converter 110 to 12 v

[Walterwontfalter]

Ok, so.... I've gotten kind of tired of charging and re-charging my 12 volt batteries to run my furnace in my Ice Castle. So, i bought a Converter (not an inverter) That says it converts 110 to 12v. So i hooked it up and all the furnace did was buzz, like the fan was trying to turn but couldn't.

The Converter says it has an output up to 6 watts and the front panel of the furnace says it only takes 2.8 watts....why won't this work and what do I have to do to be able to run my 12v furnace off of 110 instead of having to run it off the deep cycle batteries?

[morpho]

you sure your not talking about amps?

[BobT]

What's the source of your 110vac and does the converter just change the voltage to 12vac or does it convert it to 12vdc?

Bob

[Surface Tension]

Same reason if you connected it to your battery cables and tried to start your car. There isn't enough current. A battery is going to have 800 or better cc amps.

Put your battery in between and it'll work. Then again you could have just hooked up your battery charger to the battery.

[JohnMickish]

Bob might have hit it. Anyways, if you want to run 120V why not just use it to run a battery charger and keep the furnace running off of the batteries? Less wiring and messing around with stuff.

[The_King48]

Bob might have hit it. Anyways, if you want to run 120V why not just use it to run a battery charger and keep the furnace running off of the batteries? Less wiring and messing around with stuff.

That is what I do. It works like a champ. I run my generator at night for 5 or 6 hours since the fish don't bite at nite on LOTW and I have never had a problem with dead batteries. That is a big concern since that is the only heat source in the wheel house.

[Walterwontfalter]

I'm not sure I'm talking about amps. I didn't go out and look at the face of the furnace before I typed this like I should have. But the output measurement unit type on the converter is the same (volts or amps) as the furnace. I did check that when i was trying to set it up.

Surface Tension, do you mean hook the charger and the furnace up to the battery and run them both? Would that overheat the battery or the charger? That's what I worry about. If the battery overheats all those gasses leak out the top.

I should have specified, I use my fishhouse for a camper too...specifically as a bunkhouse during deer season. Rather than have to keep charging and switching batteries a couple times a day or getting up in the middle of the night to switch batteries I'd like to just run the furnace off of 110. Being able to run it while i have the generator on would just be a bonus on Lake of the Woods at night.

[Walterwontfalter]

Quote:

What's the source of your 110vac and does the converter just change the voltage to 12vac or does it convert it to 12vdc?

Bob

I plug the 110 AC into an outlet with an extention cord or to my generator. The converter converts AC to DC

I just ran out and checked the front plate of my furnace and it's hard to tell if it says "do not use more than 2.8 amps" or if it is 28 amps. The sticker is cut off kind of short.

[bwtrout]

I believe it is always a good idea to have a battery as a buffer between 110v and 12v; especially with circuit boards. Most generators are not sine wave protected and current can run above and below the safe current for sensitive devices.

[just_havin_fun]

It is tough to make a prognosis without seeing what you have but I'll give it a shot. 1st make sure that your converter actually has a dc output typically if it is an ac to dc it is called a power supply (this is just terminology) so it may be listed as a converter. It sounds as though you know that it has a dc output, so lets move on. Your name plate probably reads 2.8 amps 28 amps even at 12 volts is quite a bit. That being said your converter then is too small with your furnace taking 33.6 watts to run and your converter output being 6 watts.

[Surface Tension]

I believe it is always a good idea to have a battery as a buffer between 110v and 12v; especially with circuit boards. Most generators are not sine wave protected and current can run above and below the safe current for sensitive devices.

I agree and just one more reason to leave the battery hooked to the furnace and use the battery charger. A tapering charger won't overcharge a battery, but why would you if your running a generator? Which leads into another reason to leave the battery hooked up, you don't need to run the generator constantly to run the furnace. Lastly, battery chargers are relatively cheap, a lot cheaper then a converter large enough to run your furnace. One note, since you'll be charging and discharging the battery often you'll want to keep an eye on the fluid level.

[jigginjim]

You could also check out a sealed deep cycle battery.

[upnorth]

Having a battery is another layer of security. If you are running strictly on the generator there is the chance of running out of gas during the night and there goes your furnace, with that battery the furnace keeps going til you get up and fill and fire up the generator again.

[Walterwontfalter]

Thanks for all the info guys. I didn't realize/understand the output stuff and amperage. I guess I'll just have to keep using the batteries.