[sumannandy]

I have recently purchased a dc to Ac inverter 200w from Amazon. I wanted to know if it is safe to use this in ev max. The adapter comes with a car cable and it has two Ac ports and few usb ports.

Thanks in advance.

[Jeroen]

Just curious, why do you need AC in your car?

Jeroen

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

I have recently purchased a dc to Ac inverter 200w from Amazon. I wanted to know if it is safe to use this in ev max. The adapter comes with a car cable and it has two Ac ports and few usb ports.

Thanks in advance.

I just checked the NEV max review, the watts is not mentioned on the 12V outlet, also checked Honda Elevate review the max wattage is 180w on the 12V outlet.

Since you wanted to use 200w converter, I believe you should know the wattage of the 12V outlet before connecting.

[GrammarNazi]

What is the Car Charger Power outlet rated at ? Check the manual. Ideally don't think it should be an issue if you're going to use it to charge a laptop or 2-3 phones.

I have been using Belkin car Inverter with my ICE car since 8+ yrs to charge my parents tablets & my brothers phone while travelling.

[sumannandy]

I would like to charge laptop while on the move.

The car inverter is rated at 200w but laptop charger is rated at 65w.

[sumannandy]

I checked in the manual and it says the stated load is 12V 10A. So although the DC to AC adapter is rated at 200W, I hope it should be fine to just charge a laptop (65W).

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

I checked in the manual and it says the stated load is 12V 10A. So although the DC to AC adapter is rated at 200W, I hope it should be fine to just charge a laptop (65W).

It's not about your inverter but the point where you will draw that 12V from the car. This is what another member asked you. You should be aware of the load your 12V socket can handle.

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

Since you wanted to use 200w converter, I believe you should know the wattage of the 12V outlet before connecting.

However, if the final load is only a laptop charger - 65 Watt, even though your inverter is 200 W, it will draw only 65 Watt, so you should be good. Also, most inverters will have a fuse that should trip before anything goes wrong.

[naikameya]

A simple way to understand this is that wattage is a direct function of current (A), and current is the pulling capacity of the device. Your inverter can be rated for whatever wattage. It depends on the device you connect to it and how much current it draws.
Also, the DC to AC conversion should not be a problem if that is your concern.

So, from an electrical standpoint, no harm doesn't matter if you are driving an EV or ICE car. Fuses wall these circuits so they will not harm the rest of the vehicle. It might just block the local fuse.

However, given how warranties work and the customer-centricity the manufacturers exhibit. Check it with the SA.

[deep_bang]

Two things to keep in mind:
1. Is your device power than than the inverter max load? In your case 65w < 200w. So good.
2. Is your 12 V adapter going to support 65w + 20% as inverter losses (remember inverters are not 100% efficient and there are losses during conversion).

To support approximately 80watts, with 12v, the current will be : I = Power / Voltage = 80 / 12 = 6.6 Amps. So what this means is that, the fuse that's connected to your 12V adapter should be atleast 7 amps. Your car manual should be able to tell what the designed max current capacity of the 12 volts port is.

One other option you can think about is charging via USB-C. This will be more efficient as there are lesser conversions across DC to AC and back to DC. Only, getting the right chargers to charge at a good speed will be a challenge. Also, older laptops may not support charging via USB-C.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

I would like to charge laptop while on the move.

Since most laptops these days support USB-C charging, does it even make sense to do a DC-AC-DC conversion and the resultant losses anymore? I'd say, ditch the inverter and use USB-C.

[TheCatalyst]

I have the same belkin car inverter with me. I have used it numerous times in my native place to run the house led lights and fan. As long as you keep the total load under 150VA you are ok. I used to idle my old Hyundai accent with this connected and it could power 3 led tubelights and 2 fans on medium speed for hours. The only issue is, it does create a floating neutral but you don't need to worry about that for laptop use.
You can go ahead and use for 65W laptop power, just make sure that the cooling fan vent isn't blocked.

[govigov]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Since most laptops these days support USB-C charging, does it even make sense to do a DC-AC-DC conversion and the resultant losses anymore? I'd say, ditch the inverter and use USB-C.

This is what I have done. Even though I have the bulky belkin inverter, I additionally bought a cigarette lighter USB-PD charger with 4 ports. Works well.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B09FLJG82N/

[vijaysrk]

Is your laptop powered by USB C? If so, you can just buy a suitable 12V USB charger.
You get high powered USB chargers going up to 60W and beyond these days.

[Chhanda Das]

You should have got a pure sine wave inverter and not a modified sine wave inverter like the one you got. Although, this will work too but long term reliability of your laptop's power adapter is a cause of concern if you do not use a pure sine wave power inverter.

Now about your question, firstly, you need to check the efficiency rating (usually in percentage) of this inverter on its packaging/manual/website.
Let us assume this efficiency rating to be "y" while the power drawn by the inverter to deliver 65 watts of power can be assumed as "z". So y multiplied by z equals 65. Now solve for z.

Then you need to check the fuse rating for the 12v socket in your car since the watt rating is not mentioned. Now since volts x amperes = watts, please follow the following rule of thumb :-
If z is less than (fuse ampere rating minus 5 amperes) x 12v, then you can successfully use your laptop for long periods of time with this inverter in your car without encountering overheating issues or worse.

I hope this helps. I wish you happy and safe drives ahead

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Chhanda Das

You should have got a pure sine wave inverter and not a modified sine wave inverter like the one you got. Although, this will work too but long term reliability of your laptop's power adapter is a cause of concern if you do not use a pure sine wave power inverter.

Can you point out some examples of "Pure Sine wave inverters" for mobile applications like this?

Will also be curious how an SMPS supply of laptop adapters is affected by non-sine waves when it is made to handle voltages between 100- 240V?