This unit runs from a 12 volt car battery or preferably a leisure battery to produce mains voltage electricity to power up to six pyrography machines. There is a socket at the front of the unit which takes the mains plug of the pyrography machine. An extension cable could be used.
- 300 watts output enough for 1 up to to 6 pyrography machines
- Clips provided for connecting to 12 volt leisure battery
- Adaptor provided to plug into car cigarette lighter socket
- Overload and short circuit protected
- Quiet running
- Low voltage warning alarm and light. Unit shuts down automatically before battery is fully drained
- 90 percent efficiency. Modified sine wave output OK for most laptops etc.
- On/off switch. No load draw only 300mA
- 3 year guarantee
Technical information
Maximum output 300 Watt at 230Volt.
Our measurements show that the unit takes 2 Amps from the battery with one pyrography machine working at normal heat (a good glow) and using the heavy PP11 25 SWG point. It will draw slightly less if you use a finer point and slightly more with a very thick wire point. If you have a 40 amp-hour battery in good condition and fully charged you should get 40/2 equals 20 hours of continuous use. Of course it would be half that with two machines going. With no load (pyrography machines switched off) this unit takes only one third of an Amp giving 120 hours. If your battery has been used in a car for two years or so, expect it to have a diminished capacity - some testing at home might be a good idea with some jumper leads and another vehicle available should you hear the "low battery" alarm on the unit sound! If you are away from home you could start the car every 3 hours or so to give the battery a charge just to make sure you can get home at the end of the day.
Of course it would be best to have a separate battery. You can buy budget 40 Ah car batteries for under £30. However, car batteries do not particularly like deep discharge so it would be best to use say half the capacity before recharge. Ideally you would use a leisure battery designed for deep discharge such as those sold for caravans/boats. They are more expensive but much more suitable. You would need a mains charger as well to charge your battery.
Correct polarity when connecting the clips is important.
Be very careful that the battery does not tip over or crash into anything while in transit.
This unit produces a modified sine wave output which is absolutely fine with a pyrography machine but it may upset some mobile phone chargers. The makers claim the unit is good for laptops and other electronic equipment but if you want to charge your mobile phone you would be wise to have some additional load (such as a pyrography machine!) plugged in at the same time.
Can ordinary torch batteries be used with the inverter?
This is not recommended but you could hook up a couple of 6 volt lantern batteries in series to get the 12 volts to power the inverter. If you are lucky you will get an hour or so of use out of them which might be enough if you are only switching on the pyrography machine for a minute or so now and then to sign names etc. The alkaline batteries will be by far the best.
