TV use in the Egg

[Robert Scallan]

I am looking at flat screen TV's for the new Scamp....if I purchase one and use 12VDC, the amp draw seems high enought to pull the battery down pretty quickly....how are you all using yours.....120VAC or 12 VDC?

Thanks




LIFE IS GOOD!!

[Per Walthinsen]

We use a 15" Sharp LCD which normally uses a "brick" to take the 120v down to 12v. Sharp says it is safe to use with as high as 23v, so I elected to make up a cord to run it directly on the 12v. Very satisfactory, uses 37 watts versus 41 watts on 120v.

That would be approximately 3 AH used for each hour's worth of TV. Our battery capacity is rated at 260 AH so it would take us a while to draw down the batteries significantly.

[Linda R002]

We have a flat screen 10 inch and run it on 12 volt. We run the TV a lot as I can't sleep and have it on to drown out other noises. We usually watch a movie or two a night and figure we get over 24 hours of TV use on one battery charge as well as lights for two nights, and the pump for two showers. Last time we were on the road we even used the furance and didn't get a low battery for the three days and two nights.

[Frederick L. Simson]

I have an old-fashioned 13" Cathode Ray Tube TV/VCR combo. When boondocking I have it powered by a separate group 27 battery feeding a 400 watt inverter. This battery supplies power to only the inverter, which only powers the TV.



This way I do not Jeopardize power from my main battery, which is for the water pump, lights, and heater blower fan.

[Gina D.]

my 10.2 inch unit runs straight of the 12v and draws 2.4a.

If you have some nominal way to recharge, like a samll solar panel, you should be fine for an evenings worth of entertainment, even running a few lights on occasion.

Don't invert, the invertor is inefficient and will run your battery down quickly, depending on the size and what you have running off of it.

[Robert Scallan]

This is all good stuff.....differant opinions on some things....I love this give and take discussion....one says no inverters, the other is planning on using one....please let us know how the inverter things goes.....I spoke to a really nice guy at Radio Shack(yep there are still some folks around who are willing to take the time to help)...anyway, Radio Shack has some small 12VDC TV units that are pretty cool and use very little power (mA) instead of Amp.......posssible a way to go....I also looked at a lot of flat screen stuff, which I could use with a small rewire job on the plug....Radio Shack has all that stuff(plugs etc)........a couple of things...if you use your power at night to watch tv, and use solar power to recharge...is there not a time in the morning that you are low on useable power?...if you use a differant battery to power the tv....how do youi charge it?
I am really interested in the computer/tv combo, especially with the picture/camera angle, can you give more info....thanks everyone, like I said, I really like this site, so much so that I sent a small donation....and that is unusal for a cheap skate like me.

Bob

LIFE IS GOOD!!

[Raymond Brodeur]

First, a special HI to Texan fellows.
I am actually in Harlingen, TX for still two weeks, and I bought a TrueTech combined TV/DVD player with a 7" flat screen, from Target Store in Harlingen.
If it was to be redone , I would buy a 10". Il is higher priced, but I discovered I don't need to buy an antenna.. I connected the cable on the frame of the Boler with a female connector slided on a needle squized under a bolt nut.... and that works great if the shielded part of the cable does not touch the frame !

[Ed Harris]

I don't hink there is really any debate about 12v vs. an inverter for a standard houshold TV.
Any straight 12 v setup will be more efficient and use less power,plain and simple.
Just because some are using an inverter does not seem to imply otherwise from what I can read.

It requires more current and there is energy wasted as heat to run an inverter.

That said there may be so little current draw from the inverter/TV setup that it is a non-issue for many.

I use a Sharp 17" LCD that runs directly on 12 volts D.C. and it also has computer inputs so I can use it as a monitor.

I also have TV/Video cards for both PC and Mac laptops that allow me to use he computer as a TV and even a Tivo digital video recorder.
Since the computers also play DVD's it is really simple to just use a computer as an entertainment device as well as a computer.
The cards are inexpensive(compared to a large LCD TV) and easy to use.

Most laptops can run fairly easily on 12volts also.

So many electronics,so little time

[Frederick L. Simson]

This is all good stuff...
please let us know how the inverter things goes...

if you use your power at night to watch tv, and use solar power to recharge...is there not a time in the morning that you are low on useable power?

if you use a differant battery to power the tv....how do you charge it?

[b]...a cheap skate like me.

Robert
You Sir, are no cheap skate if you are buying a new Scamp.

Any straight 12 v setup will be more efficient and use less power,plain and simple.

Ed is correct, and I would also advise you to listen to Gina, as well.

OTOH, most of my recreational equipment hails from the Carter Administration. My monetary investment for my entire trailer, plus contents is hovering around $1.35 per pound. Sweat equity is considerably more... Tow Vehicle not included.

My trailer is NOT new. Nor are many of it's appointments. Why would I buy new stuff for a vintage trailer, when I already have much of the stuff around the house? That's why the inverter (came with the trailer) powers the TV/VCR (which I already had). All I had to buy was and additional battery, which lasts for several VHS tapes (I have a LARGE collection) viewed throughout a long weekend. Then I have been recharging it at home (with a Sears 10 amp battery charger in my workshop).

This works for me. "Your mileage may vary."

[BOBSMITH]

We just bought a new flat screen TV and DVD player for the trailer. I haven't bought a 12V adapter for it, yet. It has a 15" screen and fits rather nicely on the TV shelf.

[Palmer M]

I use a 9" flat-screen CRT with a built in DVD player. It has a standard cord for when I'm on shore power, and a 12V cord for when I'm on battery. The brand is Orion, bought from Wal-Mart for $150, though I have seen the same unit branded as Toshiba at Best Buy.
The thing weighs about 25 lbs; it stays in the closet most of the time, but is easy to drag out and hook up in a couple of minutes.
I definitely only use it for a couple hours at a time, and notice that watching a DVD consumes more power than watching broadcast.
In the morning, the battery is a bit lower than after not watching TV, but it is not significant with regards to having enough power to take a shower, etc. With my solar power, it might mean I'm at full charge by 2pm instead of at 12pm.
This was my cheapskate solution for TV, to wait for flat panels to drop in price, but even now that 13" flat panels are down to about $250, I don't think I'll change it for a while.
I can even patch PlayStation2 into it, using an inverter for the PS2 and battery power for the TV, though I usually only do this on shore power (no inverter).
Hope this helps!
P