True 12v Television

[Steve Hammel]

Where can I find a true 12v TV. I had a great one for a number of years but ended up dropping it while unpacking my old trailer. I ordered one off of ebay that was supposed to be 12v but when it arrived it was 110v. The sender is trying to tell me it needs to be used with an invertor. PFFFFFT on that, I want a true 12v that will be economical to use when I'm on battery/solar power.

[Jim Bennett]

While there are still some out there, I opted to go with a 120V Samsung TV. It draws so very little off my batteries, and I have solar so recharging is really not a big deal at all.

That said, in the last near 2 years of owning our Escape 50.TA we have used it once. However we took a trip to Oregon in the fall 2 years ago with our previous trailer, spent 2 1/2 weeks with rain most of the time, and ended up watching a lot of recorded shows on it.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Steve Hammel

Where can I find a true 12v TV. I had a great one for a number of years but ended up dropping it while unpacking my old trailer. I ordered one off of ebay that was supposed to be 12v but when it arrived it was 110v. The sender is trying to tell me it needs to be used with an invertor. PFFFFFT on that, I want a true 12v that will be economical to use when I'm on battery/solar power.

SEE:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post716103

I think the smaller one takes about an amp (on 12 VDC), but varies based on screen brightness. If you want more specific power use info, send me a PM.

[David Tilston]

When I was looking for a 12 VDC television for the travel van, I just went to Best Buy and looked at the power brick supplying the TV. I found a small RCA, flat screen that had a power brick that supplied 12VDC. I cut the TV end off the power brick and wired it into the van. It worked fine. I realize that it might not have worked, but the TV was cheep and I thought it was worth the risk.

[k corbin]

go to Amazon website and type 12v TV into the search box. They list a lot of them. Also do a search with the keywords "trucker 12v TV" and you will find websites with some other models that Amazon does not stock.

[Steve Hammel]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

When I was looking for a 12 VDC television for the travel van, I just went to Best Buy and looked at the power brick supplying the TV. I found a small RCA, flat screen that had a power brick that supplied 12VDC. I cut the TV end off the power brick and wired it into the van. It worked fine. I realize that it might not have worked, but the TV was cheep and I thought it was worth the risk.

That's what I did the last time. This time I ordered one off ebay where the seller advertised it as a 12v TV. I was surprised to open it and see that it was 110v. Bad advertising. To bad ebay makes you wait 7 days to give bad reviews.

[Steve Hammel]

Originally Posted by k corbin

go to Amazon website and type 12v TV into the search box. They list a lot of them. Also do a search with the keywords "trucker 12v TV" and you will find websites with some other models that Amazon does not stock.

The one I just bought from ebay said 12v Car, RV, and Truck. Nothing we can do about misinformation.

[Jim Bennett]

A 200W inverter will run pretty much any TV as well as a laptop with movies on it. Why limit yourself to 12V?

[Steve Hammel]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

A 200W inverter will run pretty much any TV as well as a laptop with movies on it. Why limit yourself to 12V?

You may be right. Chalk it up to experience. The TV I bought was a 32" with Blue Ray/DVD built in for $155. You get what you pay for lol. What ticks me off is that are advertising it as a 12v.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

A 200W inverter will run pretty much any TV as well as a laptop with movies on it. Why limit yourself to 12V?

Because you lose about 15% of the energy when you convert low voltage DC to higher voltage AC, and you lose a little more when you convert it back to a lower voltage again. The 12 VDC TVs include a 120 volt wall wart so you are not limited to 12 volts, but they are designed to work on 12 volts DC and they use fewer electrons that way.

Originally Posted by David Tilston

When I was looking for a 12 VDC television for the travel van, I just went to Best Buy and looked at the power brick supplying the TV. I found a small RCA, flat screen that had a power brick that supplied 12VDC. I cut the TV end off the power brick and wired it into the van. It worked fine. I realize that it might not have worked, but the TV was cheep and I thought it was worth the risk.

As mentioned in the other thread, if the TV is not designed to be used in a camper or vehicle, then you really have no way of knowing the voltage tolerances. Yes, its true that most that appliances that use a 12 volt wart warts will work OK.. but the voltage in a camper when the battery is under charge can get close to 15 - close to 25 % higher than 12 volts. There is some risk that the TV can not tolerate that.

[bigb]

There is a discussion going on about 12 volt TVs on the Airstream forums right now... with some pretty good info

12 volt televisions - Airstream Forums

[gretchens]

I bought a Naxa. A true 12v television/dvd player. I was hesitent as I had not heard of the brand but have had it 4 years and it has worked great. Not sure if I bought it off of amazon or a trucking site. At the time Jenson also made at 12v.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gordon2

Because you lose about 15% of the energy when you convert low voltage DC to higher voltage AC, and you lose a little more when you convert it back to a lower voltage again. The 12 VDC TVs include a 120 volt wall wart so you are not limited to 12 volts, but they are designed to work on 12 volts DC and they use fewer electrons that way.

While there are crappy inverters that get even worse than your quoted 85% efficiency, most good ones are above 90%. Mine is at 92%. Regardless, if you have solar charging this issue is moot, as you will always have plenty of power available, especially to power a TV that does not have much draw. I would much rather pay less for a much better quality TV.

Now, if you were running a TV on battery power with no solar or grid charging, any energy savings could be big.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

... if you have solar charging this issue is moot, as you will always have plenty of power available, especially to power a TV that does not have much draw. .

You can only use the word always when talking about the inevitability of death and taxes. Nothing else is absolute.

While its true that the typical solar setup in a small camper can run a TV (with or without an inverter) pretty much endlessly, that is almost always not the only part of the power budget. The TV wont use a lot of power, but if you are at risk of your furnace or fridge not working because the battery gets overly discharged, then every amp counts. So, for some people who have smaller solar setups, efficiency is the primary consideration, and they keep the widescreen at home. By the way, my TV does use LESS power than my laptop with a USB tuner (no doubt even with an inverter).

My TV takes .75 - 1.0 amps (at 12.5 volts). The label only says <24 watts and the AC brick is 2000 mA at 12 volts output (For john, see next message, thats still 24 watts). The AC brick is labeled .6 amps input (AKA ~72 watts) with its extra capacity. A larger screen would use more power. An inverter adds a little more. Will that amount put me over my power budget? That depends on many variables including how much clear sky I get, the time of year, outdoor temp, and "is there anything good on TV tonight.", etc...

If I have to go a few days with little or no sun, and plan on 3 - 4 hours of TV a day (maybe because its raining nonstop), that extra ~10 Amp hour draw (~ 125 watt hours) on my 100 AH (~ 1.25 kilowatt hour) battery could be "the straw that broke the camel's back" and makes my furnace inoperable.

[John in Santa Cruz]

remember, 1 amp at 120V is 10 amps at 12V, even before you figure conversion losses.

IMHO, its best to talk about watts, which is actual power, and can be calculated as voltage * amps ...

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

remember, 1 amp at 120V is 10 amps at 12V, even before you figure conversion losses.

IMHO, its best to talk about watts, which is actual power, and can be calculated as voltage * amps ...

OK I updated my message with watts. But it might be more confusing than it was before.

[alan H]

I’ve had good luck w/ one I purchased at a pilot truck stop
Simple plug into cigarette outlet
Unfortunately I sold it w/my casitas so I can’t provide mfg

[Glenn Baglo]

I'm not recommending this site, but maybe you'll find what you need here:
https://www.12volt-travel.com/12-vol...ons-c-684.html

[MK Evenson]

Skyworth makes an excellent TV. I bought this one 12v/120V.
Skyworth LED 12 Volt TV DVD 19" (18.5") Digital Tuner

Have used it for almost a year. Never a problem. I run audio thru a small Sony speaker, audio cable hook up provided on TV.

Highly recommend!!!!!!!!
Mark

[Steve Hammel]

Originally Posted by MK Evenson

Skyworth makes an excellent TV. I bought this one 12v/120V.
Skyworth LED 12 Volt TV DVD 19" (18.5") Digital Tuner

Have used it for almost a year. Never a problem. I run audio thru a small Sony speaker, audio cable hook up provided on TV.

Highly recommend!!!!!!!!
Mark

Thanks I'll look them up.