Car power point "This clever gadget generates mains power (230V AC) from a car's 12V DC 'cigarette lighter' socket. It's ideal for charging power tool batteries, digital cameras, mobile phones and powering laptops too.
a.. Aluminium construction b.. USB port c.. Power output: 150 watts d.. Sits easily in cup holder"
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since I'm thinking of getting one of those small Li Ion drivers, but they have a built in single battery. If I could recharge on the move between jobs it would be fine.
Could be, but since you're presumably talking about your van why not just install an ordinary but larger inverter with a few 13 amp sockets so you can recharge a few tools at once?
I got one last year and run a laptop off, it and have used it to charge mobile phone, psp with their respective mains chargers, so certainly works for me
I think you will find it has a 3 year warranty (thats if you can find the receipt after a week!)
Aldi are very good about returns and as they only have small quantities in each store, returning faulty goods usually gets you you money back.
Most of their stuff I would place at the better end of the cheap and nasty market but backed with 3 year warranty on most of it.
Inverters like this do not produce the nice clean sinewaves that come from the mains. They are either square wave witht he corners knocked off enough to meet interference regulations or staircase waveform appoximating to a sine wave. Some of the things you plug in will be tolerant of these non sinusoidal sources. Generally these will not have transformers in them. So if the charger you plan to use is quite light weight and yet relatively powerful eg 1 hour charge or better you are possibly OK. If it is heavy and has a lump of iron in it and maybe buzzes a bit when plugged into a wall socket it has a transformer in it and maybe it will run hot or unhappily on a cheap inverter. That said at £15 and with the ability to return it for cash after the last one has been sold, You can't really go wrong.
I would expect that it will only develop 150W into a resistive load for less than 100% duty cycle. Your application will not need 150W though.
That's what I have done. 800 watts or there abouts.Needs care and thought to cable a large one safely though as opposed to the plug in types. Useful for when you attend a site where the only 240V supply is in the foremans hut and everyone is trying to charge their Makitas during a break when invariably the only spare socket is in use for the tea urn. Has the advantage that the van has got decent illumination inside it as well. No more trying to fill in documents by the interior lamp with the output of a geriatric glowworm. One lamp installed is an infra Red from a chicken incubator. Gives instant heat pointing at me which is useful in the first couple of miles before the van heater gets going on these cold mornings. Especially if you are still damp from a shower. Heating a Lunchtime pastie is also a bonus. G.Harman
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