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02-01-2016, 08:59 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: NorthEastern Oregon
Posts: 1,107
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Adding USB and cig lighter port
I'm looking at installing a couple of these in the bedroom, one on each side of the bed:
Dual USB Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Splitter 12V Charger Power Adapter Outlet | eBay
I know absolutely nothing about anything electrical, but it looks like I should be able to tap into the wiring for the 12v lights in the cargo area and then it is only a couple feet to where the plugs will be mounted. For those of you who know about electrical stuff:
1. What size wire do I need for this 2 or 3 foot distance?
2. I'm pretty sure the USB ports are fine but am wondering if the cig lighter port may draw too much current? We will mostly be using the USB ports and would rarely, if ever, use the cig port. And certainly not both cig ports at the same time. Just wondering if I'm getting myself into any trouble here. I do plan to install inline fuses.
Thanks.
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2013 Wind River 280RLS, 200W Solar
2013 Ram 2500 Laramie Cummins 4x4
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02-01-2016, 09:08 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Country Coach Owners Club Solo Rvers Club iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 37,725
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I'm going to be doing the same thing, so watching this thread. Need to add a couple off 120V plugs too.
__________________
2009 45' Magna 630 w/Cummins ISX 650 HP/1950 Lbs Ft, HWH Active Air
Charter Good Sam Lifetime Member, FMCA,
RV'ing since 1957, NRA Benefactor Life, towing '21 Jeep JLU Rubicon Ecodiesel
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02-01-2016, 09:19 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 2,457
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If you may use the "Lighter" outlet, wire for 15 amps. 14 ga. wire will be OK for the short run you mention. The circuit that you are attaching to must also have at least 14 ga. wiring and be on a 20 amp fused circuit.
For only the USB, 16 ga. wire and a 10 amp. fused circuit should be fine.
FWIW, I would not trust a no-name USB outlet to power anything of any value. Cheap electronics can fail and put out the full 12 volts to your device.
__________________
2008 Itasca 37H
2011 & 2012 Len & Pat's "One lap of America"
27K miles & 41 states in 13 months
Yellowstone Lake 6-1-2012
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02-01-2016, 09:33 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: May 2012
Location: DFW, Tex-US
Posts: 6,196
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I put two of these in ...
one next to the drivers area for cell phone charging and gps plug in, etc..
and one in the bedroom...
just don't expect them to take full force of pushing a tight 12v plug in... need to hold the back as you plug in (or just get n extender that's always plugged in)
__________________
'11 Monaco Diplomat 43DFT RR10R pushed by a '14 Jeep Wrangler JKU. History.. 5'ers: 13 Redwood 38gk(junk!), 11 MVP Destiny, Open Range TT, Winn LeSharo, C's, popups, vans, tents...
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02-01-2016, 09:45 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 421
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The cig lighter port will only draw the amount of current of the device plugged into it. If you use something that uses two amps, that's the current that will be supplied. If you limit yourself to USB devices, 5 colts and 2.1 amps, you need 24 AWG wire at a minimum, heavier is always better:
Wire Guage / Diameter / Amps
24 0.020 2.1
22 0.025 5.0
20 0.032 7.5
18 0.040 10
16 0.051 13
14 0.064 17
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02-02-2016, 04:37 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,911
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__________________
Mark
2008 Holiday Rambler Admiral 30PDD (Ford F-53 chassis)
2009 Honda Fit Sport
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02-02-2016, 08:54 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Cedar Falls, IA
Posts: 2,226
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DH put one in our Timber Ridge a few months back. There recommendations in the package, but he went on the heavier gauge side - either 14 or 16 (can't remember for sure but it is what he had around). Ours is on the wall right next to the converter (covered when the slide is in), and it was an easy job. There were instructions in the package.
Since the installation is relatively low and covered up some by the cat tower when we are set up, we just attach an extension adapter as we set up. When we close the slide, the extension is removed and the caps shut.
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02-02-2016, 09:03 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Jacksonville, Fl
Posts: 3,542
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Mr D, you might be interested in this if you want both 120v and USB ports.
Or you can find regular household sized outlets at Home Depot or Lowes that also include USB ports.
Robot Check
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02-02-2016, 11:22 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: NorthEastern Oregon
Posts: 1,107
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Thanks for the excellent feedback. I'm not sure what size breaker or fuse the cargo area lights are on, so that will be my first thing to check. Probably a 10a or 15a though. And if I am understanding the comments correctly I should have a 20a breaker/fuse for the cig lighter plug? I'm probably not going to go to the effort of running new wiring all the way back to the breaker/fuse panel for that, so if that's the case, I'll just connect the USB outlets and not the cig lighter outlet.
__________________
2013 Wind River 280RLS, 200W Solar
2013 Ram 2500 Laramie Cummins 4x4
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02-02-2016, 12:25 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Country Coach Owners Club Solo Rvers Club iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 37,725
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Podivin
Mr D, you might be interested in this if you want both 120v and USB ports.
Or you can find regular household sized outlets at Home Depot or Lowes that also include USB ports.
Robot Check
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Thanks!! That would work well for the desktop we have.
Yep, need to check the household setups too as I have a phone plug I want to convert too. Just no need for a landline phone setup in the MH anymore.
__________________
2009 45' Magna 630 w/Cummins ISX 650 HP/1950 Lbs Ft, HWH Active Air
Charter Good Sam Lifetime Member, FMCA,
RV'ing since 1957, NRA Benefactor Life, towing '21 Jeep JLU Rubicon Ecodiesel
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02-02-2016, 01:17 PM
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#11
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Registered User
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Kamloops BC Canada
Posts: 1,399
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fisher99
I'm looking at installing a couple of these in the bedroom, one on each side of the bed:
Dual USB Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Splitter 12V Charger Power Adapter Outlet | eBay
I know absolutely nothing about anything electrical, but it looks like I should be able to tap into the wiring for the 12v lights in the cargo area and then it is only a couple feet to where the plugs will be mounted. For those of you who know about electrical stuff:n
1. What size wire do I need for this 2 or 3 foot distance?
2. I'm pretty sure the USB ports are fine but am wondering if the cig lighter port may draw too much current? We will mostly be using the USB ports and would rarely, if ever, use the cig port. And certainly not both cig ports at the same time. Just wondering if I'm getting myself into any trouble here. I do plan to install inline fuses.
Thanks.
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http://www.irv2.com/forums/f282/12v-...hs-247825.html
Check this link out on the forum...I installed 2 ...12 power outlets..as I said in my post if I can do it anyone can.
Coops
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02-02-2016, 06:49 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Rathdrum, ID
Posts: 595
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__________________
2014 Creek Side 23RKS
2019 Ford F250, 4x4, CC, SB, 6.2
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02-03-2016, 07:01 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 761
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Unlike AC there is no rule of thumb for DC electricity. This is due to the fact that the combined length (Circuit Length) of wire both positive and negative has to be considered.
If you are using 2' of neg and 2' of positive wire to connect a device thee Circuit Length is 4'.
We use the chart below and this app
https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437
__________________
Outdoor RV 270DBHS
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02-04-2016, 05:50 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 1,940
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtbuilds
Unlike AC there is no rule of thumb for DC electricity. This is due to the fact that the combined length (Circuit Length) of wire both positive and negative has to be considered.
If you are using 2' of neg and 2' of positive wire to connect a device thee Circuit Length is 4'.
We use the chart below and this app
https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437
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X2
Blue Sea also has a chart for fuse sizes.
Very useful site.
__________________
2014 Timber Ridge 240RKS, 70K miles
690W Rooftop + 340W Portable Solar, 215Ah GC2s@24V
2016 Ram 2500 CTD 4x4 RegCab SLT, 10-11 mpgUS tow
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