Some cars have power flowing to the cigarette lighter even when not running. How fast will it run out the battery?
1876308
It would depend on the condition of the battery. I'm guessing that if the battery is in good condition, with a full charge, it would take a couple days to discharge. I wouldnt take a chance for more than a few hours if I needed that battery. I bought the AC/DC adapter and just run an extension cord to the cooler so as not to drain the vehicle battery (if available). That little fan in the cooler doesn't draw much but it could run your battery down, just like a radio or parking lights left on.
1876309
Mine ran down batteries (4) in my semi when I left it plugged in for 8 hrs. by mistake.
1876310
A typical 100 Ah battery would last up to 20 hours if the cooler draws its maximum 5.0 amps. Battery temperature in cold weather can affect this by shortening that to some extent.
1770508
Yes you could sort of. Not all cigarette lighters are 'live' when you turn off your car. It seems to me it about 50-50 depending on the car brand and model. So if you cigarette lighter IS NOT 'live' when you turn off the car this this would not work.
45622
The car doesn't need to be running but the key needs to be turned to a position that powers up the cigarette lighter. No problem to inflate 4 tires might take a while tho
545240
It will draw a straight 7 amps. on DC. It will drain a deep cycle battery (high capacity) in a day, thus, they state that one must have a vehicle running if you are going to run it on your car battery. Most car batteries do not have a large amperage capacity, and you will drain it down quickly if on DC. Not recommended to do this if you want to be able to start your vehicle. You will need to switch to AC (if available), or propane, after reaching your desigination.
82406
If you have a car adapter (for the lighter plug) I would imagine it would. But the device uses constant power so using it while the car is off would probably drain your battery. But make sure the adapter you use will provide continuous power, if not you might get a lot of drops or disconnections.
1070754
It actually plugs into your auxillary power/ cigarette lighter outlet in your car. It is not rechargeable but runs off the car battery
1601503
It depends on how you connect it to your car. If you connect it directly to the battery then your car does not need to be on. If you plug it into your cars cigarette lighter / auxiliary power port, it will depend on whether your cars power port requires the ignition switch to be in the "accessories" position to proovide power to the power port. The engine itself does not need to be on as the inverter can run directly on battery power. As with any device using power from your car, you will want to prevent it from draining your battery and preventing you from starting your car up when necessary, so I would recommend not using it too long without letting your engine run to recharge the batteries. That being said how long it will run and still , allow you enough power to start your car depends on too many factors, like how high capacity your battery is, how old it is, condition of battery, are other accessories on your car running at the same time etc.... I personally have used it without the car being "on" for 30 minutes.
1322735
No device works that way to my knowledge. The cigarette lighter/auxillary plug in your vehicle isn't wired in such a way that the battery can draw power from it.
1322733
You cigarette lighter socket/Aux. Socket is likely fused with a 10, 15, 20 amp fuse. An attempt to put anything in that slot and draw meaningful power from it would instantly blow that cigarette lighter socket fuse. So no.
2265073
Mine runs off of 120 volts AC power adapter. The output from the adapter is 12 volts DC at 2.1 amps. You may be able to purchase an adapter that plugs into cigarette lights from your car from the manufacturer. Personally I would not attempt to make my own as these units cost too much to experiment with.
1375262
When the car is not running the battery has an output of around 12v. When it is running and charging the battery is around 14v. There is a lead you attach to the positive side of the battery and it senses that extra 2v. But mine stopped working after only two months. I wouldn't trust it.
1466661
Depends on how is your cigarette lighter wired. Most cars need the key to be turned to "accessories" in order for the cigarette lighter to have power. Once you have power you can run the fan, how long depends on your car's battery capacity. If you run the fan too long you will drain your car battery. If you do not want to drain your car battery, then you need to run your engine in order to recharge the battery as the fan drains it. So for short periods of time, no you do not need to run your engine, if you want the fan to run overnight, then most likely without running the engine you will drain your battery.
1023545
You don't want to plug it into the cigarette outlet, it draws too much power for that and you'll blow fuses or fry the wiring. You'll want to hook it up directly to the battery.
1709704
Whenever there is power to the 12 outlet it is pluged into, yes. Some vehicals supply power to those 12v outlets/Cig lighters only when the key is on. And some supply power for 5 -10 min after the vehical is off or until the headlights turn off (courtesy lights). Some older vehicals supplied power continuously.
1933990
Hi Claire,When using it in the car, it runs on 12 volt DC, which is the same as what your car provides. When in transit, only use 12 volt. It comes with a plug that fits into your cigarette lighter. When it runs on propane, there is a small flame, so when it is operating on propane always use proper ventilation. Also, it will run on household current too. Thank you!
1770506
Yes you could sort of. Not all cigarette lighters are 'live' when you turn off your car. It seems to me it about 50-50 depending on the car brand and model.So if you cigarette lighter IS NOT 'live' when you turn off the car this this would not work.
1604981
Flyer, I don't have the charger immediately accessible however, both the power cord and the wire which has the plug in connections are EACH over 7 foot (@2.3m) long. I keep a separate velcro tie loop on each to keep them from tangling up when not in use. I realize the while option of connecting into the cigarette lighter is attractive, the resistance on the thinner wire might not work as well as a direct battery connection.