Notice its written on the power outlet plugs 12v/10amp and fuses are rated to 15amps in the manual.

Bought a car Kettle a few yrs ago saying that the socket must be capable of carrying a load in excess of 15amps,
Some kettles on ebay are rated at 20amps.

Is the amp rating too low for a 4x4 of this quality?

Like to hear opinions from others about this subject and if to risk or take a chance using the Kettle.

The quality and design of the now very old cigarette lighter socket has a limited safe current capability. This is compounded by the cheap, nasty quality of the connectors being marketed - largely from China. The contact area of the spring loaded pin is too small to reliably deliver 20 Amps+ safely. You run the risk of melting the surrounding parts due to overheating contacts with high contact resistance.
I'm not sure what gauge of cable is used for the accessory sockets but if it's equivalent to 4mmsq it should be ok to uprate the fuse to 20/25 Amps and use only the best quality connectors - at your own risk of course.

agreed 20A is a lot for the cig lighter, make sure to keep it clean inside to ensure a good connection and reduce chances of it getting hot At work
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chicken george wrote:

agreed 20A is a lot for the cig lighter, make sure to keep it clean inside to ensure a good connection and reduce chances of it getting hot

You are 'safer' using the power outlet sockets than the front socket which is also designed to take a fag lighter and is more likely to short circuit. The sooner there is a standard for the plugs the better for all concerned. still pining for my 3dr, no removeable hardtop, no drop glass tailgate, no roof rack, no pockets everywhere to stow all that man kit

At approx 12volts Battery power,
10amps = 120 watts,
15 amps = 180 watts,
20 amps = 240 watts,
see if the Kettle has watts power rating ???

Andyt, is spot on too about the plugs melting

Had a quick browse - 170W seems to be a common power rating. There's probably a chinese manufacturer churning these elements out by the million.
As JP says, this would require around 14-15 Amps. In fact, it would likely be higher still since a FL2 battery in good condition will have a voltage of over 13V and the current into a resistive load would rise proportionately. That said, the simple wire fuses used for cars are pretty inaccurate so a 15 Amp fuse would likely survive a 170W kettle.

The basic ciggy socket is only rated at 15 amps and even then I would not try to get that out of one that had been used for its original purpose.

There is an alternative type which was slightly higher rated but still not up to 20A. This is rather typical of some of the chinese type products which pay no attention to specs. Prog rock is cool!
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