USB outlets ghosting loads

I know many of you have recommended the convenience of ac outlets with built in usb for charging. Im about to put a few in. Before I go crazy and replace too many outlets, how bad is the power ghosting on the idle usb?

I’ve had significant power ghosting all around the boat with idle phone chargers and such in the past , so it occurred to me I might not want to go crazy.

Anybody put a meter on one and measured?

Thx

Leviton catalog number T5632 when not in use the draw is <50mW

Straight from Leviton tech support.

There's more than one kind of USB power for charging phones. Some phones will take higher amperage, others will negotiate with the charger or use a special cable to use both higher wattage AND voltages. I generally find it's better to stick with using plug-in chargers instead. That and the USB socket is fragile. WHEN someone breaks it by jamming the cord in backwards you're stuck with replacing the WHOLE socket, not just an plug-in charger.

There are several ways to make the charging 'less obtrusive'. Like right-angle AC adapters and plug-in chargers (Anker makes nice ones). I'll dig up some links later.

I'm about to go the other way and install a couple of 12V sockets in order to use 12V USB chargers. We mostly charge at night and using 12V chargers allows me to turn off the inverter which uses about 40-50w just to be on. The small plug in 12V USB chargers have very little idle current and are very efficient.



Ken

kchace said:

I'm about to go the other way and install a couple of 12V sockets in order to use 12V USB chargers. We mostly charge at night and using 12V chargers allows me to turn off the inverter which uses about 40-50w just to be on. The small plug in 12V USB chargers have very little idle current and are very efficient.

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I agree with you. I got the idea originally from CMS.

I have a few AC outlets that have USB outlets built in. They are fine but... It is a lot less efficient when using the inverter than a DC outlet. Also, the AC/USB outlets that I have do not fast charge an iPad or Google Pixel phone. If I am navigating and using my iPad for charting, the AC/USB outlets can’t keep up with the power drain.

I have a 12v adaptor that has three USB ports. Two will deliver high output charging and the third is the regular 1.2 amp output. If it burns out, it is easy and relatively cheap to replace. So far it has been working great for a year.

Blue Seas makes some nice dual USB ports that run off 12v and can be fast charger capable if that's what you need.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Charger-Socket/dp/B0082CXEI8

Thanks everyone. I’m going to go with a couple ac outlets. I usually switch off all but one ac breaker at night, the remaining powers cpap. If I could run that on 12v, then i could just switch the inverter off at night, so much easier than hunting the ghosting loads that always creep back.

I like the 12volt usb idea too.

ghost said:

Thanks everyone. I’m going to go with a couple ac outlets. I usually switch off all but one ac breaker at night, the remaining powers crap. If I could run that on 12v, then i could just switch the inverter off at night, so much easier than hunting the ghosting loads that always creep back.

I like the 12volt usb idea too.

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Ahem, autocorrect failure, that should have said cpap

CPAPNEA is when your CPAP mask wakes you up with a face fart or other leak...

Doesn’t wake me up. The yelling I get for not waking up, THAT wakes me up.

I bought a USB hub that runs on 12VDC using a power supply. I cut the DC cord so I could use the connector and wired it direct to a fused switch panel with a 3 amp fuse. That gives me about 6 amps at 5VDC to charge multiple devices with no perceptible power draw with nothing plugged it.

Tom

I put both in a few places, but I tend to use the 12V outlet when cruising. Plug in Ipad, phones, battery chargers and such, you’ll be surprised how much juice you draw. Plus, the DC outlet has a VM and another outlet below for more stuff.

Won’t the “cigarette lighter” socket ever go away? Has anyone ever put a cigarette lighter in their 12v receptacle on their boat? I would rather update the 3 I have to USB ports. That’s all they are ever used for anyway

I replaced the cigarette lighter ones with dual cig lighter and 2 USB outlets. So far I have never use the cig lighter outlet but I do have a portable searchlight on board so I could plug it in on the flybridge. But really I have never used it since I have a really bright flashlight that usually works well instead of having to plug in the searchlight.

slowandsteady said:

Won’t the “cigarette lighter” socket ever go away? Has anyone ever put a cigarette lighter in their 12v receptacle on their boat? I would rather update the 3 I have to USB ports. That’s all they are ever used for anyway

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Again, not all USB ports are the same. 500ma, 1a, 2.1a, 9v, quickcharge, qualcomm, etc. The socket hardware has the same form-factor, but that's about it, standards-wise.

Using a 12v accessory socket is about the most future-proof option going. With it you can continue to use any kind of 12vdc-to-whatever adapter desired, and readily change it WHEN a flimsy USB socket gets broken. There's some nice flush-fitting ones that work great in a 12v socket.

That and almost none of these have been heat-proof 'cigarette lighter' sockets for more than a decade.

I would add that for any 12V adapter, the really cheap ones will be more likely to have high idle power consumption and generally poor efficiency. I had one on a customer's boat that was drawing 2 amps doing nothing. Blue sea for dedicated/installed 12V to USB adapters are good. Anker brand for plug-in ones either AC or DC are good. Most adapters provided with Samsung, Apple are good as well.

I put in 12v to USB sockets in a number of places on my boat. They are 2.1a and can charge most phones and tablets. I also put in a separate 12v to 5v 5a DC to DC converter with separate plugs for charging/running a large tablet we use for entertainment.

Using a 12v source lets us use the USB plugs without an AC source.

The only thing I don't care about with the 12 USB sockets is that they are usually illuminated and the light is on whenever they have power. Some of the LEDs used for the indicator light are very (too) bright.