Hi Susan On 23 Dec 2007, at 9:41pm, Susan Hastings wrote:
Hi Reg, does the inverter charge the Powerbook just using the lighter socket, or did you have to attach the clips to the battery?
Yes, just from lighter socket. Look on the box and you will see suggested items that will charge. Don't throw the box away.
Can you use a powerboard with the inverter just using the lighter socket to charge multiple small devices or do you need to attach it to the battery?
I haven't tried a powerboard but can't see why it wouldn't work. I know of someone on the maced maining list that has a powerboard under the front seat of his Ford Territory and apparently he runs DVD viewers for the kids in the back as well as his laptop.
Can you boil a kettle using the inverter, either from the lighter socket or attached to the battery?
I've not tried that. I do know you can buy mini electric kettles from Ranger and other camping and car places that run from a lighter socket but don't know how well they work. You may need to wire it into the battery. BTW, now you've bought it, i just remembered we bought a bigger inverter for our son from Bunnings - a big red one that can be mounted under a seat or dash. I think it was around 2000A and cost about $150. It had 4 power points and needed permanent wiring to the battery. He was going to mount it in his little Jimny. Preferrably you may need a second battery as well.
After reading your post, I bought a Dick Smith 300A inverter for our camping trip after Christmas.
It should work well. It has an auto overload device and a shutdown device so you apparently can't flatten your battery (such as when I was at an unpowered camp site at Ceduna in January, uploading iWeb blog to .Mac from my PowerBook in the middle of the night using Big4's 4Net wireless link. It was SLOW and I eventually had to start the car to keep the charge up, but it worked! See http://web.mac.com/whitelyr and read the blog and see the photos. Wish we were doing it again now!
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