD
Pixel Resolution 1366 x 768
Tuning System ATSC/QAM/NTSC
Brightness 300 cd/m2
Viewing Angles 160º H / 160º V
Lamp Life 50,000 Hours1
Audio System 2 watt x 2 = 4 watts total
Contrast Ratio 400:1
Aspect Ratio 16:9
HDMI™ Input HDMI™ Input x 1
PC Input Analog RGB 15-PIN DB15 x 1
Remote Control Timer Remote with Magnetic Back
Component Input Y/Pr/Pb x 1
S-Video Input 4-pin DIN x 1
Composite Video Input (A/V) RCA x 1
Audio Inputs RCA L/R x 4
Audio Outputs Headphone Jack 3.5mm, Digital Audio Output x 1
Power Consumption AC 45 W

Power Source 120V

So, it does not appear my TV can run directly off 12v. Can someone help me with some pointers on how to wire this thing in so I can watch it when I'm under anchor with nothing running?? Right now it works fine plugged into the outlet, but only when connected to shore power. I need to be able to watch it for exteeded periods of time. Thanks in advance.

EDIT - I am also willing to purchse another inverter or whatever quality product I need to get the job done right where I never have to worry about killing my batteries.

I install home electronics for a living and do all sorts of home automation. You are right, the old-school LCD's had a power pack halfway down the power cord and we hated them. You could never find a place to hide it. Unfortunately in your situation it would be ideal if it dropped the power to 12v.

Anyways, I would use a power inverter with an isolated battery. This way even if it does kill the battery, you wont be stranded. How long it will last…who knows? That would be a question for the company you get the inverter from. They should know how much power the inverter will draw from the battery. I have a sneaky suspicion that you will experience a lot of noise in the picture when using the inverter. Therefore, you may want to add a powerline surge protector w/ clean power circuitry. This will tell you exactly how much power the inverter is producing and will filter noise from the AC power. I would recommend the Monster Power HTS-3600. These retail for $499, but I can get a fellow boater one for $350, you pay shipping. You may find this for less on the Internet. Whatever works best for you.
http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=3259

Hope this helps.

Thanks Quaid - I was thinking about just running an inverter like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/XANTREX-PROSINE-...QQcmdZViewItem

Wire the inverter directly into my main electrical panel on it's own breaker and then install one of these in the engine bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ksid=p3907.m29

Generator as a safety precaution so I know I can always run it under anchor and then one of these stowed away just incase I need a jump:

http://www.battery-rechargeable-char...t-VEC012B.html


Thoughts ? I'm anal I know but lets not go there :)

This is what we did . We used a Magnavox 15 inch $219.99 and a Farenheit DVD61 in dash player $89.99 and it all ran off 12 volt. :D

Placing or installing a generator like that in the engine bay might not be a good idea. The gas tank is going to vent directly into the engine compartment. All these vapors need is a little spark and you know what happens next. BOOM! You certainly cant run it in there because of the carbon monoxide.

I would leave the generator out of the equation and just install the inverter. The jump-box is a great idea though.

The guy with the formula has a pretty good solution as well. Just use all 12v products.

Dvd Lcd
 

I would never use an invertor unless it was as a last resort, emergency/just no other way to power a device. I certainly wouldn't plan it that way. There are plenty of 12VDC DVD's and LCD's available. Inversion is just a terribly inefficient use of available DC power.

The inversion/conversion efficiency from 12VDC to 120VAC is extremely poor just by nature and the invertors are no where near 100% efficient either. Even the best ones are in the 90% range. That is, for every 100 watts of 12VDC you get only 90 watts/12OAC before the voltage conversion. A conversion example is 1 amp load @ 120VAC = 10 amp load @ 12VDC. 1 amp @ 120VAC is not much of anything at all yet uses 10 amps @ 12VDC.

There's no room on my boat for anything that inefficient. Anyway, many 120VAC LCD monitors have a PSU that converts 120VAC to 12VDC. Just look for one that ends up @ 12VDC at the LCD.

Invertors will draw power from your battery just idling with no load because they are a a load to the battery them self.

Just my two cents worth.

I have a 2500 watt inverter in my truck running my 13 cu. ft. refrigerator when I come home on friday I dont start my truck untill monday and it fires up every time it only has 4 batteries.

Just my real world experience

I agree with you about the generator placement....but I will never run the gen while we're under way and will have either the hatch slightly open and/or run the blowers running to exhaust gases.
My problem with using a 12v display is that none of the ones I looked at will fit my install space, and the ones that do are just simply too small and look like crap.

EDIT - I was also thinking isolating the gen exhaust and routing it into an existing exhaust line....

I have heard differing views regarding the effeciency of inverters....sure they will strain the batteries, but the good ones will shut themselves off before they do. And with a generator and a jump box I think the system should run well as long as I don't place unreasonable demands on it.

Invertors
 

Sounds like there's plenty of invertor users out there. diggster69 I'm sure you are having success with your invertor because you say you are. The situation you describe is fairly easy on batteries. You're not opening and closing the fridge door during the time you mentioned so it probably doesn't run too much. And, four batteries is a pretty healthy battery setup. If you want max invertor power use 6 volt golf cart batteries hooked in series. Run 4 batteries in a series parallel hookup. Talk about some current, that's the hookup. That's a great battery combination for invertors.

Never, ever, ever place an invertor in the engine room. That's a recipe for disaster there.

The electrical math simply does no lie though. It's just more energy efficient to run 12VDC components when you can. They are readily available. Go to SAM's. Many of the LCD TV's they have will run fine on 12VDC. They come with a wall wart plug in power supply to plug into the wall outlet but many are putting out 12VDC.

It is an indisputable fact though that the invertor being between the load and the supply reduces the efficiency because there's not an invertor made that operates at 100% efficiency.

deboatmon

I will agree that this time of year there would not be much load, but in the summer it gets well over 100-110 degrees.
My old 12 vdc fridge would drain the batteries overnight and it was less than 1/2 the size.

:cool-smiley-027:
The advantage to inverting the 12dc to 120ac is in line loss, when running heavy loads. (BTW the Xantrex ProSine line is 95% efficient). If we use the previous analogy of 1 amp at 120 and 10 amps at 12v, they both amount to the same amoount of power, 120w. My 27" LCD, amp, and speakers draw about 480w with the volume at max, which equals 40 amps at 12v! -look at the current!
If I want to power my TV in the front of the berth, that's 30' of cable - do I want to run #6 to avoid all of the ineffiecencies of smaller cable? And, we all know AC was developed specifically to rid us of the inefficiencies of running high amperage DC over any distance....just my two cents.:evilb:

Read this and PM him to see how it worked out. I haven't seen any follow up posting as far as the results.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...6&highlight=ac

Dude! what do you have going on there in the pic? Looks like the battery backup systems we used to have when i worked at Motorola (yours is on a way smaller scale thorugh :D ) You have some sort of "Off grid" 110v system going on there?? Do you have some sort of PV panel charging the batts then running inverters to power what you need??? You have sparked my interest! :D i'm looking at doing a few "out of the box" things to power and heat my garage at home :D

:cool-smiley-027:
240v at 60amps for 20 hours is the rating on the system, all off the shelf Xantrex stuff and real easy to install. I'm using the grid whenever it's available, and genrator to power up the battery bank after it gets down to 80%.
Grid power is not reliable in our area, but I'm stuck with it until I find 15k for the solar panels I need.
I was planning to put a smaller system in the boat, but I'm too busy spending $$ on the engines for this season.:angry-smiley-038:

Thanks for all the help guys. I am only going to be running my LCD off the inverter and I was looking at these two:

http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/xs400.html

http://www.4lots.com/index.asp?PageA...rodID=470&HS=1

The specs on my LCD show it's AC power consumption at 45w....Is a 300 watt inverter enough juice ?

:cool-smiley-027:
Take it from an electrician - there are "thresholds" within the technology that allow the consumer to get the best ROI (return on investment). If you need advice for a bigger system, I can help.

If, your requirement is simply a 45w running load, the rule of thumb for inrush current is 300%, so you need something that can handle 3 x 45x = 135w (surge rating). The 300w unit will be fine - remember they do create a little heat, so don't put it under the dash next to the wife's leg, or you'll be in trouble!:cool-smiley-026:

nwimbush -

Thanks for the help man....I was wondering if possibly I could use another power cord; the type that has the wall wart in the middle....and run this thing directly off 12v power ? I spoke to someone at Sharp in the tech support department and they gave me the standard line "the unit was designed to only run off 120v ac power".
Thoughts ?

:cool-smiley-027:
LZH - no, you were on the right track before with the little inverter, but i have never heard of a wall wart....:cool-smiley-026:

LOL - thx dude.
:cool-smiley-011: