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Powering an LCD TV?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by joerockt, Aug 28, 2013.

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  1. joerockt

    joerockt Junior Member

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    So, college football (I've got SDSU season tixs) is starting up soon and this year I'd like to be able to tailgate with a TV running showing other games. I'm going to use a 32" LCD with an unpowered HD antenna, so the only power I need would be for the TV.

    So, my question is, would this be possible by simply using a converter, plug in the TV and let the hybrid battery, with the occasionally ICE kicking in, do all the work? I would need to run this TV for maybe 3-4 hours.

    Is there any reason this wouldn't be a good idea other than wasting some gas?
     
    #1 joerockt, Aug 28, 2013
  2. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Knowing the wattage of the TV would be useful, but an inverter rated at 150 watts + should run things. This would draw about 15 amps depending on it's efficiency and the loading of the TV. Work on 1 amp for every 8 or9 watts of TV load to be on the safe side. Obviously keep the car in ready mode. 15 amps is on the limit of what you can plug in to the cigar lighter socket.

    John (Britprius)
     
    #2 Britprius, Aug 28, 2013
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  3. joerockt

    joerockt Junior Member

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    Found that the wattage for this TV is 75.5, so it should draw around 8.5 amps, so it looks like I would be ok.

    Any way to figure out how much gas it would use running the TV for 4 hours, assuming a full charge when I arrive? I doubt I would run through half a tank during that time, but would be good to know how much I might be using.
     
    #3 joerockt, Aug 28, 2013
  4. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    The amount of fuel used would be minimal I doubt it would be half a gallon, just remember the car must be in park and ready. Neutral does not allow the engine to start.

    John (Britprius)
     
    #4 Britprius, Aug 28, 2013
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what a great idea! can you plug the inverter into the lighter, or would you have to clamp to 12v?
     
    #5 bisco, Aug 28, 2013
  6. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Sounds like an LCD with florescent backlight. If you get a LED lighted display it'll use even less. But the brighter you make the image the more power it'll use. Watching outdoors will need to be pretty bright. It could use more or less than the 75W rating depending on settings.
     
    #6 rdgrimes, Aug 28, 2013
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  7. joerockt

    joerockt Junior Member

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    Good point. I'm going to test it all when I get home later while there is still light out.
     
    #7 joerockt, Aug 28, 2013
  8. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    A little off topic, but this is really the way to go to a college football tailgate. I went with a friend to one of my college games last year. He had a similar TV setup with a Tahoe. The Tahoe had 120VAC outlets. We set up the TV and watched College Game Day while eating lunch, drinking beer and playing corn hole while waiting for game time.

    After the game we watched the post-game shows while we waited for the traffic to die down.
     
    #8 jdcollins5, Aug 28, 2013
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  9. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    A "Kill a watt" meter is inexpensive and can tell you exactly how much a device is drawing.
     
    #9 rdgrimes, Aug 28, 2013
  10. joerockt

    joerockt Junior Member

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    Yea me and my friend figured we needed to step up our game this year. We have about 10+ people coming to our tailgate this weekend, and we have a lot of things already for a proper tailgate. We figured this would be the 1 up.
     
    #10 joerockt, Aug 28, 2013
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  11. CdotK

    CdotK Member

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    that will be a first in my book.. tail-gating out of a prius trunk... more like Prunking :p
     
    #11 CdotK, Aug 28, 2013
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  12. joerockt

    joerockt Junior Member

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    If I pull it off, I'll be sure to snap a pic :D
     
    #12 joerockt, Aug 28, 2013
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  13. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Sounds like a job for a v!
     
    #13 rdgrimes, Aug 28, 2013
  14. SuperGLS

    SuperGLS Member

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    I'm intrigued by this, definitely want to see some pics if you do this. Cool.
     
    #14 SuperGLS, Aug 28, 2013
  15. joerockt

    joerockt Junior Member

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    Mission accomplished:

    [​IMG]

    Picture looks great just using a digital HD antenna. I plugged in the inverter and plugged the tv into it. Fired the TV up and let it scan for channels. A few minutes after it got down to 2 bars on the battery charge, the ICE kicked in and ran for about 2 mins. When it turned off, I timed it and it ran the TV for nearly 28 minutes before the ICE kicked in again. Gotta say that is very impressive. For the time I need it, the ICE should kick in about 8 times or so. Really better than I had hoped!
     
    #15 joerockt, Aug 28, 2013
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  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    cool! how many decent channels can you get? we get about 5 or 6 around here.
     
    #16 bisco, Aug 28, 2013
  17. SuperGLS

    SuperGLS Member

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    Excellent.

    Do you have a link to the inverter you used (or one like it?)
     
    #17 SuperGLS, Aug 28, 2013
  18. joerockt

    joerockt Junior Member

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    I got about a dozen channels or so. All the majors and a few others except for ABC.
     
    #18 joerockt, Aug 28, 2013
  19. joerockt

    joerockt Junior Member

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    Just a plain old Rosewill 150w inverter I got from Newegg:

    Rosewill Inverter on Newegg
     
    #19 joerockt, Aug 28, 2013
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks joe, well done!(y)
     
    #20 bisco, Aug 29, 2013
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