Car cigarette lighter splitter USB doohickey to charge multiple devices.

[mallomar]

My car has only one cigarette lighter port. I'm looking for a splitter so I can plug in my GPS and charge at least one phone at the same time. I've got the Note 5, hubster has the S6.

What should I look for in a splitter? I definitely want one with USB ports in addition to the regular round ports (whatever they're called). Do I need a specific amps/watts/ohms/whatever rating?

Would appreciate any advice on what to look for and where to buy it.

Thanks.

 

[SpookDroid]

Re: Car cigarette lighter splitter USB doohickey

First I'd check if your car can support the current draw (shouldn't be an issue with newer cars and probably anything not older than 10 years). If no issue there, just find a charger that fits your needs. Does your GPS support charging via USB? No need for the 'round port' (unless you want to actually use the lighter or another lighter charger). For your devices, make sure that the splitter can deliver at least 1.5A on EACH USB port (some will say that they support 2A but it's shared, so if you connect two phones, you're getting 1A on each, and that slows things down when charging). If you want Fast Charging on both devices, you can find car chargers that support that as well. And, of course, make sure it's a trusted brand or something with good 'not paid for' reviews or you might find yourself with a busted car lighter port and some damaged devices.

 

[mallomar]

Re: Car cigarette lighter splitter USB doohickey

My car is about 5 years old, so I don't think I'll have a problem there. Thanks for the specs on the amps. I have no clue where to find a trusted brand of splitter. Googling hasn't turned up much in the way of reviews or recommendations on these devices.

I do have a power inverter that I've never used. Just took it out of the packaging, and it doesn't have any USB ports. It's 100A and has one 3-prong outlet. But is there some way to make it work without having to shlep wall chargers everyplace I go?

 

[SpookDroid]

Re: Car cigarette lighter splitter USB doohickey

If you have an inverter you can connect your chargers there, but you'd need a normal electrical splitter (much easier to find and cheaper, though), but it's not gonna be a pretty sight: It'll be an inverter connected to your lighter port with an electrical splitter connected on top with a bunch of chargers connected to that.

I'd just go to Amazon and try to find products you may find useful and read the reviews there. Best Buy probably has some, too.

 

[nickdeck]

Re: Car cigarette lighter splitter USB doohickey

I'm guessing this might work for you:

Amazon.com: Anker USB Car Charger PowerDrive 2 (24W / 4.8A, 2 Ports) for iPhone 6 / 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 / mini 3, Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge and More: Cell Phones & Accessories

I've had great luck with these Anker "IQ" products. They sense what power your device needs and provide just that.

 

[cjh1955]

I had one in an old car a few years ago that had three DC outlets (those are the round ones) and a cord that plugged in to the single cigarette lighter port. If you check Amazon for DC Outlet Splitter With USB you should find several options.

 

[nickdeck]

Oops, sorry, I missed the part about needing the round DC outlets.

 

[mallomar]

Oops, sorry, I missed the part about needing the round DC outlets.

Right, that's the only catch. The Ankers seem to be USB only. And we need a DC outlet for the GPS.

 

[mallomar]

I had one in an old car a few years ago that had three DC outlets (those are the round ones) and a cord that plugged in to the single cigarette lighter port. If you check Amazon for DC Outlet Splitter With USB you should find several options.

I did check Amazon, and was overwhelmed by the plethora of choices. But a lot of them were suspiciously cheap, and I want one that's good quality. Also, I've never found a way to filter search results so I only see sellers located in the U.S. I don't want to wait for something being shipped from a faraway land.