12V Outlet for Oxygen Concentrator

[sheureka]

I currently have a 3-way 12V outlet plugged into the 12V outlet on my smart. I use it for my phone (which is also a gps system), and an xm radio. The third outlet is occasionally used to charge a BlueAnt hands free unit.

I'm getting a portable oxygen concentrator that runs on 12V (as well as AC and battery). The specs say -

DC Power: 12-18 VDC, 5 Amp
Power Consumption: 110 W at 100 VAC (charging), 120 W at 240 VAC (charging); 70 W (not charging)

I would probably have another outlet put in to run the concentrator, so my question is will I be overloading the system if I'm running the concentrator, charging the phone, and playing the xm radio at the same time? Is there any way to avoid problems? Anything I should know about adding an outlet?

TIA - sheureka

[chieftmc]

I believe if you look at the outlet, it's marked at 5 amps

So, YES, you would be "overloading" the outlet. Just wire one directly to the battery with an inline fuse.

[PerryA]

The simplest test is to plug everything in and see if it blows the fuse. Replace the fuse and then follow chieftmc's advice and direct-wire. I believe there was a posting somewhere that showed a vacant circuit or connector that is available. Try searching for auxilliary power or 12v outlet and see if it turns up.

[jwight]

This should give you the general idea: 12 volt tapping (NOT the tap, tap tap noise)

cubefx also had a thread on installing a 120v inverter.

List of fuses on Evilution or in the owners manual.

[mvaldes]

Here's a link to Cube's DIY:
Additional 12v socket (updated)

When I put in an extra outlet in the glove box, I bought one from Radio Shack that came with an inline fuse. Since the wires it came with were long enough to reach to the battery, all I had to do was drill a hole for the new outlet, push it in and connect the wires to the battery.

[tvengineer]

The power outlet if fused at 15 amps...

5 amps for the ox concentrator is a fairly hefty load ..
and using the three way thing just ads to the clutter...

I just put an accessory outlet off of the battery in my smart..
very easy to do... just make sure you put a fuse in the line...

if you want power that is switched on / off by the key.. there is a socket on the SAM unit that will provide switched power... all you need is a standard blade fuse and a spade connector to tap in to it...

[sheureka]

Here's a little more information -

A buzzer in the DC Power Supply is intended to warn user when low vehicle power is
present. Immediately disconnect the DC Power Supply from the vehicle for low voltage
alarm conditions.

WARNING If the vehicle power source (vehicle accessory connector) drops below
11.5 Volts (brownout) the ECLIPSE will revert to Power Cartridge
operation (if present). The External Power Present Indicator may remain on.

TYPICAL FLOW RATES AVAILABLE AT EACH FUSE SETTING

10 AMP 15 AMP
Setting Continuous Pulse Continuous Pulse
0.5 Yes – Yes –
1.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes
1.5 Yes Yes Yes Yes
2.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes
2.5 NO Yes Yes Yes
3.0 NO Yes Yes Yes
3.5 – Yes – Yes
4.0 – Yes – Yes

etc.

I would be using the machine on pulse at 2.5 when I'm driving, so it looks like a 10 amp fuse would work, but a 15 amp fuse would be better. I think I'll get the parts at radio shack and then have my friend the electrician figure this out. - sheureka

Oh bother! All my careful formatting of that little chart and it ends up a mess. Oh well.

[SuperGeek]

The power from the alternator can handle the extra 15 amps as long as you don't have a lot of extra stuff already like GPS navigation, computer and audio equipment. I think the alternator supplies 90 amps and the car uses about 50 - some tech document around here said the real numbers. Get the total draw higher than 90 and you're probably drawing from the battery and competing among devices. No idea how the alternator behaves at idle vs at 4k RPMs, i.e. if it drops output at lower RPMs. If your headlights dim, that's not a good sign.

So, if you hardwire or route a fuse to the extra switched fuse slots on the SAM, you're probably ok.

[fakeplant]

That's really cool! I did not know you could do that with a smart car. Now, my grandpa can travel with me. The ability to charge your Oxygen Concentrator is clutch!

[sheureka]

I just noticed this thread popped up - so I thought I'd let you all know what I ended up doing. I had a new outlet put into the glove compartment that's run directly from the battery. That's where the concentrator plugs in. At the same time they were doing that I had them hardwire my xm radio so I no longer have that plug to worry about.

I bought an adapter for my front cupholder that works great for my other toys - phone in a ProClip holder just above the outlets, and for charging the bt speakerphone system. So I have very few wires in the front now. I'm happy.

Here's the adapter I got from Amazon for $12.31 - USB ports and 12V outlets and the top is almost flush with the top of the cupholder.



Enjoy! - sheureka