inverters

Mal

Dunno, but I was given crap advice by a Jaycar salesman. He looked at my computer battery which said somnething like DC power required for this comoputer is 90 watts and suggested I buy a 150 watt Pure Sine Wave inverter.

Well.......the laptop is power hungry and it surges and I have cooked 2 x capacitors on the inverter. Luckily I have a leccie mate who has fixed each accident for little compensation. Now I run the laptop through a Kerio DC charger off a cig socket and keep the inverter for charging batteries and other small jobs.

Depends on what you want to run, I have an 800w ,it runs a 350w angle grinder and a 750w drill no worries, for a laptop a 150w would be ok but there will come the day when will want to run something bigger ,If you want to take the Microwave out bush then a 1000w should run a 600w oven but don't get the auto press button ones , the manual controls don't need as much power for start-up.

Doug

Bigger is better yes to a degree ..
more important is true sinewave vs modified sinewave
with modified sinewave (cheaper) your devices usually run hotter and the inverters are less efficient, spike more etc ..

I run my on board computers in the camper through a UPS (1kva) and feed the UPS with a true sinewave inverter... the other AC devices run directly from the inverter.

Calculate the total wattage you need for ALL devices you want to run AT THE SAME TIME add at least 30-40% and thats the total for a true sinewave high quality inverter. I personally would not buy anything below 500W...

and ... watch your battery ...
have fun
gmd

I forgot to mention too that if your going to get one get a good one and don't waste your money on cheap Chinese crap from some of those Cheap Auto accessry shops, I don't know where the ones in the link come from but it will give you an idea.

www.omega2000.com.au/

Doug

It depends what you want to run.

Most laptops have a 65w to 95w AC adapter, so a 150W inverter is all you need, although it doesn't need to be a pure sine wave model, as these are much more expensive than an ordinary one. I have run a Compaq laptop on a Digitor 150W inverter with no problem at all. I only use it from a direct wired (and fused) socket though, not via the cig lighter socket.

Having drowned the 150W on the recent CY trip, I am on the lookout for another and spotted a 300W model at Dick Smith for $78 which seems a good price. This is the biggest rating you can run through a cig ltr type socket. Anything bigger and you will need to clip it directly to the battery or connect to the battery with anderson plugs and large diameter wire if you want to mount the invertor say in the back of the vehicle. I would mount it as high as possible - if you mount it under a seat, remember that they are made by our quality challenged manufacturers in China and a fire is a real possibility.

For sizing, you should get a 1000W unit to run up to a max of 750W, keep this ratio and you will not overload the device. You only need to get Pure Sine Wave if you want to run electronic stuff like TV or Set top box- the cheaper ones are fine for drills, toasters, and so on.

Work out how many watts you need to run at any one time and that is the size you need. All good inverters have a peak power and continous power. They won't run for long above the contious rating. If you don't want to keep replacing equipment get a pure sine wave.
We run an 800w inverter that does our TV, computer etc plus we cook bread in a bread maker. The bread maker is 750 watt and it is handling that OK. Did have a 650Watt inverter but it kept cutting out with the bread maker but it would still cook in the end. Not sure how long it would have lasted but changed it after 3 weeks to be sure. I think cut outs are supposed to be a warning not to be used 10 times per loaf.

Neil

Send me an email with your list of accessories and I will see what you need.

Also where do you want to mount it and what size is your battery bank ?

How do you charge your batteries ?

Lastly how often will you be using it ?

Regards Derek.

As everyone has said add up the watts you need and work it out from there.

Take up Dereks offer above, obe thing you need tp remember is that the power has to come from somewhere, like your battery/s. So if you get a 1000 watt inverter, dont forget that if you use that 1000w, or even say 750 w for a drill you'll be sucking 80 and 60 amps respectively from your battery/s, and them serious amperages.

thanks for the info,when we travel next time we have decided to take my laptop we have fitted a tv card and will also have maping.just need to keep it charged and the camera when away from power how much do they drag from your battery thanks again safe driveing mal b