What to plug into 12v DC outlets?

[Michael Jones]

I have 5 12v DC outlets on board and nothing to plug into them! I have two cigarette lighter outlets and 110 ac outlets as well and use them for a variety of things but don't know what I might need the 12v outlets for.
Mike

[iiii]

gps, dvd player, small fridge type cooler, laptop, etc.

[skipmac]

My favorite plug in if you have a socket in the cockpit is a hand held spotlight. Great for spotting those channel markers at night and no rechargeable batteries to deal with.

[hanschristian38]

12 volt TV

[Michael Jones]

My dvd, tv and laptop I plug into the 110 outlets. My refer and freezer run off of 110 (hardwired) or the engine compressor. My handheld spotlight and handheld gps use rechargeable batteries. So no need for the 12v DC outlets for those items.

[Pblais]

Many battery chargers can be had that will use a 12 volt socket. There are appliances that can use 12 volt power when you are not connected to shore power.

[thinwater]

12v hair dryer. I don't have enough hair to dry, but it works great on fogged windows, fogged binoculars, and cold fingers. Only about 100 watts, probably from JC Whitey, where you can get lots of cheap, sometimes crummy, non-marine 12v stuff.

[forsailbyowner]

We have some stuff that werent meant to be plugged in and adapted them, such as the O2cool fans that take 8 d cells, a little 7" lcd tv that used to be ac but had a plug that stepped it down to 12v.

[Michael Jones]

But I don't understand what the advantage would be to getting any 12v appliances if I have 110 available, which I do with either shore power or my inverter?

[Duke 48]

If I read the post correctly, the 12VDC outlets are different than the cirgrette lighter outlets.. Though I have seen several types of two wire connectors is there a specific standard 12VDC outlet for marine use?

[Southern Star]

Michael, the 12 V appliances will tend to be more efficient than using your inverter to produce 120V - there is an inherent loss in the conversion from 12 to 120V.

Brad

[Michael Jones]

Originally Posted by Southern Star

Michael, the 12 V appliances will tend to be more efficient than using your inverter to produce 120V - there is an inherent loss in the conversion from 12 to 120V.

Brad

Ah! You have my attention!

[AnchorageGuy]

Michael, Have to make a couple of assumptions here, this is a new boat at least new to you and you have not sailed it much yet. Once you have had the opportunity to do some cruising you will start to monitor electrical usage much more. We use our computer quite q bit for navigation and running the inverter just to power it uses a lot of battery under sail considering you are using instruments, autopilots, etc. By running the computer off an adapter at 12 volts we still use power but nowhere near as much. Our cell phones have car chargers which do a better job than charging off the inverter while under way with nothing charging the batteries. And the list goes on. Don't remove those outlets yet, wait and see if you might use them later on.

[Michael Jones]

Yes on your assumptions. So what kind of power savings are we talking here? Is there a (simple) formula, a rule of thumb, for the energy savings in powering direct from the batteries instead of through the inverter. Should I chuck my dvd and tv overboard and get a 12v dvd and tv for example?

[AnchorageGuy]

I would not throw the TV and DVD player away. How often will you really use them while actually sailing? Figuring power savings is a kind of complicated issue and a lot depends on the specific equipment and inverter, etc. A good reference book is Nigel Caldor's book for boat owners and a look at the many, many discussion here on the board for referance material.