Max amps I should run through cigarette lighter?

Question

I know obviously that the cigarette lighter is 12V and you can run any unlimited amount of 12V appliances and not have a voltage issue. My question is what is the max amount of amps I should run through a cigarette lighter? What is the max is can handle? What is the max recommended? Will running this much damage my battery, or lighter wiring. Basically I'm hoping to wire a bunch of lights and some neon through a second, hidden cigarette lighter that Ford quite ingeniously engineered into my vehicle. I estimate it will be probably somewhere near 7 or 8 amps when I'm all done. I'm not really worried about damaging the plug or my battery, it's the risk of fire and damage to the alternator that I'm worried about. I have quite a bit of electrical knowledge for someone who isn't a professional, but I thought I would ask to see what people who know than I do think. Thanks for your time.

I checked my owner's manual, and it says the auxillary power supply fuse is rated to 20 amps. The fuse for a set of two rooms in my house is 15 amps. So I don't plan on running that much and only about plan on running about 1 or 2 amps continuously, and a max of 8 for about 10-15 minutes.

Answer 1

check the fuse for the accessory plug that will give you the answer, I've seen lighters with 20 amp fuses but i wouldn't dare run that continuous

Answer 2

most cigarette lighter outlets are connected to a 10 amp fuse. check your owners manual. If the air compressor is 110 volts and 15 amps then you will need a fairly large inverter(1650 watts) to produce the power to run it. A converter that big will require large cables connected directly to the battery. You need to find a good 12 volt compressor it will be a lot cheaper than the route you are taking now.