Davehrn
Ohio
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Joined: 09/09/2009
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I have a portable inverter and i'm thinking about adding it to my class a ... it's a 500 watt Inverter so this is not something I would think to power my whole coach but just to have a working plug when not connected or on generator power... has anyone done this? Where did you put it? How did it look?
I don't know if I want to make it a permanent hook up or just hook it up on a need to use basis... which would mean running the wire into the battery box when in use ... any thought or experience is welcome thanks -dave
~dave
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FuelFunnel
Mossyrock, WA
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Keep it as close to your battery(s) as possible. Even a little 500W can draw about 40 amps on the 12V side. The further away you are from the battery, the larger your input wire must be to maintain peak inverter performance.
Kris
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BobJoh
Whitestown, IN 46075
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Joined: 05/23/2004
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I have a 400W one in the minivan.. has 18" power cord so it can lay on the floor. Used a heavy duty cig ltr socket from the truck stop and wired with 30A in line fuse and another wire to ground #10 wire..
Got power from 30a wire on CB to power the power seat. Mounted socket to seat leg. I don't like the small plug in type that stick out of the dash area. This lies down flat.. use it to power camping trailer lights during set up till I get hooked up. Or small power tools at work. Or TV and games when grandkids are along and chargings all their toys. Run # 8 wire for power and ground for you 500w and 40 amp fuse placed close to the batt. to guard the length of the hot wire run. I have not seen a larger than 30A cig lighter socket so don't know how you can do a plug in set up. The grandkids and friends used van for threeday trip with all their laptops etc... great but forgot to turn off the inverter while in the motel.. batt dead in morning.
BobJoh
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Golden_HVAC
Fulltime, CA, USA
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Joined: 08/19/2003
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Hi,
The chances that you will actually ever use 500 watts is actually pretty slim. If you are only going to power a TV set, or charge a cell phone or camcorder or computer battery, then the wattage is going to be around 100 watts or less.
#10 wire from the batter to a 20 amp fuse, then to the cigarette lighter will actually power the inverter very well, and I did this in 4 motorhomes. It works great, and the inverter is next to the TV when needed, or next to the dinette table when needed there.
I also have a built in 1,500 watt inverter, it could power the microwave, however it damaged the microwave from using it on modified sine wave power, so I had to replace the microwave and only run it on generator or shore power now!
You can run a ink jet printer, but not a laser printer on modified sine wave power. Do not try to run any motors on the MSW inverter. A small fan might work, but make sure that the motor is not overheating while it is running.
Fred.
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Fire Instructor
Upstate (Albany) NY Area
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Get it as close to the batteries as you can. Lots of line loss in 12v circuitry, so close is better. Also, use as big (or the next size bigger) than recommended in 12v cableing, for the same reason. Install a "catastrophic" fuse, as close to the battery as possible, for the full draw rating of the converter (likely 40+/- amps).
What I did, was to install a female wall plug right next to my factory 120v connection for the trailer. This was wired back to the inverter, I then made-up a short pigtail, and I plug the trailer into itself, and that allows the inverter to supply any/all 120v outlets in the trailer with power. If you do this, just make sure that you turn fridge onto propane instead of auto, as the fridge will draw the batteries and inverter down quickly. Also, you have to turn the factory 120v to 12v converter off, or else it trys to recharge the batteriies with the 120v (which you just converted from the 12v), creating a vicious power-eating cycle.
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ryanallie1
Magalia, Calif
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Joined: 04/12/2005
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Hi All.
We have used small MSW Inverters for many years now, and we have never mounted one close to a battery. We have added a few Cig Lighter Plug-ins for our needs, and used the OEM Cig Lighter Plug-ins also. If you are only running light power users, you don't need to mount it close to the battries. Even with small wiring, your more than good to go. We run our Laptops, LCD TV's, Charge Cell Phones, Run our GPS System, Run a 12 volt DVD Player, 120 Volt DVD/VCR Player and a lot of other small use items with no problems what so ever. We have several different size MSW Inverters, from 75 watts, to up to 900 watts. We even have one 300 watt PSW Inverter for items that needs cleaner power. We have never needed the 900 watt Inverter so far, If we want to run large items we just fire up the generator. Small Loads, Small Inverters do not need to be close to a Battery or Hard Wired. Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill
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xctraveler
Rochester, NY for a starting point
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ryanallie1 wrote:Hi All.
We have used small MSW Inverters for many years now, and we have never mounted one close to a battery. We have added a few Cig Lighter Plug-ins for our needs, and used the OEM Cig Lighter Plug-ins also. If you are only running light power users, you don't need to mount it close to the battries. Even with small wiring, your more than good to go. We run our Laptops, LCD TV's, Charge Cell Phones, Run our GPS System, Run a 12 volt DVD Player, 120 Volt DVD/VCR Player and a lot of other small use items with no problems what so ever. We have several different size MSW Inverters, from 75 watts, to up to 900 watts. We even have one 300 watt PSW Inverter for items that needs cleaner power. We have never needed the 900 watt Inverter so far, If we want to run large items we just fire up the generator. Small Loads, Small Inverters do not need to be close to a Battery or Hard Wired. Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill
Same here, we keep two 400 MSW inverters for small chores. Plug them directly into OEM power points using supplied plug. About the only thing that doesn't like this is my coffee grinder. I keep thinking how nice a larger hardwired inverter would be and then I remember my relatively limited battery bank (two 6V Tojan 105s approaching 7 years old) and put that spec in the list for next coach.
Paul
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Daveinet
il
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I used to use a small inverter, but finally gave up and bought one from Harbor Freight for 150 bucks. It is mounted right next to the batteries with a long cord to the main AC area where the generator plugs in. When I unplug the shore power, I plug it into the inverter. I find it is much more convenient to have all the outlets live, rather than chasing around with an inverter. Things like charging cell phones, running laptops, kids video games. Its just evolved. even run the laptop as a music source of MP3s. It was well worth it.
Dave
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gonesouth
Tatamagouche, NS
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We have 750 watt inverters in two of out cars....what I did was find extension cords with a built in light that glows red when the cord is plugged in. Then hooked the inverter direct to the battery, cut off the male end of the cord and hooked the cord to the inverter outputs. Then ran the extension cord into the passenger compartment. When the inverter is on, the light in the female end of the cord glows red, so we get reminded that the inverter has been left on.
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ryanallie1
Magalia, Calif
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Hi xctravler.
Maybe your Coffee Grinder doesn't like a MSW Inverters. Some electrial items don't like MSW's. Thats why I have a 300 watt PSW Inverter, just in case one of our items doesn't like MSW's. Here is a link to a 300 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter for only $99 dollars. That shouldn't break anyones bank. It works great for small loads.
LINK
Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill
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