Power inverter question

**menudude** · 08-26-2009, 11:16 PM

Alright guys i appologize if this is in the wrong section

I have a 500 watt inverter running my mini tower in my car and it seems to only last about 15-30 minutes with the car off... so i was curious

if i switch to a 200 watt inverter instead do you think it will greatly increase my battery life? How much do you think?

The PC specs call for 180 Watts

Thanks guy!

**soundman98** · 08-27-2009, 09:38 AM

the computer should only take what ever it needs to run-- it should not be drawing any more than 180 watts- regaurdless of the inverter it is hooked up to.

a dc-dc power supply might help more-- it will definatly be more efficient

**menudude** · 08-27-2009, 10:15 AM

arnt those like 200+ dollars?

**DarquePervert** · 08-27-2009, 03:17 PM

Have you even bothered to look?
As low as seventy bucks, depending on what you need/want.

**menudude** · 08-27-2009, 03:19 PM

i looked everywhere about 4 months ago... any help with directing me would be greatly appreciated

**SjLucky** · 08-27-2009, 04:14 PM

What more help do you need? You know your watt draw, DP tossed you a link to the store that sells dc-dc power supplies... Want me to buy it and install it for you? Geez Ums...

**seport** · 08-27-2009, 05:37 PM

http://www.theinverterstore.com/12_volt_inverter.php

**seport** · 08-27-2009, 05:46 PM

180Watts is like having all your lights including both front and rear fog lamps ON, so you can make a test by switching the headlights and see for how long the battery survives. If it survives for more than it does with your "PC power inverter", than most probably it's the losses with the power inverter, typically a power inverter has an efficiency of 85%.

**menudude** · 08-27-2009, 10:39 PM

thank you all for your help minus the useless post by sjlucky... if i purchase a power supply from those links would it just completely bypass the one on the pc? where would the power wires go that power each individual component on the desktop?

**soundman98** · 08-28-2009, 09:50 AM

don't mind sj- he just gets annoyed re-answering questions that have already been answered a couple times, which would be why you will need to search around, and find the answers, and most of the power supplies in the mp3 car store also include a picture of the wiring harness that comes with it, so look at the links and you should be able to see how everything hooks up...