Posted by anotaryinva on 9/14/12 8:01pm
Msg #434459

Mobile printing

Ive searched and Im pretty sure I want to get a mobile printer for my car. I know I will need a wireless type of printer and I will research that here. My question is much more basic that I can't find using the orange search, what is an inverter? My car has a thing in the back that looks just like a plug in my house, there is a button I can flip in the front that says 120v. Do I need one of these interters and will it destroy my battery if I don't? And what does sine mean?

Reply by VT_Syrup on 9/14/12 8:55pm
Msg #434464

An inverter changes the 12 volt DC power in a car to 120 volt AC power. In a home, every outlet can supply at least 15 amperes of current, which is plenty for any printer. Inverters in cars are often not that powerful, so you will have to check the rating of your printer and the rating of your car inverter; make sure the rating of the car inverter is greater.

The rating may be given either in amperes (A) or watts (W). To convert amperes to watts, multiply by 120, so 2 amperes coming from a 120 volt outlet is 240 watts. Note that the 12 V current will be much greater; if the 120 V current is 2 amperes, the 12 V current will be more than 20 amperes.

Of course the traditional way of making AC power is with an alternator at a big powerhouse. As the coils of wire in the alternators pass through the magnets, they naturally create voltage that looks like a math function called a sine wave. Wikipedia has an illustration of this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sine_wave

The higher quality inverters produce voltages that look just like this, and your printer can't tell the difference between being plugged into the wall in your house or into the good inverter. Cheap inverters have voltage waveforms that look much more jagged than this, and some electronics may not work correctly, or may even be damaged, by the cheap inverters. However, I have not personally been involved with using cheap inverters and don't have any first-hand stories of equipment being damaged or not working right.

By the way, hybrid cars have higher DC voltage available and might have all kinds of accessories that you wouldn't find on a regular car. Do you by any chance have a hybrid?

Reply by anotaryinva on 9/15/12 8:18am
Msg #434481

Thanks VT for all that information, I don't have an electric car, it's a suv. I got out the manual and went and checked the plug, it's not like my house plugs - it has the two slots but not the third one so I guess I can't use a printer without the inverter. In the front of the car it has a hole (like a cigarette lighter) that says 12V/120W. In the back the plug thing says 115VAC/100W. The manual says not to use with high initial peak wattage. I've only used it once for my phone charger and it worked fine. The printers I was looking at all have power source of 120V 50/60Hz with a power consumption of 65W/495W. I think it might be easier for me to take the printer on the few occasions I might need it into the borrowers home to print. Thanks again for the education, I still don't totally understand but you absolutely helped me figure out what all those #'s mean.

Reply by MW/VA on 9/15/12 9:18am
Msg #434486

Yes, the newer cars are coming through with 120V plugs.

They're for laptops, cell phones, etc. I don't know if it's enough power for a printer, but you can try.

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 9/15/12 1:40pm
Msg #434521

Re: Yes, the newer cars are coming through with 120V plugs.

There's been a LOT of conversation on this in previous posts. I had a pure sine inverter in my previous car. A laser printer REQUIRES a pure sine inverter or you will burn up the printer.
The investment is about $1,000.00 once you've' bought the inverter and installed it. Check your printer to see what the wattage is then triple it.(I think triple) The pure sine inverters are pricey. I've been thinking of installing one in my new car but am reluctant. Once I forgot to turn it off then went to a closing burned up the battery in the car and you can burn up the electrical system if not careful. If you decided to to this don't buy from the "the inverter store"
they mislead me and I ate an inverter by listening to someone in their tech support. Good luck

Reply by anotaryinva on 9/15/12 8:22pm
Msg #434584

Re: Yes, the newer cars are coming through with 120V plugs.

I think a trip to the Lexus dealer is called for here, I have to go anyway for an oil change I'm going to ask them exactly what I can and cannot to with this plug