12 v tv or 110 tv with inverter?

[JimW]

Just bought a new drop down and need tv. Trying to find a tv. Doesn't seem like much to choose from when looking at 12v. Does it make sense to go with 110 volt and inverter? House is solar ready so am thinking of solar panels and not a generator. Is using an inverter inefficient?

[aanderud]

Just bought a new drop down and need tv. Trying to find a tv. Doesn't seem like much to choose from when looking at 12v. Does it make sense to go with 110 volt and inverter? House is solar ready so am thinking of solar panels and not a generator. Is using an inverter inefficient?

The power requirements of the TV don't really change whether you go with a 12 or 110 volt. The only difference is the inverter, where you will lose a bit of power to to efficiency of the inversion process. Most inverters today, however, are at least 80% efficient, and typically 90% efficient or more -- so you really don't lose a lot there. Considering the lack of 12 volt models out there, it's an easy trade-off to make IMHO. Go with the 110 and an inverter.

[BLACKJACK]

Did you do a search for '12 volt TV' 's?????! There are lots of them out there!!! Truckers and campers have all kinds of options!

I went with a 12 volt TV in my fishhouse, I didn't want to add an invertor to the onboard charger and two batteries that I already have, it works just fine, and it can also be plugged into 110 if I want to take it into my camper.

[MNfan]

Think ahead 12 volt are expensive and you will end up with a generator someday just get the 110 and don't go small, I know I made all the steps about a year apart now I have 32" and a Directv dish!!!

Andy

[Chad394]

I debated on this last year and ended up with the 110volt TV. I can run for 3 days on 2 deep cycles running lights, batteries, and the tv all day. I don't think the inverter uses much juice. Plus 110volt TVs are half the price of 12volts.

[JimW]

Ok. All good info. I think I will go for the 110v tv as they are thinner plus I think you are right that I will end up with a generator and dish network. So many things I want to do with this new house. My 7 yr old asks me everyday when can we sleep in it...

[harvey lee]

JImW

In regards to a TV, I thought about going with a dish on the fishhouse but checked out antenna's.

I ended up going with an antemma, booster and a signal finder. Most lakes I am on are 75 miles plus from the broadcast towers and I can pick up anywhere from 12-30 channels which include all the locals and some cable networks.

Before you spend the money on a dish, check out the antenna's. These new HD antenna's are really nice, not that spendy and work very well.

I agree with the dish, one can get whatever channels one wants but the antenna did suprise me as far as channels recieved and quality of the picture. The picture in the fishhouse is as good as my dish picture at home.

The reception will also depend on how far you are from the broadcast towers in your area or the lake you are fishing, I have had no issues yet.

I know when my granddaughter's said they would like a tv in the wheelhouse, they asked if I would also get a tv with a DVD player, not much more at all in regards to money. Then when the fish are not biting and they get bored, I just pop in a movie of thiers in the evening.

[Ron Vroom]

When looking at 110 volt AC televisions, if you get one that has a power supply between the 110 source and the TV, look at the power output on the supply and if it is 12v DC, then you can power the TV from a 12v source with an appropriate jack to the TV, or use the 110 power supply. That is the setup I use, and typically use 12v when running my generator which does not output clean AC, but I will be running the generator with a charger hooked to the batteries. Thus I am not using an inverter, but the batteries provide stable voltage to the TV. Any inverter which has a fan to dissipate heat is using power for that fan and the heat created by the inversion process is waisting power which is what causes inverters to be inefficient .

[Chad394]

When looking at 110 volt AC televisions, if you get one that has a power supply between the 110 source and the TV, look at the power output on the supply and if it is 12v DC, then you can power the TV from a 12v source with an appropriate jack to the TV, or use the 110 power supply. That is the setup I use, and typically use 12v when running my generator which does not output clean AC, but I will be running the generator with a charger hooked to the batteries. Thus I am not using an inverter, but the batteries provide stable voltage to the TV. Any inverter which has a fan to dissipate heat is using power for that fan and the heat created by the inversion process is waisting power which is what causes inverters to be inefficient .

So I have a flat screen that I always thought was only 110volt. The power cord can be unplugged from the tv... On the power cord the big part says DC---12volt.... Are you saying I can get a separate cord that would have 12volt connections and power my tv?? if so, where do you find these cords?

[Ron Vroom]

Yes, you apparently have a TV similar to mine. You might find a cord at Radio Shack, I think that is where I got mine. It has a 12 volt cigarette lighter plug on one end and came with interchangeable jack plug ends, one of which should fit your TV. If you can't find one, take the present cord that you have which plugs into the TV, to RS and they can find the correct jack plug which can be soldered onto a cigarette lighter cord. Just make sure you get the polarity right (center is usually plus), or you will blow your TV if not correct. You can confirm correct polarity by looking at yor power supply which will show the plug diagram with the plug pin polarity..

[Ron Vroom]

I did a little research for you. Go to RS and get a 12v cigarette plug cord with an end that has an Enercell® Adaptaplug™ you then get the jack plug that fits on this and into yor TV. This is what I did. You can either take your power supply cord in to get the correct jack plug or your TV. The Enercell® Adaptaplug™ can be rotated to get the correct polarity.

[Chad394]

very interesting... I will have to check this out. I had no idea this could work. I am sure running 12volt only and not having a inverter will save battery life. thanks a lot for the info!

[JimW]

I did buy the 110 v tv. I noticed when I took it out of the box I noticed the input was 12v. I happen to have a cig plug that fit and it works great on 12v or 110 v. Best part was it was on sale for 88 bucks. Bought a bracket so it hangs on wall but lifts off so I can stow when traveling. Hooked up to hd roof antenna and I get 12 channels.

[grasshopper]

I run tv and dish network reciever with an 150 watt invertor. I use 2 car batteries for almost 2 days.

[JSK76]

Are most inverters "clean power"? I have a 8 to 10 year old Husky 400 watt from Home Depot and just hooked up a 19" flat screen and everything seemed fine but I'm much more nervous about hooking it to big screen in the fish house.

[grasshopper]

what sucks the juice is the heater.