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12v switched cigarette sockets

Frankieboy

By Frankieboy
in Boat Equipment

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OldGoldy Rising Star

OldGoldy

Posted
Posted

Am after some 12v cigarette sockets but would like some with a switch in so I didnt have to keep unplugging tv to take it off standby. Cant find them anywhere and wondered if they actually exist or not?

Thanks

Frank

Just google this:-

 

("cigar lighter socket" switched) without brackets.

 

The result shows a 3-way bank of sockets with LEDs/switches.

 

Any good?

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OldGoldy Rising Star

OldGoldy

Posted
Posted

Only if you want to buy an extension that turns 1 socket into 3.

 

There is a 5-way version, too!

 

Don't think you have much choice, except to remove all the components intact and rehouse them into something more appropriate, whilst removing and rewiring the curly lead into more 'permanent' wiring.

 

Not a difficult job, IMHO. ;)

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FredDrift Contributor

FredDrift

Posted
Posted

Am after some 12v cigarette sockets but would like some with a switch in so I didnt have to keep unplugging tv to take it off standby. Cant find them anywhere and wondered if they actually exist or not?

Thanks

Frank

 

How about changing the plug rather than the socket? This one is an 8amp for £4.99 but others are available elsewhere.

 

Lighter_Plug_Switch__15392_zoom.jpg

 

Product Description

12 volt cigarette lighter plug with on / off switch 8 amp

 

Product details:

 

•Suitable for all standard cigarette lighter sockets.

•Max. 8 Ampère Fused.

•With on / off switch.

•12 Volt.

 

Linky

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Arnot Proficient

Arnot

Posted
Posted

Why is nothing ever simple. I would have thought it had been a standard thing.

Of course there is a reason...

 

Cigarette lighter plugs are not intended for long term loads, that's what you use a 5A round pin outlet for.

 

How about changing the outlet?

 

Regards

 

Arnot

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Timleech Veteran II

Timleech

Posted
Posted

True, but they do seem to work reliably and the concept is more appropriate for a "domestic" load.

 

Arnot

 

If you really want to use the cigarette lighter style, the DIN version is much better than the 'UK (&US?) standard' type.

 

Tim

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Chris Pink Veteran II

Chris Pink

Posted
Posted

Of course there is a reason...

 

Cigarette lighter plugs are not intended for long term loads, that's what you use a 5A round pin outlet for.

 

How about changing the outlet?

 

Regards

 

Arnot

 

The american ones for the RV market are so much better built. It is the quality of the ones commonly available rather than the design (which ain;t great) that lets them down.

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David Schweizer Veteran II

David Schweizer

Posted
Posted

Why are so many people so keen to use cigarette lighter type plugs on a boat? they stick out from the wall more than two inches and force the cable to fall downrds at 90 dgrees putting an uneccessary strain on it.

 

As the name suggests, they are designed for cigarette lighters and other temporary installations, not for permanentlty installed appliancs. We have one on our boat where I plug in the 12v mobile phone charger, but anything else utilises a three pin plug/socket designed not to fall out, or be knocked out when passing it in a restricted space.

 

The use of three pin plugs has been discussed recently on another thread, and am aware of different opinions as to how they should be wired, but in my view they are far more secure and unobtrusive than cigarette lighter sockets.

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Chris Pink Veteran II

Chris Pink

Posted
Posted

Why are so many people so keen to use cigarette lighter type plugs on a boat? they stick out from the wall more than two inches and force the cable to fall downrds at 90 dgrees putting an uneccessary strain on it.

 

 

 

You're an intelligent man David, you could have worked this out. It's because so many 12V items come with those plugs as standard and you can charge your phone in the car too.

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David Schweizer Veteran II

David Schweizer

Posted
Posted

You're an intelligent man David, you could have worked this out. It's because so many 12V items come with those plugs as standard and you can charge your phone in the car too.

Thanks for the compliment, I am also sufficiently capable of cutting off the useless cylindrical plug and wiring the appliance to a three pin plug.

 

The only reason I retain the Cigarette lighter plug on the mobile phone charger is because, as you suggest, I can also use it in the car, but I have no intention of plugging my boat fridge into the car socket, or the inverter for that matter,(some of which are actually supplied with a cigerastte lighter plug!),henece the three pin sockets on the boat.

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Chris Pink Veteran II

Chris Pink

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the compliment, I am also sufficiently capable of cutting off the useless cylindrical plug and wiring the appliance to a three pin plug.

 

The only reason I retain the Cigarette lighter plug on the mobile phone charger is because, as you suggest, I can also use it in the car, but I have no intention of plugging my boat fridge into the car socket, or the inverter for that matter,(some of which are actually supplied with a cigerastte lighter plug!),henece the three pin sockets on the boat.

 

So given the electrical literacy level of most people you would advice everyone to do this? And warranty issues?

 

and a source of 3pin to cigarette lighter adaptors?

 

I am sorry, David but for the forseeable we are stcuk with these things so, in my opinion, the best thing is to source the best possible and I have seen, and used, such plugs from the American RV market (for my laptop PSU) that are up to a professional standard and will transmit 10A without heating. Unfortunately I have yet to find a panel socket to match.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the compliment, I am also sufficiently capable of cutting off the useless cylindrical plug and wiring the appliance to a three pin plug.

 

The only reason I retain the Cigarette lighter plug on the mobile phone charger is because, as you suggest, I can also use it in the car, but I have no intention of plugging my boat fridge into the car socket, or the inverter for that matter,(some of which are actually supplied with a cigerastte lighter plug!),henece the three pin sockets on the boat.

I agree with Chris that whilst many of us are technically competent to ditch a pre-wired cigarette lighter plug, and replace with something else, many will not be.

 

Several things I am well aware of....

 

1) Many of those cigarette style plugs contain an internal fuse, either a cartridge one between live pin and the spring (crap!), or (better!) a car type blade one in the side. If you just substitute a 5 amp round pin, then you are removing the manufacturers built in fusing, and relying on whatever exists on the boat, in the supply feeding your 5 amp sockets. This may be a fuse that allows much bigger currents than the one you discarded....

 

2) Often there is a dropper resistor built into the plug, for example in leads used to charge things like rechargeable lanterns, torches, and vacuum cleaners. These may (for example), aim to give a charging volts of say 9v, not 13.8v. Omit that resistor, and you are unlikely to be doing the charged batteries in the appliance much good, and, I suppose, at worst it could melt or catch fire ? (Possibly over-dramatic, but not impossible, I'd say).

 

3) Our car type phone charger plugs actually are the charger! (All the electronics, plus a fuse, are in the plug.) Discard the "plug" and you'll put 13.8 volts straight up the phone!

 

So reluctantly I accept that for a number of low power things, I need some "car type" jacks as well as the 5A round pin outlets, (which remain my strong prefence as soon as any significant current needs to pass through).

 

Note that even sticking exclusively with the car plugs does not guarantee you can't get things wrong.

 

I have two near identical leads on the boat, each with a fused car plug at one end, and an identical co-axial plug at the other. One is supposed to charge a torch, the other a lantern. Problem is one of these needs 9 volts in, the other 13.8. The lead for the 9 volt one contains an in-line resistor - the other one doesn't. So even without modifying anything, if I manage to put the wrong lead into the 9v torch, I would still end up shoving full boat battery voltage up it, with whatever consequeces that happened to give.

 

I don't think there is any perfect solution, particularly if you don't really understand volts, amps, resistors, fuses, polarity, etc. Difficult to tell people what to do, unless you know their comfort zone on such matters.

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Chris Pink Veteran II

Chris Pink

Posted
Posted (edited)

These LINK are better than some.

Not sure about the 20 amps, though :unsure:

 

Tim

 

I do seem to remember a latching version (socket plug pair), which is the only real solution as they fail when the plug comes loose, causing resistence, heating and melting. But I can't find them with a quick google

 

 

aha:]

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Motorcycle-Marine-Waterproof-12-Volt-Accessory-socket-/300283914535

Edited by Chris Pink
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