Anyone use one in their E?
Care to share details?
What type, how many watts, what do you use it for, etc...

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4059


it's 400 watts and i use it for my laptop and sometimes charging my camera or camcorder on the way somewhere... i've also used it to power some lights while camping! ;)

My 150 W inverter fits nicely in the bin under the gear shifter - you do have to have the right kind of Element though :)

From a marine supply store. Plug it into the rear socket(EX only) and run it under the rear seats. Use it to run Laptop for dvd viewing by rear seat passengers on longer trips...nothing permanent and nothing graceful...but it works!

jesse

Does this power inverter drain the car battery; can you use it when the car is turned off. I drained my battery once by leaving my lights on for 25 mintues; dont want to do that again.

[quote:f083f4acb5=" "]Does this power inverter drain the car battery; can you use it when the car is turned off. I drained my battery once by leaving my lights on for 25 mintues; dont want to do that again.[/quote:f083f4acb5]

12v outlets shut off when you shut off the car, so it can't drain the battery unless you intentionally leave the ignition in the ACC position.

Bill

I think it would be cool to brew coffee on the run. The Cuisinart "Two To Go" brews into 1 or 2 included stainless steal travel mugs. It consumes 650 watts which means a 6amps drain. Is there a reasonably priced inverter that will handle that load?

Help?

[quote:d35d2c5f70=" "]I think it would be cool to brew coffee on the run. The Cuisinart "Two To Go" brews into 1 or 2 included stainless steal travel mugs. It consumes 650 watts which means a 6amps drain. Is there a reasonably priced inverter that will handle that load?

Help?[/quote:d35d2c5f70]

get thsi instead:

http://store.yahoo.com/safetycentral/12volautcarp.html

:) this site has 12V curling irons, electric blankets, ovens.... etc... pretty cool!

[quote:c4320684fb=" "]I think it would be cool to brew coffee on the run. The Cuisinart "Two To Go" brews into 1 or 2 included stainless steal travel mugs. It consumes 650 watts which means a 6amps drain. Is there a reasonably priced inverter that will handle that load?

Help?[/quote:c4320684fb]

Actually, while that's true at home...it consumes 50-60 amps from your car's electrical system!

Remember, we're talking about the amps consumed off of your 12-13.6V car system. The inverter itself actually takes a low voltage/high current source and makes it into a high voltage/low current source.

You really need one of those 700W or 750W inverters with direct-on-battery clamps, or hardwired using very heavy duty wiring (whatever can take 60 amps!).

I think you'd need 10 AWG or physically larger (note that "physically larger" means a smaller AWG number) wiring to hardwire it.

And you'd only want to use it while the car is running, probably...

...but not moving, definitely!

With that said, I got a 700W continuous inverter for < $100 a while back. It's in the car, though, can't remember the brand.

-brendan

I just discovered that brewing coffee on the run just aint that cool. It cost too much and not worth hardwiring an expensive inverter. It seems the sweet spot for inverters is 400 watts and even they should be hard wired.
As a general rule: nothing over 150 watts should be run from the Elements 12 volt outlets. Aint seen no flaming Elements yet so be save.

Mc Donalds coffee is looking better and better.

[quote:3559090e31=" "]I just discovered that brewing coffee on the run just aint that cool. It cost too much and not worth hardwiring an expensive inverter. It seems the sweet spot for inverters is 400 watts and even they should be hard wired.
As a general rule: nothing over 150 watts should be run from the Elements 12 volt outlets. Aint seen no flaming Elements yet so be save.

Mc Donalds coffee is looking better and better.[/quote:3559090e31]

Amusingly, I just noticed yesterday that the cover for the dash-socket indicates 120W max. I think.

I've mentioned this before, but I'll mention it again: I do a 5 day car camping trip every summer to the falcon ridge folk festival up in hillsdale, ny. Last summer, I brought the 700W inverter, a big honking blender, a bunch of frozen drink mixes and ton of bottles of the good stuff.

Now, *that* was worth laying out the $$$ for the inverter!

-brendan

[quote:6f785be90f=" "]I think it would be cool to brew coffee on the run. The Cuisinart "Two To Go" brews into 1 or 2 included stainless steal travel mugs. It consumes 650 watts which means a 6amps drain. Is there a reasonably priced inverter that will handle that load?

Help?[/quote:6f785be90f]

I saw the exact coffee maker and I was ready to purchase a 700W inverter and the coffee maker...we do a LOT of camping and it looks much easier than the old boil-the-water pot.
I found the inverter too, but I am hesitant to do the wiring, and I am not sure just where to put the inverter.
It has been put on hold until I can convince myself that I *really* need it!