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12V sockets or USB sockets - how common?


helmsman

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37 minutes ago, Johny London said:

I've got the car socket things (2x12v car socket / 3xusb). And they do have a blue led, which is too bright really. I bought 10 or 12 to fit around the boat wherever I have 12v wires (which is next to the 240v sockets). I wasn't (and still am not) entirely sure if I'm going all 12v or all 240v  so it's a mish mash at the moment regarding what runs off what. But at least that way I have the most options, ie I can turn the inverter off if out on the cut and still use laptop etc. (12 to 19v adaptor).

I do wonder how much current 12x blue leds would use though. Even if they only take say 25ma each (and I think it may be a bit more than that) that would still be 0.3a per hour, and over 24 hours that is 7.2a or 50ah a week - not an inconsiderable amount. I'm not sure if the led's could be "snipped" (or unsoldered if surface mount)  they may form part of the 5v regulators circuitry.

Mine were from Lidl / Aldi and out of the two or three I've used so far I have had failures on both the 12v socket (came unsoldered internally) and the 5v usb sockets. Food for though.

LEDs are pretty efficient these days so I suspect the current is more like 5 to 10mA than 25. And that will be taken from the 5v supply, not the 12v supply. The 5v supply will be a switch mode type power supply that reduces the voltage and increases the current like a transformer, rather than just dropping 12v to 5v via a resistive mechanism. In other words, that 10mA at the LED will equate to 5/12 x 10mA, ie 4mA from the 12v supply. Which is not too bad.

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28 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

But that datasheet says "Not to be used as power supply connectors"?

 

MP

Who reads those? Well you do. Me too. The reason is to prevent people plugging speakers in to a power supply by mistake. Kaboom. There is nothing else using speakon connectors on my boat. They are more than able to handle the current.

 

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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50 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

The reason is to prevent people plugging speakers in to a power supply by mistake. 

Plus the contacts are not shrouded. Plus of course it’s not tested for that purpose. 

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3 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

As opposed to a DIN 12V socket which you can stick entire fingers in to.

If you can't resist the temptation to poke your fingers down a DIN socket, you could always go for the similar but smaller Hella 12v sockets frequently used in motorcycle applications.

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2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

That'll be the little chappies! A full range of adaptors and plug in USB sockets, etc, are available. Water resistant too.

They're what I use. Not perfect, but much better than fag-lighter plugs.

 

MP.

 

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When I had proper cable installed for my fridge (to stop it complaining about low voltage) I had a spare 12v pair left in situ. So I drilled a hole in a bulkhead and installed a 12v cigarette lighter socket. Quite sophisticated one with an in-line fuse, threaded nut on the back and a captive bung to keep the socket weatherproof - I think it was designed for external/?motorcycle use. Then I bought a plug to go in it - this has a USB socket on the rim and a couple of LED displays on the end. These tell me the ambient temperature (so I can tell if my stove-top fan is stirring the fug adequately) and the voltage coming down the line. Pretty crude but it gives an idea of how happy the batteries are and whether they are charging. The socket also means I have the option of plugging in to the USB (to charge a phone, tablet, MP3 etc) or anything else that uses a cigarette lighter plug.

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Our boat, new in 1991, is fitted with a number of 240vac outlets which are only fed from the shoreline, besides each of these is a DC outlet which in our case is 24vdc, using a IEC 13 socket.

 

As mentioned above, there is no good industry standard 12vdc plug for this application. The single most common is likely the cigarette lighter type used in automotive applications but it's poor and not suitable for anything other than low currents or short term use.

 

Retrospectively we have then added something like five of the round DC to 2x USB adaptors on to the 24vdc socket circuits to allow phone charging, which have been great but like the USB sockets built into 240vac sockets have a parasitics load which draws a small but measurable amount of current all the time. We also have a small inverter for powering a laptop or similar, but not a whole-boat off grid 240vac solution.

 

For our use this is fine, as it would be for anyone else moving frequently or able to plug in to mains. If you where living of grid you would want a way to switch each one off when not in use.

 

Daniel

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