Dometic Can Inverter 150W Review (PerfectPower MCI-150-12)

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Jay Elliott

Chief Camping Officer

I recently purchased a Dometic Can Inverter (PerfectPower MCI-150-12) and have been very impressed with it so far. 

We bought it to run a few small appliances and chargers that require 240v connection when we are off-grid, and for the size, and cost, and think it is great value or money.

Throughout this article, I will explore the features in more detail as well as some of the specifications and limitations for the inverter.

Overview

The Dometic Can Inverter, is one of the smallest inverters available, designed to help you power 240-volt appliances, that require a low voltage, when you are away from a mains to a 240-volt power supply.

This inverter is not going to power a microwave, hairdryer, or other electronic appliance that requires High Voltage. But there are many smaller 240 volt appliances that this small inverter will power very well.

The Dometic can inverter works by plugging it into a 12-volt power supply, and the unit then converts that 12-volt power into 240-volt power.

The shape of the unit is designed to sit inside a can holder if you need to sit it conveniently inside your vehicle.

Priced at well under $100, I really recommend this for these situations where you have some low voltage to 240-volt appliances that you need to power when off-grid.

We will have it sitting in our caravan for the most part, but if we go on a trip with the swags, we would definitely pull it out to take in that setting as well. 

Why We Bought It

The main reason we bought the domestic can inverter, was so that we could charge our power tool batteries if we were off-grid.

We use our power tools for a variety of purposes when camping including using the drill with a socket attachment to help lower the caravan legs. we also use different torches and lanterns, which use the same power tool batteries, overnight.

So, we were hoping for an inverter that could easily show these batteries throughout the day, to give us a longer period of time off-grid. 

It is also able to power our laptop charger, and could also power a small portable projector, which we definitely plan to utilise it with as well. 

I was also curious whether it would be able to power a slow cooker or crockpot, even though I knew it was over the limitations, and my suspicions were correct in that the slow cooker did require more power than this inverter is able to provide. 

However, it was a good experience to plug it into the slow cooker, to see how the domestic can inverter responded when the power draw was 2/2. With the slow cooker on the high setting, the inverter would not even try to start. 

But when the slow cooker was on the warm setting which is just designed to keep food at a stable low temperature, the inverter would start, and stay on. but even on the low setting of the slow cooker, the inverter was not able to power it.

What Appliances Can It Power?

The domestic can inverter can power any devices that require up to 150 watts of power. 

To know how much power your appliance requires, each appliance should have an information sticker on it, which will list what the voltage draw is for that appliance.

If you can locate that sticker you will be able to find the figure, and then know whether this small inverter will be able to power it.

Safety

The unit includes inbuilt thermal overload protection, which will keep your device is safe, as well as your 12-volt power source. it also has electronic Short Circuit protection, and automatic low voltage shutdown. 

This means that even if you try to plug your inverter into a device that is requiring too much power, then you will not do any damage to either the appliance you were trying to power or the inverter itself.

There is an easy-to-access fuse built into the power cable, which provides further protection.

Outputs

The unit includes two different outputs.

There is the 240-volt output, as expected, but there is also a USB output directly on the unit as well.

What Type Of Inverter Is The Dometic PerfectPower MCI-150-12?

The unit is equipped with a modified sine wave inverter, as opposed to a pure sine wave inverter.

Pure sine wave inverters are much better, and preferable where possible, but they require a much more expensive unit.

Specifications

Weight: 0.52kg

Dimensions: 66cm x 182cm

Final Thoughts

I have genuinely, been seriously impressed with the quality of this unit. it has a very solid feel, compared to some of it cheaper alternatives that you can get off eBay.

Though it is rated at 150 Watts, you can get slightly more out of it than that if you need it to.

I highly recommend you pick up one of these dometic can inverters, especially for charging those low-voltage appliances you might have a need for when off-grid for an extended period of time.