TV and computer in car

NeVeR

Hi all.

Just wondering if this

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_236607_langId_-1_categoryId_212626

Would power a 20" TV and a PS3 at the same time ?

cheers.

NeVeR

If not what would.

biko

It handles a laptop, that's all I can say.
But probably not, the TV alone is probably too powerful. Maybe a small screen TV.

You will have to calculate power draw for both devices.

NeVeR

This is just a temp thing. I will be removing the TV and PS3 at night.

it's just for me sitting in the car and playing... Loooooong story why i want it lol.. but need it before i go insane.

MugMugs

How's about a PSP?

NeVeR

dont want to buy one lol.. I've a PS3 and xbox.

I've loads of games for the PS3 so wanted to try that,

MugMugs

Fair enough. Pick up an inverter so. I got a double socket one in my local motor factors. You'd be putting a large drain on the car with both of those running though. And be careful of disc scrapes if using the ps3 while in motion.

Eric Cartman

this would be the minimum youd need : http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_184083_langId_-1_categoryId_212549

pajero12

I don't think that will tbh! think you'll need an Inverter! Like this: http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_168078_langId_-1_categoryId_212595

NeVeR

car wont be moving it will be parked.

Does that thing need to be hooked up to the battery ?

NeVeR

car wont be moving it will be parked.

Does that thing need to be hooked up to the battery ?

Eric Cartman

the one i linked can either hook to battery or plug in to a cigarette lighter, comes with both cables

barura

Not being smart, a dedicated petrol generator would be more up your alley. http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/tools/2607634
180+tax, but so many uses in the long term.

Or 85eur second hand? http://www.adverts.ie/machinery-tools/new-850w-power-craft-generator/957621

NeVeR

cheers lads. I dont think i'll get the generator lol I'll get the Inverter

MugMugs

Run a tv and ps3 off a car battery with no engine on and your game time will be short lived.

NeVeR

engine will be on

barura

Your alternator will be under a lot of strain. Why do you need to play ps3 in your car anyways?

Marcusm

MugMugs wrote: »

Run a tv and ps3 off a car battery with no engine on and your game time will be short lived.

Not only will your game time be short but it may drain the battery enough that you can't start the car. May be some studies out there somewhere, I know I'm recommended not to run the on board tv while the engine us switched off. I imagine your setup would draw more power.

unkel

NeVeR wrote: »

engine will be on

It will be fine then with one of those 300W inverters. Those are pricey though, I bought a 350W in Argos recently for €19.99 (that was a special offer)

Remember not to switch off your engine for more than a few minutes or your battery won't be able to start the car any more

Otis Driftwood

I dunno why but this thread made me chuckle all the way through.

pippip

How about this?

dougie-lampkin

Up until recently I'd a PS2 in the car hooked up to a 7" screen mounted in the centre console. The screen was 12V thankfully, but I ran the PS2 off a 150W inverter I had rigged straight onto the battery. The longest I had it running with the car off was 6 hours, and it still started on the button, voltmeter in the dash showed 12.5V with the car off.

FWIW, my 19" TV is rated at 50W max, my mk1 PS3 is rated at 414W max (yea right). If they both drew full current, you'd be drawing ~38A off your car battery, which after an hour of use would mean the car won't start, and ~2 hours draining it fully. It'll also put a lot of stress on the alternator, being that a pair of headlights putting out 9A can put audible stress on it.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

read a book

Matt Simis

dougie-lampkin wrote: »

Up until recently I'd a PS2 in the car hooked up to a 7" screen mounted in the centre console. The screen was 12V thankfully, but I ran the PS2 off a 150W inverter I had rigged straight onto the battery. The longest I had it running with the car off was 6 hours, and it still started on the button, voltmeter in the dash showed 12.5V with the car off.

FWIW, my 19" TV is rated at 50W max, my mk1 PS3 is rated at 414W max (yea right). If they both drew full current, you'd be drawing ~38A off your car battery, which after an hour of use would mean the car won't start, and ~2 hours draining it fully. It'll also put a lot of stress on the alternator, being that a pair of headlights putting out 9A can put audible stress on it.

Those figures in your second paragraph dont seem correct. There is no way a car battery is going to output over +500w (noting that speakers and other car aux systems will be on too) for an 1hr, let alone two before being drained.
People leave radios on for a couple of hours and sometimes run into trouble.

There is also the issue that the Fuse going to the Cig Lighter socket/12v Outlet in the car likely is only 30amp.
On the topic of screens I can add that Tesco sell a 16" screen that is 12v powered and is somehow semi-HD with a HDMI socket.

sdanseo

I've a 300W inverter that I got from Maplin, thinks it's a Nikkai. €55 back years ago. Very handy for when you need the laptop, mains phone chargers etc. Never tried a 20" TV and on that note - OP - why?!

If you leave the engine on, car parked for too long the engine will overheat.
If you leave the engine off, you battery dies.

Why not just play PS in the house like a normal person? Where in the name of god are you going to put a 20" TV, flip down from the roof? I could understand a 7" or 10" flip down for when you got bored but 20 is just too big. :P

I think a little cop-on is needed, no offence.

dougie-lampkin

Matt Simis wrote: »

Those figures in your second paragraph dont seem correct. There is no way a car battery is going to output over +500w (noting that speakers and other car aux systems will be on too) for an 1hr, let alone two before being drained.
People leave radios on for a couple of hours and sometimes run into trouble.

There is also the issue that the Fuse going to the Cig Lighter socket/12v Outlet in the car likely is only 30amp.
On the topic of screens I can add that Tesco sell a 16" screen that is 12v powered and is somehow semi-HD with a HDMI socket.

I calculated it for the TV and PS3 only, as I said. You could be here for the night finding anything that could be left on too, the driver could have left his headlights on and has his foot on the brake, but maybe the rear offside tail light and two of the bulbs in the high level brake unit are out. Do you want to run through every permutation of what could be using power? The OP wants to know about a TV and PS3, not about a stereo, speakers, amps, sub, etc.

At an hour of running 38A a decent, modern battery (first car that came to mind to look up, new Passat, 72Ah battery on the TDI) should have enough juice left for a warm crank. I wouldn't chance it unless I was at home with jump leads at hand, it really does depend on the individual car and the condition of the battery, even the ambient temperature would be important. Far too many variables to know if it'd be safe or not.

And drained != failing to start. If your battery is fully depleted after an hour of 38A draw you must be driving something from the 70's. A tired battery may fail a cold crank at 60-70% charge, even though all auxiliaries will appear to work fine.

Not that the two of them would draw close to 38A over an hour, that's using the absolute max PSU power on the mk1 PS3, the later gen slims use 250W max, 100W nominal. Nominal usage on the mk1 is 200W, and if you tried to let it sink 414W it'd shut down to stop itself melting. Regardless, whether it was 10A, 20A or 38A I'd run the inverter on a dedicated and fused wire straight from the battery.

This is moot, as the OP said the engine will be running. The alternator might be loaded more than usual, but the battery won't be affected.

Woofstuff

NeVeR wrote: »

This is just a temp thing. I will be removing the TV and PS3 at night.

it's just for me sitting in the car and playing... Loooooong story why i want it lol.. but need it before i go insane.

ha, sounds bizzare, playing the ps3 in the car... can you give us the short version of the loooooong story about why you would want to do this???

Wetbench4

Are you some kind of security guard??

unkel

Wetbench4 wrote: »

Are you some kind of security guard??

Aye that was my first guess, but maybe he's been put in the doghouse by his other half

Anyway, none of our business. The OP asked a (technical) question and we should try and answer his question.

@dougie-lampkin - yeah your figures show the OP should be good for a lot more than the few minutes with the engine off that I mentioned

zarquon

Is it a PS3 slim or fat. The fat model has over twice the wattage requirements of the slim and runs about 200w. It's quite doable what you ask for but the requirement of a 20'' TV is a bit much. What is the power rating of the TV. Even if the TV ran at 100W your total draw would be 300W meaning a 25A draw. For a full battery that would give you about 3 hours depending on the Ah rating of the battery but it's a big assumption that your battery is fully charged. Also even with the engine idling the battery will still discharge as the revs would not be high enough for the alternater to draw enough amps from it to keep the battery charged so a prolonged session even with the engine running will ensure either a flat battery or a semi discharged battery will not enough charge to crank the engine.

listermint

I would have thought and additional/uprated Alternator and Secondary Battery inc invertors would be the most logical and ideal solution if you were to pursue this.

As is, its not plausible specifically with the TV involved.

Matt Simis

dougie-lampkin wrote: »

I calculated it for the TV and PS3 only, as I said. You could be here for the night finding anything that could be left on too, the driver could have left his headlights on and has his foot on the brake, but maybe the rear offside tail light and two of the bulbs in the high level brake unit are out. Do you want to run through every permutation of what could be using power? The OP wants to know about a TV and PS3, not about a stereo, speakers, amps, sub, etc.

Thats not at all what I wrote. When a car is in ACC, various subsystems are also powered and drawing battery power. Nothing to do with people forgetting lights etc.