Inverter headache

[johnnys]

I'm going to install a desktop PC in the boat to run Maptech, etc. I have hooked it up at home to an avometer and it draws a max 0.6 amps @ 240v.
Does this mean I need a 150 watt inverter ?(watts=amps*volts) and if I went for a 300watt to be on the safe side, would it draw 25amps (amps=watts/volts) all the time it was being used or just the amount it requires ?

Or am I talking gibberish!!!!
Any advice would be appreciated

 

[Anonymous]

It will only draw what it requires plus any inefficiency losses, of course. You need to know the average current over a period of time. 300W should be big enough but will be a big drain on your batteries - desktops are more power-hungry than laptops by a long way. They are also much faster and more powerful (on the whole).

Buy a sine wave inverter. The others can ruin your equipment - some equipment is fine, some isn't. It up to you but you are taking a chance.

 

[hightech]

Make sure it is a "true sine wave" unit. A lot of laptops do not like the "others", causes their power supplies to do strange things and lock up comports etc.

 

[davidpbo]

Also a laptop usually has its own internal battery.

You can get 12v to 19V or so inverters which I feel (without any proof) ought to be more efficient than stepping the voltage up to 240V then back down to whatever is required by the laptop or for that matter the components of a desktop.

My laptop draws about 4 amps at 12V the inverter is intollerant of much voltage drop,it busses and switches of if the input volatge gets too low as do most of the others I have come across.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

+12v to 240v via inverter

240v from inverter to PC power supply

+12v, +5v and +3.3v out from PC power supply.

It begs the question, but I will let you work out which question for yourselves.

If you can't find the question, maybe a laptop would be better, I see no reason with USB2.0 to even entertain considering a desktop on a small boat??

 

[johnnys]

Thanks for the advice dogwatch, but its not a small boat and I have sufficient power available to run a PC.

 

[Richard10002]

You will be amazed at how much power it will draw via an inverter. I hope you have a big battery bank, and an efficient means of recharching it.

Seriously.... I used my laptop via an invertor, (2000W invertor, via a 200AH battery), during a trip across the Med over the summer.

I believe it was one of the reasons I had to run the engine for hours each day at anchor.

I've now bought a 12v adapter which I am sure would have minimised the problems.