Have you ever wondered what you can run on a 12-volt battery? Well, look no more. We´ve got you covered.
There are many types of 12-volt batteries in the market, for example, 23A batteries, NiCd battery packs, lead-acid batteries, and even deep discharge LiFe batteries.
On their format depends what you can run on them. 23A batteries are mostly used for various radio-operated gadgets, while NiCd batteries are usually used for compact power tools and similar devices.
The most interesting form-factor is the car and truck lead-acid batteries and their derivatives.
They are used to power everything in your vehicle, and specialized batteries are installed in RV and campers and allow for a wide range of devices to be powered.
So, what can you run on a 12-volt battery? We have found the best useful 12-volt tools that can run on a 12-volt battery which include:
– 12 Volt Air Conditioners
– 12 Volt Air Purifiers
– 12 Volt Beverage Warmer
– 12 volt Grill
– 12 Volt Clocks & Battery Operated Clocks
– 12 Volt Coffe Makers
– 12 Volt Battery Chargers
– 12 Volt Compass & Ice Alert Devices
– 12 Volt Hair Dryers
– 12 Volt Heaters
– 12 Volts Seating Comfort
– 12 Volt Shavers
– 12 Volt Cooler & 12 Volt Fridges
– 12 Volt Cookers & 12 Volt Stoves
– 12 Volt Electric Blankets
– 12 Volt Fans
– 12 Volt Lighting
– 12 Volt Power Adapters
– 12 Volt Vacuums
everything from 12-volt appliances off-grid to 12-volt toaster oven for RV, 12-volt cooking appliances, 12-volt kitchen appliances, 12-volt toaster for RV, 12-volt dc home appliances to 12-volt camping gear.
Table of Contents
12 Volt Tools
What sort of tools or appliances can you power with a 12-volt battery?
12 volt RV Appliances
Below you can find the best 12 volt appliances for RV:
RoadPro 12-Volt Portable Stove
RoadPro 5027S 12V Smart Car Pot
Koolatron P27 Grey Voyager Cooler
12 volt Grill
Click the link to find the best 12-volt grill on Amazon.
12 volt Toaster for RV
Click the link to find the best 12V toaster for RV on Amazon
12-volt Toaster Ovens for RV and Camper
Click the link to find the best 12-volt Toaster Ovens for RV and Camper on Amazon
12-Volt Cookware
Click the link to find the best 12-Volt Cookware on Amazon.
12-volt Cooking Appliances
Below you can find the best 12 volt appliances for cooking:
Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer
Portable Oven 12V Portable Food Warmer
Nostalgia BST3RR 3-in-1 Family Size Multi-Function
Electric Lunch Box for Car, Home, Office
Nonstick 12-Inch Electric Crepe Maker
12v Kitchen Appliances
Below you can find the best 12 volt appliances for kitchen:
JOYTUTUS Portable Refrigerator Fridge, 23 Quart(22L)
RoadPro RPSC785 12-Volt Coffee Maker with Glass Carafe
Nespresso VertuoPlus Deluxe Coffee and Espresso Machine
EPAUTO 12V 12′ Foot Heavy Duty Extension Cord
Electric Lunch Box, 1L Travel Rice Cooker Small 12V For Car
12 volt Camping Gear
Below you can find the best 12 volt gear for camping:
Stalwart 75-hblanket Electric Car Blanket
Firares 12 Volt RV Refrigerator Freezer 42 Quart(40L)
Car Food Warmer Portable 12V Personal Oven
Renogy 72000mAh 266Wh 12v Power Bank
Portable Freezer Cordless Camper Refrigerator
How to Choose and use a leisure battery when camping
How to use a leisure battery when camping – How to choose a leisure battery: Camping & Caravanning >> Check out the video below:
12 volt Appliances For Boats
Below you can find the best 12 volt appliances for boats:
SUNJOYCO 4 in 1 Dual USB Socket Charger 2.1A & 2.1A + LED Voltmeter
Topsolar 30W 12V Solar Panel kit Battery Charger Maintainer
YITAMOTOR Portable Refrigerator 32 Quart (30 Liter) Mini Fridge
10pcs Snap-in Round Rocker Switch Toggle Power with Wire
Power Inverter 2000w DC 12V to AC 120V Modified Sine Wave Inverter
12 volt Appliances Off Grid
Off Grid Cabin 12 Volt Appliances >> Check out the video below:
12 Volt Hot Plate For Car
12 volt DC Home Appliances
Wholesale Solar DC Home Appliances Solar System Wholesale Market
Small 12-volts Devices And Appliances
Various small devices and appliances can be run in essence directly on a 12 volts battery. Though in a setting of a vehicle or camper, all you need to have some type of plug or an adapter that can be plugged into the 12V car lighter socket and you are good to go.
Those devices often are of relatively small dimensions, such as various GPS devices, CB radios, phone/tablet chargers, tire compressors, and so on.
But besides them, you can find even some small TV/DVD devices that can be powered this way.
With screens generally in the 9 to 12 inches range, you shouldn’t expect much from them besides somewhat comfortable watching for one person.
There are many more devices that can be run directly on 12 volts with a lighter adapter, such as portable fridges and many more.
Read also: Can a TV Run on a 12V Battery? [This Is How]
Big 120-volts Devices and Appliances
Besides small devices and appliances that run directly on 12V, various things can be run on power inverters.
These are devices that take the direct current of 12 volts and convert it into 120 volts needed for operating some appliances.
This allows for many household appliances to be used in RVs and campers, and with a bit of DIY skills in other settings where 12-volt batteries are present.
Generally speaking, only household water heaters cannot be used due to their size making them impractical for installation in an RV.
The most important characteristic of power inverters is their power output rating. It is usually expressed in watts and determines how many appliances you can place on one power inverter. It is the maximum of watts some inverter can produce.
Generally speaking, every electrical device uses continually some amount of power in watts, the sum of all devices’ power draw should be lower than the inverter’s power output.
But when sizing the inverter for some collection of electrical devices you should have in mind that some electrical devices have two power ratings, starting load and continuous load.
Starting load is the power needed for some appliance to start working.
For example, fridge compressors need 2-3 times higher power when starting up than during the rest of the cycle.
Similar is with almost any appliance that has an electric motor when it is starting up it needs to overcome some internal resistances and for that, it uses much higher power than during the normal operation.
Thus, when calculating power needs from an inverter, you should calculate with these numbers in mind.
Besides choosing a proper inverter, when powering electrical devices on a 12V battery, its capacity is also very important.
What Is Battery Capacity?
In simplest terms, battery capacity is a measure of how much current can a battery provide, starting at its full charge, before it reaches the so-called shutoff point.
Generally, it is expressed in ampere-hours because of convenience and the way it is tested. For lead-acid 12V batteries, it is measured by determining how high current a battery can provide at a steady level over a period of 20 hours.
For example, a 40Ah battery will continually provide 2 amps over 20 hours.
When sizing 12V batteries for your application, or determining how many hours you can get from your existing battery, you need to convert the sum wattage of your devices into the current requirement in amps.
This is done by simply dividing their wattage by 120V.
Dividing the battery’s capacity with this number will give you the number of hours your appliances can run on that battery when they are all turned on and under the maximum load.
But because you will never have all appliances on and at the maximum load, the actual running time will be significantly longer.
For example, a device that uses a maximum of 120 watts will draw 1 amp of current. On a 40Ahbattery it will be able to run for 40 hours.
In case that it is on average used at 50% of load, it will be able to run actually for 80 hours.
What Is Actual Voltage Of Car And Deep Discharge Batteries?
All battery types have some nominal voltage from which they derive their name, it’s no different with a car and deep discharge batteries.
But for all of them, the actual voltage very often is different than the nominal. The nominal voltage is usually the rounded number of volts the battery produces when it is at full capacity.
The car and deep discharge batteries are made of 6 cells that individually have 2.1 volts at full capacity. Which makes the batteries actually have 12.6 volts at full capacity.
Very often you can read statements of various people on the internet that they have measured their devices pulling 13.7 to 14.4 volts from the car battery.
While their measurements are correct, they have led many people to the wrong conclusions because that wasn’t the battery voltage they’ve measured.
Instead, they’ve measured the alternator voltage because they were measuring voltage while the engine was running, erroneously expecting to see the full capacity battery voltage.
This voltage is higher because of the fact that to recharge a battery you need to supply it with a voltage that is higher than its full charge. It’s simple physics, charge flows from higher potential to lower.
For lead-acid batteries, the minimum voltage needed for charging them is 13 volts, that’s why standard car alternators produce a voltage that is above it.
Lead-acid batteries, such as car batteries 12.6 volts at their full capacity. Just as any other batteries, as they are drained their voltage decreases until they reach the shutoff point which is the minimum safe voltage or 0% capacity.
This type when at 0% capacity will produce 10.5 volts.
There are many applications for 12V batteries, from radio, operated gadgets and vehicles to even household appliances when a power converter is used.
The most interesting usage scenario is certainly the lead-acid and deep discharge batteries used in various campers and RVs combined with inverters to power everything from TVs to fridges.
In such scenarios, it is very important to properly size the inverter to power the needs of all appliances, not just during normal operations, but also during their starts.
Some appliances such as fridges have compressors that require up to 5 times more power during the first few seconds of the cooling cycle than during the rest of the cycle.
12v Battery Run Time Calculator
12v battery run time calculator – How To Calculate Battery Backup Time In 2 Steps >> Check out the video below:
References
http://rvroadtrip.us/library/12v_system.php
https://www.donrowe.com/power-inverter-faq-a/258.htm
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