The first thing you have to do is get an inverter. Your Jeep is 12V direct current. 110v is alternating current. There are many inexpensive inverters available that will do the job, all the way up to 3000 watt. Then it is a matter of running wiring to a plug in a standard wall box.

 

How big an inverter do you need ??

There is circuit diagrams on the net,
Large electronic stores will have the components ... or maybe a kit.

Personally, given the price of complete units - I wouldnt bother making it .... but it may be a good project if you are electronically inclined.

For some reason there is even a ready to use 12v/110v 600w inverter available down here .... for only a $100 .... which is probably twice the price it could be bought for in the U.S. --> http://australia-best-buys.com/powe....com/power-inverters/modified-sine-wave/usa-power-inverter-600w-(1200-watt-peak)

 

you think 100W should be enough?

biggest thing i will be charging is a laptop and maybe a small halogen light (i go filming a lot and we use artificial lighting when necessary)

I am sort-of inclined, like I can get some simple circuits done and i understand it a bit but i just started studying electrical engineering so im just a noob at this...

And i do need to make my own, it's a project i chose to do for my EE class.

 

Being a lazy sod when it comes to this stuff .... I just took the charger units with me when I got an inverter ... and told the sales fella I wanted something to do the job ....

100w is ample for some tasks .... other need better outputs ...

 

The transformer is the easy part, you can convert 12v DC into 110v DC easily.....however the driver circuit to produce 60htz might get to be tricky.

(lights and DC chargers like laptop chargers will work on DC or AC)

 

transformers only work with AC currents, if you run dc through them they will do nothing.

also, batteries are charged off off DC current, the reason they work with AC is the big box that is on the charging cable. The box contains what is called a rectifier it converts AC to DC current.

My vote is there is a kit ready made for 60 bucks that will be plenty, (120 V, and some amperage) for $60 bucks at the local auto parts store.

 

if all your going to do is a charge a laptop and light go to wal mart or harbor freight and get one of the $29 small ones that p[lug into the cig lighter......
I have the $14 HF one , its 2 yrs old and runs about 4 hours a day on my laptop and it will run it and my dewalt charger at the same time.
A much larger unit will be overkill and draw a ton more power. The small inverter you can run all day and it wont kill your battery.

 

A much larger unit will be overkill and draw a ton more power. The small inverter you can run all day and it wont kill your battery.

This is incorrect, the inverter will draw from its power, whatever wattage is needed for the load connected.

20watts on a 1,000watt charger will pull 20watts from the power feed, 1,000watts on it would be pulling 1,000watts.

The only additional power that is pulled is for the fans, and that is so minimal that it can be disregarded.

 

Check your laptop charger out before you plan on running it off a 100w inverter.

My laptop charger has an input of around 200 watts if memory serves. Ive had my laptop blow a 15amp fuse on a vehicle more than once from trying to use it without the engine running...and thats 12vx15A which is roughly 180watts.

 

laptop is rated at 60W. the lights suck up 240W.

i wont be using both at the same time so do you think that a 250W inverter will be safe for the lights?

 

it should work, worse case is if it draws to much amperage you will blow a fuse. why not just spend the couple more bucks, if i remember right is $10 to get one that is rated for more amperage?

 

any suggestions for how i should go about doing this? I want to make my own, not buy one.

And i do need to make my own, it's a project i chose to do for my EE class.

:rofl:

You're the electrical engineering student, you tell us!

The lamp should have a power factor, talk to your professor about what you're doing, what you want to do, and learn the math behind it.
A watt is a volt amp.
W = VA (times power factor)

If you're going to take the time to build one, 250w is pretty darn small. Go big. That way you can run a cut off wheel, a coffee pot, or something cool.

 

Only build one for what you need, the bigger the inversion the more windings you need in the transformer, and the bigger/heavier the converter will be (not to mention HEAT). According to what you said you need one that will supply 250W.

First you absolutely need to make sure you have wiring to support the amperage (250w/12v = 21 Amps -> say 25amps), use at least 10AWG power wire, and an inline fuse rated for 25A.

Location will be key here - you need a spot that has good airflow, and you may want to install some sort of additional cooling, such as a 12vdc computer fan.

Here is a base schematic and a link to discussion
12V to 120V Inverter

Another (better) design
ALTERNATIVE POWER by SM0VPO

Another
Basic Inverter « Circuit Diagram

Here is some textbook info on the topic
http://homepages.eee.strath.ac.uk/~bwwilliams/Book/Chapter 14.pdf