How much would you pay for a toothbrush? Four for a pound from Tesco? £2.50 for something from Colgate because they're supposed to know about teeth? How long do you make yours last – and would you expect a more expensive one to last longer, or just reach the parts that other toothbrushes don't reach? When our dentist recommended an electric Oral-B some time ago, we bought the bottom-of-the-range model and loved it. Replacement heads are as expensive as manual toothbrushes, but you can usually find them for a reasonable price somewhere. We wouldn't want to go back.
However, I couldn't find any way to charge the Oral-B that didn't require mains voltage. It was going to be the one item on Erin Mae that needed regular charging via the inverter (apart from my archaic phone which I hardly ever use). Perhaps we could charge it every time we cruised, but this wouldn't be very satisfactory. So what were the alternatives? Toothbrushes with replaceable batteries seem to have gone out of fashion. Finally, I came across what must be the only toothbrush on the market which will connect to a USB source – you can charge it via your computer, or a 12 volt outlet in your car or in your boat! It's made by Philips. And the list price is £250.
It was, however, available on Amazon for £80. I nearly wrote "just £80", but corrected myself. That brought it down into (the top end of) the price range for other, mains-only models. But who sets the list price for these things? Granted, its charging systems are all rather nifty, especially the USB-connected case which both protects and charges it when you're travelling. But no way is there £250-worth of goodies in the kit. At £80, on the other hand…
In the end we decided to buy it, and it's charging as I write. It's cornered the market for USB-powered toothbrushes, and so can set its own price – but it does exactly what we needed to keep Erin Mae an inverter-free zone for long periods.
Only time will tell, of course, whether its results meet our dentist's approval at the next check-up.
Have you considered getting a small, say 200W, inverter for just this sort of use? We got one from Maplin a few years ago. It's powerful enough for portable computers and mobile phones etc. Ours is now disconnected as I used its feed for the fridge! A quick look at the Maplin website shows a 300W inverter for £50: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-12v-modified-sinewave-300w-inverter-n66ju
ReplyDeleteA bit more than what we paid for ours, but it's the sort of thing they do frequent deals on. And I haven't researched eBay or Amazon. And then you wouldn't need to power up the big inverter.
I discussed this route with a helpful guy at MC in Penkridge who runs his fridge this way (!), but decided against it. (1) I found reports of various bits of gear reacting badly to something that wasn't a true sine wave (even when inverter blurb said it was). (2) It was going to complicate the wiring and the procedures considerably more than simply putting in some 12 volt sockets. (3) The chargers that I needed for our devices were cheaper in total than an inverter. (4) It didn't seem logical to go to the trouble of taking the inverter out of the equation, and then buy another!
DeleteI have had 2 electric toothbrushes & neither would charge through either of our inverters a sterling 1800 msw &. Marlins 600w msw so have just ordered one of theses from Amazon :)
ReplyDeleteThere must surely be room in the market for another manufacturer to come in at half the price! Maybe by the time these new ones need replacing.
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