Basic Volts vs watts question

[juntjoo]

Newb electronics question here. Does wire care about volts as much as it cares about amps?

I'm thinking about plugging that female 12v cig lighter directly into the 120v wall spliced to a scrap wall plug to power a 12v car lighter tire inflator. The appropriate adapter sold only is available up to 15amps so far as I found and the inflator reaches 20a max.

 

[crutschow]

I'm thinking about plugging that female 12v cig lighter directly into the 120v wall spliced to a scrap wall plug to power a 12v car lighter tire inflator

Stop thinking.
You will only do that once, and then you will likely need to buy a new tire inflator after the smoke clears.

Yes, both voltage and current are very important.
It's not the wire that's the main concern, it's the device being powered.
A 12V device requires 12V for operation. 120V will cause a spectacular failure.
You need a 12Vdc, 20A supply that operates from 115Vac (examples).

Alternately, you could power the inflator from a small 12V SLA or AGM battery, and then charge the battery with a 12V battery charger.

 

[Martaine2005]

I’m thinking….”spliced to a wall plug” means a walwart or plug pack transformer. In which case, as long as it meets the requirements, should be fine.

 

[juntjoo]

Stop thinking.
You will only do that once, and then you will likely need to buy a new tire inflator after the smoke clears.

Yes, both voltage and current are very important.
It's not the wire that's the main concern, it's the device being powered.
A 12V device requires 12V for operation. 120V will cause a spectacular failure.
You need a 12Vdc, 20A supply that operates from 115Vac (examples).

Alternately, you could power the inflator from a small 12V SLA or AGM battery, and then charge the battery with a 12V battery charger.

Hmm... I wonder if I could rig my Milwaukee m12 batteries to it ...

Why does a device care about volts verse watts?

 

[juntjoo]

I’m thinking….”spliced to a wall plug” means a walwart or plug pack transformer. In which case, as long as it meets the requirements, should be fine.

Oh, a plug with transformer. Didn't think about that. I have some but the wires are thin. So I guess that means low amps ... Now I'm confused what determines the thickness of a wire

 

[Martaine2005]

what determines the thickness of a wire

The current it has to handle.
Meaning the copper inner not including the insulation.

 

[crutschow]

I wonder if I could rig my Milwaukee m12 batteries to it ...

If it is 12V and can deliver 20A.

Why does a device care about volts verse watts?

There's no "care" about it.
Volts and watts are two different electrical parameters.

Watts is the power it uses, and volts is the "force" behind the current into the device.
Power is the volts into the device times the amps it takes, thus 12V @ 20A is 12V x 20A = 240Watts.

 

[juntjoo]

The current it has to handle.
Meaning the copper inner not including the insulation.

So if I splice a standard 120v/15a ac wall plug to this 12v 25a cig lighter socket I should be able to get power to my 20a compressor, 15a at least without any issue with all them 120 volts?

 

[juntjoo]

If it is 12V and can deliver 20A.

There's no "care" about it.
Volts and watts are two different electrical parameters.

Watts is the power it uses, and volts is the "force" behind the current into the device.
Power is the volts into the device times the amps it takes, thus 12V @ 20A is 12V x 20A = 240Watts.

So my mod will work?

 

[Martaine2005]

So if I splice a standard 120v/15a ac wall plug to this 12v 25a cig lighter socket I should be able to get power to my 20a compressor, 15a at least without any issue with all them 120 volts?

No, No, No!
Your device requires 12V DC.
You need a 110V to 12V step down transformer rated for 20A.

 

[juntjoo]

Stop thinking.
You will only do that once, and then you will likely need to buy a new tire inflator after the smoke clears.

Yes, both voltage and current are very important.
It's not the wire that's the main concern, it's the device being powered.
A 12V device requires 12V for operation. 120V will cause a spectacular failure.
You need a 12Vdc, 20A supply that operates from 115Vac (examples).

Alternately, you could power the inflator from a small 12V SLA or AGM battery, and then charge the battery with a 12V battery charger.

Why does a device care about volts and amps individually anyway? Why not just concern itself with wattage however many volts gets there?

 

[Martaine2005]

Why does a device care about volts and amps individually anyway?

The device doesn’t care!.
It’s been designed for a particular voltage and current rating. If the voltage is too high, it will damage the device. If the current is too low, the device may not operate properly or at all.
Always use the correct voltage and power supply for your devices.

 

[juntjoo]

The device doesn’t care!.
It’s been designed for a particular voltage and current rating. If the voltage is too high, it will damage the device. If the current is too low, the device may not operate properly or at all.
Always use the correct voltage and power supply for your devices.

I think the device would care if it got burnt up.

So you're saying volts are hot but amps aren't?

 

[juntjoo]

What's this "amp" that we're pushing around with volts? And what's the difference between 1000w/24v=41.666... or 1000w/12v=83.333...?

 

[Martaine2005]

Difference of about 42A!
Please read up on Ohms law.

 

[crutschow]

What's this "amp" that we're pushing around with volts?

An "amp" is a measure of the amount of current in a conductor.
For a resistive load amps equals volts divided by resistance (I = V / R).

You shouldn't be messing with electricity if you have no concept of how it works, and don't see to understand what we are saying.

 

[juntjoo]

I'm o

An "amp" is a measure of the amount of current in a conductor.
For a resistive load amps equals volts divided by resistance (I = V / R).

You shouldn't be messing with electricity if you have no concept of how it works, and don't see to understand what we are saying.

What are you talking about? I'm twice as qualified as you to learn this stuff. And I'm being nice

 

[juntjoo]

100

Difference of about 42A!
Please read up on Ohms law.

So between a power source of 24v at 41.666a and a 12v= at 83.333a one, as a 1000w light bulb how would you feel about these two power sources and which would you prefer and why? And don't tell me light bulbs don't have feelings

 

[Alec_t]

So between a power source of 24v at 41.666a and a 12v= at 83.333a one, as a 1000w light bulb how would you feel about these two power sources and which would you prefer and why?

The resistance of the 12V bulb would be 1/4 that of the 24V bulb, so the element of the 12V bulb could be both cheaper to make and more rugged. As for feelings, both would feel pretty hot when running.

 

[Martaine2005]

I'm twice as qualified as you to learn this stuff. And I'm being nice

That’s if you live long enough!. And I’m being nice!.

Only play with low voltage. 12V is just fine. But you CANNOT connect 12V devices to 120V without the required step down transformer.
Stop it, just stop it!.
Please read all our comments and learn from them. Do some extra research so that you do indeed understand.