12 volt tv

[HappyWanderers]

Hi, we have just purchased a dual voltage tv from the Argos Clearance factory in Stanley £35 and it works well on electric. We have fitted a 2 pin plug to the 12volt lead and again this seems to work fine. Does anybody know roughly how long you could use the tv for? Some guy we met last weekend told us that colour tv's drain the battery quickly. Is this really true??

 

[Deleted member 21686]

Hi, we have just purchased a dual voltage tv from the Argos Clearance factory in Stanley £35 and it works well on electric. We have fitted a 2 pin plug to the 12volt lead and again this seems to work fine. Does anybody know roughly how long you could use the tv for? Some guy we met last weekend told us that colour tv's drain the battery quickly. Is this really true??

That depends on several things.
Wattage of TV?
Size of battery?
How old is the battery?
Do you have a solar panel?

They are a drain on the battery but you need to try it out.

Great price though!

 

[Firefox]

What is the wattage of the TV and how big is your Leisure battery(s)?

Eg 36W draws 3A at 12V. So you'd be able to use it for. 10 hours on a 60Ah battery. But if your TV was 72W drawing 6A, you'd only be able to use it for 5h on the same battery. On the other hand if your battery was 120 Ah then those times would be doubled, so it all depends!

 

[gaz2676]

depends on the watts of the telly and how long you use it does it have on it or the packaging its efficancy chart a to d think most little tv s are in b .......ignore this firefox can type faster than me ........t-at

 

[maingate]

Hi, we have just purchased a dual voltage tv from the Argos Clearance factory in Stanley £35 and it works well on electric. We have fitted a 2 pin plug to the 12volt lead and again this seems to work fine. Does anybody know roughly how long you could use the tv for? Some guy we met last weekend told us that colour tv's drain the battery quickly. Is this really true??

1 - Don't listen to strangers.

2 - Check the wattage beforebuying.

LED sets are better as they use little power for the size.

Don't listen to me, I am a stranger.

 

[vindiboy]

You should also use a voltage stabiliser too, because you batteries can vary between 10 volt and 14 volts at any time and if you start your engine whilst the tv is on this voltage can increase more. The telly will work without the stabiliser but for how long, BANG !!!!:scared:

 

[jimbohorlicks]

Voltage stabiliser

I purchasd a voltage stabilser from Maplins -£14 ish so. Works a treat on my Currys 12 v tv-Has a ciglighter male end and a round pin connection for the tv side.
just might prevent that spike issue.

 

[wints]

Several years ago I bought a Proline 15 inch colour tv from Comet. I connected it up to a battery, via an ammeter, in my garage and measured the amps used.
TV....1.5 amps, TV with DVD playing...1.9 amps.
I connect direct to the van battery electrics, no voltage stabiliser. Also connect my pace 12 v sat receiver this way.

regards
Allen

 

[Firefox]

The USB TV tuners you can get for lap tops seem pretty good.

I recently fired one up for a member here and was pretty impressed.

eg Dual Tuner DVB-T Digital TV USB Stick : External PCTV : Maplin Electronics

 

[caspar]

The USB TV tuners you can get for lap tops seem pretty good.

I recently fired one up for a member here and was pretty impressed.

eg Dual Tuner DVB-T Digital TV USB Stick : External PCTV : Maplin Electronics

I'll second that.I bought one off Fleabay recently on the recommendation of another member. I tcost about £8.00. I used it last weekend for the first time and it picked up over 150 channels. TBH I was gobsmacked.

 

[Robmac]

Yup, I have one and they are excellent.

 

[frontslide]

The USB TV tuners you can get for lap tops seem pretty good.

I recently fired one up for a member here and was pretty impressed.

eg Dual Tuner DVB-T Digital TV USB Stick : External PCTV : Maplin Electronics

Sorry for being thick but does this turn the laptop into a tv, in effect, or do you need an internet connection?

 

[Robmac]

Sorry for being thick but does this turn the laptop into a tv, in effect, or do you need an internet connection?

Turns laptop into TV with freeview channels, no Internet required.

 

[Firefox]

The kind of laptops I use would be about the same as a small TV ie 20-30W.

If you are using your lap top as a TV, the Wifi and drives are not being used so the main power drain is going to be the screen, the same as the TV. That will depend on the screen size and brightness. Large screen laptop/large screen TV = more power drain

 

[Kontiki]

Why do most of the 12 volt tv's have a DVD player built in? I very rarely watch a DVD & have never bought one, borrowed some one year from my daughter to take away on for one of our extended trips & only watched a couple of them.

 

[thegoodlookingbloke]

A word of caution

A word of caution, Make sure that you use a heafty cable to supply the TV, while we are all used to the standard size mains lead for 240v, remember that on 12v the current will be x20

Unless you are an engineer who understands power, it is easy to think that a unit that can work on 240v as well as 12v will only require a small power cable for 12v use......WRONG you need a cable which will carry 20 times the current when using 12v

Its not so much of an issue with LED TV's, but I have a good friend whos caravan burnt out due to his twin flex connections not able to take the current. (OK it was a crt TV) but just be carefull especially if you have routed your cable to where tour TV is and have used chocolate blocks and have made a pigs ear of loosing some of the strands when stipping the wire etc.

If in doubt, go up a size in cable as you may well replace your small LED TV with something else in the future.

Don't worry also about fitting a voltage stabiliser as 12v equipment is designed with a charging overvoltage in mind. So they can take 14.5 volts from day 1. :wave: