12v Devices

On this page you will find a list of all the devices that I currently power with a 12v power source or have in the past. In order for me to consider a device capable of being powered from a 12v power source, the device in question needs to be able to run from roughly 11-14.4v without damage. In case you are wondering, I have damaged a device or two that could not handle the increased source voltage. Thankfully, the damages were minimal.

WARNING:
Many of these devices were not designed to run straight from a varying power source such as what you would get from a car, solar power, or just a 12v lead acid battery in general. Run these devices at your own risk! If you blow something up, which I have done before, I take no responsibility for it! I am just putting this here for information to give people ideas of the sort of things that can be run from a low voltage power source without the need for a power inverter.

Devices for 12v (direct power)

All devices listed below have been found to work without issue directly from a 11v – 14.4v power source. Some devices listed were designed for this purpose, others were not. I will put an exclamation ( :!: ) next to any device that works but was not designed for that purpose. I list the devices that are designed for that purpose just for the sake of a more complete list of devices I run from 12v.

• Fans
  • 8″ NAPA Auto Parts dash fan
  • 6″ Oscillating dash fan ^[1]I don’t have this specific one, but one exactly like it with no brand name
  • 42″ 12v ceiling fan ^[2]I bought this on Amazon a couple years back but there isn’t even a page for it any more. It’s noisy but puts out a ton of air and only pulls ~2 amps, from what I remember
• Lighting
  • 12v AC LED Landscape bulbs ^[3]The first stage of this bulb is a rectifier, so they are not polarity sensitive :!:
  • Automotive bulbs
  • LED light strips
• Battery Chargers
  • JETBeam IntelliCharger i4 PRO (4 bay, 18650/AA/AAA charger)
  • Hitec X1 Pro Multi-chemistry Charger
  • 12v USB-C PD charger
  • Opus BT-C96 (4 bay, 9v NiMH charger):!:
  • Efest LUC v4 (4 bay, 18650 and similar charger)
  • Kenwood KSC-24 charging cradle (aftermarket) :!:
  • Kenwood KSC-35S charging cradle (aftermarket) :!:
  • Canon EOS battery chargers (aftermarket)
  • Sony Camcorder battery charger (aftermarket)
  • RV in-wall mount (Decora) 4x USB charger
• Two-way Radios
  • Kenwood TM-V71a Mobile Ham radio
  • Yaesu FT-480 HF Ham radio
  • Just about any other ham radio
  • Baofeng HT w/ battery eliminator
  • Midland 75-822 CB radio
  • Cobra 29LX CB radio
  • Kenwood TK-880H
• Inverters ^[4]Inverters kinda go against the entire purpose of this post, but in the event of an emergency, I may be glad to have one handy
  • 1000w modified sine inverter
  • 450w pure sine inverter
• Astronomy Equipment
  • Celestron AVX telescope mount
  • Telescope dew strips
  • Telescope dew strip controller
  • Atik 383L+ mono astro camera
• Entertainment
  • Midland WR300 Weather radio :!:
  • Any Car radio
  • Any Car audio amplifier
  • 10″ LCD screens
• Computer and Network Equipment
  • Samsung 23″ monitor :!:
  • Netgear 802.11n wireless router :!:
  • Linksys WRT54G wireless router :!:
  • Lenovo 65W DC Travel Adapter
• Other
  • 12v water control solenoids
  • Arduino Uno
  • 12v RV water pump
  • 12v hair dryer
  • Heated coffee mug

Direct Devices (not personally tested/owned)

These devices are ones I have no experience with, but know they exist and are designed for 12v automotive use, many of which are meant for long distance truck drivers.

• Coffee maker
• Heated blanket
• Refrigerated cooler
• Crock pot
• Space heater
• Frying pan
• Beverage Warmer
• Kettle

Batteries that can easily be charged from a 12v source

Over the years I have found that there are not many batteries that can’t be charged from a 12v power source with just a little creativity. In the future, I will better describe how I charge each of these types of batteries from 12v, but for now, I will simply list them. Warning: each of these batteries needs to be charged with a charger of some sort. Do not attempt to charge them by directly connecting the battery to the 12v power source

• 12v SLA batteries (3AH – 55AH)
• 12v FLA batteries (lawn mower all the way up to deep cycle marine)
• 6v deep cycle FLA batteries
• 9.6v RC NiCd/NiMH batteries
• 7.2v RC NiCd/NiMH batteries
• 18v Ryobi NiCd power tool batteries
• 18v Dewalt NiCd power tool batteries
• 18v Black & Decker NiCd power tool batteries
• AA NiMH cells
• AAA NiMH cells
• 9v NiMH cells
• 18650 LiIon cells
• USB portable batteries
• Canon LP-E6 DSLR batteries
• Canon LP-E8 DSLR batteries
• Sony NP-F camcorder batteries

Devices for 12v (with conversion)

All devices listed below have been found to work from a variable 11-14.4v power source when using a DC/DC converter between the source and the device. Some of these devices require a boost converter, some require a buck converter, and some require a boost/buck converter. I will further clarify all all of these details as I develop this list.

• AA/AAA battery charger
• Intel NUC pc
• Lenovo laptop
• Bose Sounddock portable
• Canon EOS cameras
• 12v security cameras (may be able to run direct, haven’t tested yet)
• 9v security camera
• Nintendo Switch
• Roku 3

USB Devices

I list these devices here because, being 5v, they are all super easy to run from 12v using a DC/DC buck converter or simple USB cigarette lighter adapter.

• Cell phones
• Tablets
• Eneloop USB AA/AAA charger
• Cheap USB 18650 charger
• Portable USB batteries
• Bose Soundlink Mini
• USB fan
• Bluetooth transmitter
• Jetpacks
• USB Roku
• Chromecast