So I know that the PCB lights require a Pure sine wave inverter in order to power them, and that those inverters are a bit more expensive.
However, I'm looking for an inverter I can put in my car that I can charge batteries with, like the Powerex AA chargers, but also the Vagabond Mini batteries as well. Would a simple modified sine wave inverter work?
I'm not looking to go cheap, but if the modified sine wave is more than adequate to charge batteries then thats all I care about now.
Yup, you're missing something. You don't need to go DC>AC>DC. Batteries are DC to begin with. Most chargers take household AC and convert it to DC to charge the batteries. All of my MAHA chargers came with a cigarette lighter adapter. You can get a splitter to plug into your car to charge several things at once.
OK, I get the fact that the car is DC and so are my batteries. Where do I find a battery charger specifically for the Vagabond Mini's that plugs directly into a cigarette adapter?
If I went with the inverter for the sake of simplicity, am I really losing a lot of energy in the process?
There's a thread on the PCB technical forum @ this.
The VML uses 16.8V whereas you car's DC is below this (not a good charging curve they say, i.e. battery damage, shortened life, etc.) ... they recommend going the way of DC/AC/DC ... specifically mentioning $19.95 @ Walmart/Walgreens, etc., i.e. no worries @ sine wave for charging purposes.
I've got a 100W B&D DC/AC that I use for camera batteries, etc. ... looked at getting a bigger one for the VML, seems like 200W is max you can use through your CL (fused). Larger than that and all I found require direct connect to your car's battery.
I originally bought two batteries to swap in/out with my VML ... have only needed AC mostly, but good to know that PCB is fine with DC/AC @ car for charging purposes.
I use a Walmart DC--> inverter plugged into my cigarette socket. I then plug the charger for the lithium Vagabond into that to charge the Vagabond battery. Works like a charm.
