Which inverter?

[richlaz]

Hi all,

I'm looking to fit a power inverter into my van. Is anybody able to recommend a decent make/model?

Looking on the bay of fleas, there seems to be literally hundreds of different makes (cheap Chinese ones etc), which may not be as high quality as others?

I was looking for something possibly up to 1000w (I didn't want to get something too small then realise I can't use a certain appliance, so I think this would be a happy medium, especially with a limited alternator output etc.) Only really want it for phone/laptop/tablet chargers, maybe tv/games console, small electric heater possibly, smallish power tools when working on van (no mains supply where van is usually kept)...

Some labelled "pure sine wave" seem to be more expensive and apparently more reliable?

I quite like the look of this chunky beast, especially with the digital supply voltage display... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1000W-2000W-P ... 53f2711ee2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'd be interested to know what make/model/rating inverters other people have and for what loads?

Cheers,

Richard

[kevtherev]

Good grief.. a thousand watts?

600 is ample for all appliances, and Ring inverter is quality.

Begs the question as to why you don't buy 12volt appliances?
TV, DVD, phone charger, lap top charger etc.

You can't use them for heating the cables would have to be half a mile thick and the battery would last minutes

[RedGus]

As Kev says, don't even think about trying to run an electric heater!

And I have to agree with what he says about using 12V appliances, chargers, etc too. It is really inefficient to raise battery voltage to 230V with an inverter, then drop it to 19V to charge a laptop, 5V to charge a phone, and so on. You can get 12V versions of almost everything you need, so I would definitely look to do it that way.

So, that only leaves power tools. If you were using a 600W drill for example, that would draw about 50A, so you would flatten the average leisure battery in about 30 minutes if you didn't run the engine to keep up with the power demand. And if you were doing that, you may as well run a little quiet generator for your power tools.

James

[CJH]

I bought a 300W Pure Sine Wave inverter like this. Kev's right about the power - 1000W is over 80A at 12V, so you'd need very thick cable, and after half an hour or so your fully charged 80AH leisure battery would be effectively dead.

As for Pure Sine Wave, I'm not sure it's about the reliability of the inverter - it's more to do with compatibility with various mains devices. Having experienced problems with a cheap inverter running some sensitive equipment in a van at work I decided to pay the extra and go for a PSW version for my camper, but I'm not sure it's particularly necessary. I found this document from Ring - on page 5 they list what types of equipment will be suitable for different inverters.

[richlaz]

Thanks for the info guys

I suppose 1000w would be stupidly overkill... I just originally thought to get something bigger than my needs, rather than find out afterwards that it's not powerful enough, but thinking about the loads, around 300w would probably be ample (would hardly ever have multiple devices plugged in).

I originally had the idea of running the engine for any high powered devices (or prolonged periods) so that it doesn't kill the leisure battery almost immediately

It does sound a bit silly doesn't it... going from 12v DC, to 230v AC, then back to roughly 12v DC again

It does make sense with sticking to 12v power supplies (especially with annoying fan running in the inverter if charging something overnight etc), but for the cost of an average inverter (for example if I was to look towards a smaller 300-600w), I would have thought it would make more sense than buying a number of 12v chargers for various appliances?

Cheers,

Richard

[The Bishop]

Will your phones tablets etc charge from USB? If so, just get a cigar lighter/USB adapter and charge them overnight on that.

[CJH]

^^WHS^^^

I recently bought one of these and wired it up in the pop top - it has two 1A USB sockets.

I had also previously bought one of these and modified it to run from a 12V cable so I could leave it connected in the glove box.

[richlaz]

Yeah phone and tablet chargers are all USB > MicroUSB cables

I might be better off making a nice little panel and mounting it somewhere, with a couple of cigarette lighter sockets and a couple of USB outlets

[pmoc_2001]

Hi,

I got this from fleabay last year. Wife likes to do her hair and have strong proper coffee

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mobitronic-by ... 20e3fdb423" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I did not need 2000W but got this model from fleabay due to the mains priority circuit which switches to hook up when connected.