What does everyone use their 110v outlet for?

[RobN]

We obey the laws of thermodynamics on this forum!

Yes, that's why you need power for your perpetual motion machine.

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[DreamWeaver21]

My truck will be 3 years old in a few months, and I have never used the 110 outlet so far. The problem is anything I wanted to plug in (power tools) would pop the breaker.

Same. Been almost 3 years and never plugged anything into it. I suppose I should see if it even works?

 

[boatman]

A portable refrigerator cooler. Keeps the groceries cold till I get home.

 

[patenter]

You're backfeeding power to your house with a 400w inverter?

I figured it would be recognized as a joke.

 

[Redline]

I use mine to run a pancake compressor

Why would you want to compress a pancake? Aren't they already flat?

 

[LibDan]

I figured it would be recognized as a joke.

It seems silly, but 400W might be enough to power the blower on a gas furnace in an emergency. You wouldn't even need to backfeed into the house's main power or build a double male extension cord. All you'd need to do is install a plug on the power line of your gas furnace so that it plugs into main power (and I don't see why you couldn't do that). A gas furnace doesn't draw that much, not like, say, an electric furnace, and I mean furnace, not the air conditioning system. Ice storm or freak winter hurricane knocks out power for a couple of weeks, you unplug the furnace from main power, open the circuit breaker to the furnace just for safety, and plug the furnace into the female end of a normal HD extension cord. No danger to the line crews of the backfed power going up the line and zapping them either since the furnace would be off that circuit until you manually plugged it back into main power. You'd still be cooking on the patio grill outside and playing cards by flashlight in the evening, but, as long as the gasoline held out, the house would be heated and the pipes unfrozen.

I only mention this because I have seen something like it done with a portable gas-powered generator (of which I don't know the wattage) and it worked. Granted this would only be for an emergency mostly to protect the pipes, and no one would buy truck planning to do this. I'm just saying it might work if it was all you had. NOTE: I never intend to find out.

EDIT: Talked to my neighbor who does HVAC work and he said that you could not power a blower with only 400 watts.

 

[Myleslie]

I use it for a back up battery charger for an auxiliary battery while I am driving. It's for my second inverter that powers my air compressor and other equipment.

I would like to know more about the process that you describe in your article. Where did you put your backup battery and other equipment in the truck?

 

[Grand Nat.]

I would like to know more about the process that you describe in your article. Where did you put your backup battery and other equipment in the truck?

I have a battery in the corner of the bed that is strapped down in place. I have a 5 Amp maintenance charger attached to the side of the bed and is plugged in to the Ford inverter outlet and the leads from the charger is connected to my Aux battery. I have a second more powerful inverter connected to the Aux battery. It's now capable of running my small air compressor that works fast and it works well for other tools that draws more amps. While I am driving the aux battery is always being charged. I use the compressor to air my tires up when I am leaving the beach.

 

[NJBob]

What exactly happens if you draw to much power? Dors it blow a fuse to trip a circuit breaker? Does it reset by itself?

 

[cdubbed]

I figured it would be recognized as a joke.

You got me there.

 

[Grand Nat.]

What exactly happens if you draw to much power? Dors it blow a fuse to trip a circuit breaker? Does it reset by itself?

Who are you directing this question to?

 

[Grand Nat.]

What exactly happens if you draw to much power? Dors it blow a fuse to trip a circuit breaker? Does it reset by itself?

The Ford inverter has a circuit breaker that will reset itself.

 

[Phlotch]

This thread caused me to check if my outlet even works. It doesn't! I'll call service in the morning - hopefully I can get an appointment before February.

 

[Vettereddie]

Worked well during a recent camping trip to have hot coffee in the morning, using what seems to be the only < 400W drip pot available, not super great still a solid option for a hot brew in fall / winter camping.

Salton 1 Cup Mini Compact Drip Coffee Maker, 10 Oz, Black

Also comes in handy to keep the droid charged if I'm doing multiple events in a day.

 

[wax87]

I'm curious as to what others use their outlets for.

Thus far, I've used mine for charging a cordless drill and other electronics.

mini fridge for long trips

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