Upgrade the 3 prong outlet????

[Ricky]

Hey all,

This may be a silly question but I was wondering if it’s possible to upgrade the voltage on the three prong outlet in the back seat of the Mojave. Give it more power!

I ask this because today my wife had a low pressure tire at a friend’s house and I went over to pump it up with my 3 gal husky air compressor. I pull up with doors and top off, just looking awesome. I was thinking I am going to be the man once I plug this into the outlet in the jeep and then pump up her tire. I go to do just that and the compressor just whines like an engine that can’t turnover. Needless to say I looked like a schmuck and had to ask if I could plug it into the house outlet.

thanks

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[Mr._Bill]

The factory inverter is only rated for 400 watts. It's good for charging things, and low draw appliances and tools, but not much else.

I carry around a portable power box that has a air compressor in it. I also have a portable compressor that connects to the battery terminals.

 

[Blade1668]

Best recommendation is a 12v one that hooks straight to battery or as Mr._Bill said. I definitely don't recommend the one's that plug into a 12 power port. Most factory power ports are not rated for very much draw. I've fried one in my Wrangler years ago. That I replaced, early this week I melted a 12v marine power port with a plug in air compressor. It's now wired with a H.D. SAE plug.

 

[Deleted member 52902]

What your after is "more power" which is an increase of amperage, and the resulting power is voltage multiplied by amps = watts which is the unit of power. So if it's the 120 volt outlet you're talking about., we know that it is rated at 400 watts. 400 watts divided by 120 volts indicates the current flow (amps) is 3.34 amps. This does seem small but this is because the wiring to support the low amperage can easily and economically be provided even to the far end of a vehicle.

When more watts of power is desired, this makes the wires increase in diameter which is more costly. And a greater challenge to find a route to get the larger wires through. And larger connectors and now a higher safety factor when the wires might be cut in an accident, etc. etc. Not impossible. Just zooms some of the factors of which might not ever be of practical use by the majority of vehicle owners.

Same goes for a 12 volt circuit. If more power is desired/needed, the same formulas, larger size wires, connectors, routing, etc issues have to be considered. And again, tied to a cost factor that increases.

Commercial business can benefit if they can run saw motors or other high amperage-demand tools. Homeowners too of course. And for campers that want to run decent sized refrigerators or other items; might like to have more power too. But then camping becomes more like bringing the home to the outdoors. Isn't the idea of camping to be one with nature? I suppose this has changed much since my generation. Anyway....

Depending on your need, a great way to have extra 120 volt AC power is to get something like a small and portable HONDA, EU2200i generator. That provides about 1,800 watts (2,200 watts surge) in a very reliable, very compact form factor. There are other brands that will do of course, and cost less. Personally, I haven't found anything else in this arena that is as reliable. And a big to me, less likely to have bad gasoline plug the HONDA-carburetor. Old, bad gas CAN plug a HONDA too. Just in my lifetime, I have found the HONDA to be more forgiving than other small carburetors. And I never, ever use additives. Because I start gas engines every 2 to 3 months. You never complain about bad gas in your car because the gas flows often enough to never have bad gas. Just a path you might consider instead of trying to increase the built-in 120 volt AC.

There are DC to AC Inverters that can be used in place of generators. They can be an excellent choice, and permanently added as opposed to a portable generator.

Don't just go out and buy any old inverter.. Cheap is cheap. Good ones cost more. Higher power output inverters can get really spendy. And then you need to know if you need a pure sine wave inverter or not. Pure sine wave models provide clean AC that is pretty close to what the Utility company supplies to your house. You can read up on the how and why online.

As for 12 volts DC, plenty of amperage in the battery and alternator system, but somewhat awkward to provide that to an external outlet. Actually it's not that hard, IF you can provide a path for larger wires within something akin to flexible conduit. Find connectors of the type used on rechargeable Golf Carts, electric forklifts, or Tow Trucks that have plug in 12 volt jumper cables on their front bumper, you can have quite a supply of amps @ 12 volts to power some really healthy 12 volt devices that have some sort of high current demand. Just fuse or circuit breaker these DC (and same with AC) circuit-wires with the correct size "circuit interrupters, another term for fuse or breaker) AT THE SOURCE of the power. A disconnect switch with the fusing is advised. Circuit Breakers can be used as kill switches so this is the better choice than fusing.

Hopefully some ideas for you. I would recommend you find someone that is clearly familiar/learned in adding "more power" in a vehicle. They should be cognizant of the vehicles battery & alternator service limits.

Hope this is of some help.

Gene

 

[Blade1668]

I'll try to address some fixes for power with 12v options. Anderson connectors of a few sizes, depending on the amperage load. 12v air compressor small Anderson connector, 3rd photo reliability to fridge freezer the air compressor will blow the upstream fuse (40amp). Jumper cable, winch connection and winch.

FYI, I use the small Anderson connectors on my 4wheeler for winch connection, added benefit easier jump starting if needed. . . I need to make a jumper cable for it still. But can run air compressor and have.
Now unfortunately D.C. current requires heavy gauge wires vs A.C. but for some things it's more convenient to not jump 12v D.C. into 120v A.C. to re-convert back to D.C. look at back of many power bricks like laptops. Years ago, I surprised quite a few people many times "plugging a 12v plug into cigar lighter plug and my laptop" at least 5 different ones. . . From ASUS to Sony's. Smaller flat screen T.V's. The process creates power loss in heat.

 

[Dp7]

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-gal...-hand-carry-jobsite-air-compressor-64592.html

This bad boy won't overload your 400 watt inverter and it's super quiet so the ladies won't be distracted by it while you flex.

 

[Whiteoak323]

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-gal...-hand-carry-jobsite-air-compressor-64592.html

This bad boy won't overload your 400 watt inverter and it's super quiet so the ladies won't be distracted by it while you flex.

Not that I didn't believe you. I just wanted to know what the amp draw really was.

Hot Damn. 3 Amps @ 120 Volts = 360 Watts.

Pretty cool compressor.

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