AC/DC, tv's that is, not the group

[chadice]

I have a question that maybe some of you savy electronics folks can help me out with.

I want to know if there is anything different about an ac tv as compared to a dc tv, other than the outlet plug. Are the circuits different within the tv or is it just the plug that is different?

What I really want to know is...Can I wire my fish house with a typical AC outlet and plug it into a typical AC tv or do I need 12 volt outlets and a dc tv? Someone told me that 'juice is juice", no matter if it is alternating or direct current, but is that the case? Seems to me I have to have 12V outlets and a DC tv.

Just wondering as dc tv's are more expensive and I would love to save the money. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Freewheeler]

Chadice
You may want to consider going to an inverter for running your regular AC TV .
If you have access to a big battery or a deep cycle battery you can pick uo an inverter at Sams Club for under $40. Then just plug in your regular TV into the invertor and your all set. I have one in my
overnight house and this combo really works good. If the current in your battery
falls below 10.2 amps the invertor will shutoff for you. This is there battery saver feature. Usually it will put out about 300 or 400 amps for that type of money.
I have also found that the older TVs with
the manual channell selector work better on UHF because you can fine tune them based on your location. The newer TVs are either locked in on a chanell frequency or not . Hope this can help you.

[chadice]

Freewheel,

I do have a deep cycle 140 amp hour battery. I have thought about an inverter, but don't they use a lot of juice? Any idea how many watts or amp hours they use? Thanks for the tips.

[Guest]

I kinda know where you are coming from, but let me try to explain.
AC is Alternating (?) current (like in your home) while DC is direct current (use on batteries).
I have a TV that is both AC and DC. It plugs into an AC wall outlet, and it also can be used with 8 D batteries, or you can clip the terminals to a 12V battery (DC).

You can do any sort of wiring to a fishhouse to use either system. I do believe you have to use different wiring tactics (i.e. cannot use AC wire for a DC system, and vis versa). I could be wrong because I have never tried AC wire for DC. I also don't think you can use any sort of "outlet", like a home wall outlet, for DC power.
Result: If you have an AC TV, you have to buy a generator to run that TV on AC power. Can't do it any other way.
I found an AC/DC TV at a grocery store for $20. They aren't as expensive as you think. I know have a really nice one I use with my underwater camera.

I guess Freewheeler has a good option too! Power inverter, never thought of that one.

[This message has been edited by CD (edited 10-16-2002).]

[metrojoe]

chadice,

What are you going to use as a source of power?

joe

[Guest]

Your best bet is to get an inverter. If I remember correctly, they are about 90% efficient(grabs) could correct me on that. Just get the smallest one possible in order to get the most out of your battery. This is how motorhomes utilize power from their generators. You can get a dc tv for close to the same price but it sounds like you already have one. Get the inverter and your problem is solved. Like wheeler said, it will shut off on its own. That way you won't be left in the dark because you were up to late watching something you shouldn't have been
As long as we are on this topic: a good way to hook up a radio is using a car stereo. My house a radio out of 95 jeep grand cherokee and a set of premium speakers out of 96 cadilac. I have the whole unit built into the cupboard works great and doubles as a clock.

[This message has been edited by Bigguns3 (edited 10-16-2002).]

[Ishmel]

I've been researching this topic myself and have found a little interesting info.

To calculate how many amps you'll need:
Watts (W) / Volts (120) = Amps
or
(w/12)*1.1 = actual dc amps

so 100 watt TV/VCR should draw around 9 amps per hour at 12 volts. A 400 watt power inverter by itself draws about .1 amps per hour, so it won't really cost you much in terms of power.

An AC/DC tv will run you about $30-50 more than a standard DC counterpart, but the inverter will cost that much anyway, so they come out about even.

I'm leaning toward a power inverter and standard DC television, simply because I would like to use electric lights in my permanent house and they will plug right into the inverter also.

d

[Grabs]

Ok guys, throw the power inverter idea right out the window,...a 13" Color TV will draw around 100 watts which as stated is about 9 amps per hour. Now if you have a 400 watt battery and your system is 100% efficient (which if your lucky you can get 90%), you can get 4 hours max out of this system (which at 90% is actually closer to 3.6 hours).

Now if you want to power anything else off of this, VCR, camera, stereo,..etc your looking at even less time.

I tried the power inverter with the TV, VCR, and aqua-vu, with a full charge, and with the battery at room temp, it offically lastest 45 minutes.

I now run a small 1000 watt, very quiet Honda generator on my house. My house is wired with an AC plug on the outside of the house, which runs into a converter, which allows me to run all my DC items off of AC, but will not allow me to run the AC items off of DC. So I run the generator when I am using the TV, VCR and camera, and at night I turn that all off and just run off the battery for the lights. Now while my generator is running, this converter also has a smart charger built into it, so it keeps my battery topped off.

Now I did keep the power inverter for one reason, if worst case happens, generator won't start and the battery is dead,.I can plug the inverter into my truck's DC outlet, and run and extension cord to my house to charge the battery off of the truck engine. This allows me to keep the battery inside the house and still fish, while I am charging the battery, if I had to take the battery out and jump it I wouldn't have any light to fish with.

Save yourself the time and headaches, skip the power inverter, these are good for use with a vehicle or other constant reliable power source, not a battery. Buy a reliable, but yet quiet generator and wire your house for both AC and DC by using a converter. In the end you will be happy you did.

[This message has been edited by Grabs (edited 10-16-2002).]

[Surface Tension]

My brother ran his 13 in color tv and a direct tv sat reciever for a weekend with a 120 amp hr deepcycle battery with inverter. At the end of the weekend he still had 11.5 volts left in the battery, it never went dead.

[This message has been edited by Surface Tension (edited 10-16-2002).]

[Guest]

I have to agree with surface tension. I also run a 13 TV/VCR combo with satelite reciever off of one deep cycle and small two outlet inverter. In the past I have just charged it once per weekend useing some custom 30" jumpers from the vehicle...yes I know this is not giving me the full life out of the deep cycle but it serves the purpose quite well.
This year I have the same set up but have added another deep cycle in parallel and bought a 1250 watt coleman generator. Even though it is quiet I still prefer to recharge the deep cycles rather than have to listen to the humm of the generator while watching the ballgames.
Also, I have wired my house with regular outlets and one outdoor outlet box on the outside so when I do want AC I just plug in the generator from the outside and I am good to go!!!

[Ishmel]

I have to agree with the last two. My tv/vcr combo draws 100watts combined, and my battery is rated for 140 amp-hours. Even if my battery is only 50% efficient I should get 7-8 hours drawing 9 amps, right?

[Guest]

Alright men, I hate batteries..(period) Too much mumbo jumbo if your runnin tv's vcr's, aqua view's...etc. What ever happened to propane lamps. I got two of them and they work marvelously. Electric lights are great for night time when your reels are spinnin. So I got some old dome lights out of old trucks to go over the sink and over every hole. Some people need to spend more time reading or crocheting a blanket. Anyway you want a tv. Sorry this is just getting way too technical, and i know i just said nothing worth the post.

[fubar]

ya but I understood every word

[chadice]

This is a great discussion, and I agree with the last 3 or 4 guys who say they run a tv/vcr off of a deep cycle with no problems. The AC/DC TV I am looking at is 60 watts dc(/ 12 volts = 5 amps per hour). If I hook it to my 140 amp hour battery I should have hours and hours of operation. I am sure generators would be better, but I just can't swing that right now, nor does it sound like I need to. Keep the tips coming!

[Guest]

FYI, I see in today's paper that Home Depot has Husky 750W dc to ac inverters for $80.

[Surface Tension]

I got my 400 watt at Sams Club for $29.
Last winter the power went out here for 3 days. No heat, no water,no nothing. I didnt have a generator or a inverter.
This winter my deep cycles are going to be stored in the basement with my inverter.

[chunkytrout]

OkeeDokee. Couple of things. Inverters are reliable for the most part, pretty efficient, quiet, lightweight, and getting more affordable all the time. RUN 2 BATTERIES! Can't stress that enough and I wont bother with the technical mumbo jumbo. Just make sure they're connected in parallel and not in series. 12V inverters dont like 24 volts.(puff of white smoke) Also, lets be careful. You are converting DC to AC and it's not grounded and you're in a wet environment.
signed,
chunkytrout
apprentice electrician

[Ishmel]

In parallel, that's pos to pos, neg to neg right?

[Guest]

Yep, 4 gauge battery cables at Walmart for $2.38 each will be perfect for ya.

[chunkytrout]

Don't forget the right battery clamps!