Hello everyone, Is it straightforward to use the cigarette lighter in my ‘22 Prime to run a motor that inflates my paddle board? Is Ready mode sufficient, or should I have ICE running? Cheers.
Is there a sticker on your paddleboard inflator that shows either the amount of current it requires (in amps) or the amount of power (in watts)? There is probably a sticker on your "cigarette lighter" power outlet telling you the maximum power it can deliver. If it's like my gen 3, it will say 120 watts. (Divide by 12 volts to get the corresponding current limit: in this case, 10 amps.) If the inflator needs less than that, it will work. Whether you need to be in READY or not also depends on how long it takes to inflate your board. 120 watts for 1 minute is two watt hours. The total capacity of your aux battery is probably around 500 watt hours (new and in good condition). If not in READY, you would want to keep your usage to a small fraction of that.
I'd leave it in Ready mode. Don't need the ICE running as the traction battery's DC-DC converter can keep the 12V supplied. Just don't leave it in ACC mode (accessory mode) as the 12V battery isn't big at all.
Just because everything is labeled 12VDC doesn't mean your "out of the woods". While most consumer grade pumps will limit their current draw to 8 amps, that cigarette lighter outlet isn't the only thing on that circuit. The USB ports and phone charges are also on the same 10A circuit. So while your pumping up your paddle board, recharging your phone, tablet, refrigerator - those extra loads can easily pop your fuse. You should probably track down where that fuse is and carry spares, cause it can ruin your day out.... YMMV...
If you have not found a label on the pump that says how many amps or how many watts, there is information that you need and don't have yet.
