pure sine wave inverter

Submitted: Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 21:35
ThreadID: 41912 Views:7931 Replies:4 FollowUps:8
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hi
looking at buying a good quality pure sine wave inverter in the 500 watt up to 1000 watt range mainly to run a 240 v fan and a lap top and a couple of other 240v items at times
Wondering if its possible to have the unit as a portable unit or does it need to be permanently wired into either the Kimberley kamper or the Nissan patrol
Recommendation of a good quality unit and a reliable supplier would be very much appreciated from any experienced users
thanks for the feed back
see you greg
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Reply By: Marn - Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 22:38

Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 22:38
I keep mine as a portable unit with a cig plug on the supply cord. the only thing that i am not sure about is if you get an earth fault on an appliance would you receive an electric shock or would it act as a DC circuit as it does not have an earth reference??
Hmmmm.. Cheers Marn
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Follow Up By: Member - Tim - Stratford (VIC) - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 09:55

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 09:55
Marn,

I've got a smallish inverter which I mainly use for charging video camera batteries etc - I keep mine as portable so it can be used in the camper or the truck. There is an earth connection on the rear of the inverter so you can place and earth spike in the ground and then wire it to the inverter to prevent disasters. I haven't done this but it is there for insurance. I've been thinking about an oversized tent peg with wire attached - but the ground is that hard and dry over this way that it probably wouldn't earth anyway....

Tim - Stratford.
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 15:20

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 15:20
dya know the cig lighter is only good for 10 amps, thats 120watt at 12v so if your inverter is bigger than that and you're using a fair amount of its grunt then I would thunk again.
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Follow Up By: greggu - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 16:49

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 16:49
thanks guys
proabbly stay away fron the cig lighter and will use anderson plugs small type and yes getting zapped by 240 volts does not thrill me either
see you greg
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Follow Up By: Marn - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 21:36

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 21:36
Tim, unless an RCD unit is used in conjunction(Properly wired) with the earth stake,you would still get a boot from an earth fault on an appliance. Just because the unit is earthed dosent mean it is totally safe.
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Reply By: MickO13 - Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 22:40

Friday, Feb 02, 2007 at 22:40
Dick Smith have pure sine wave up to 600W at reaonable price. I bought the 300W for computer (large Dell). Kerio adapter is usually best option for powering the computer (also available at Smiths). Cheers.
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Follow Up By: greggu - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 16:51

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 16:51
thanks mick you are not wrong about alleging the dse guys not knowing much about some of what they sell - bit of a worry really
i will check their prices though of a 500 / 600 pure sine wave inverter
see you greg
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Reply By: Derek from Affordable Batteries & Radiators - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 00:06

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 00:06
Hi Greg

You won't get a 500W + unit with a lighter fitting. It will need a set of strong battery clips to be portable and be able to pull the required current.

I would suggest you fit Anderson plugs to it and ensure a good connection and still have it removable.

We have fitted many units under the passenger seat in this way.

Regards

Derek.
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Follow Up By: greggu - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 16:47

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 16:47
thanks derek
i appreciate the feed back
probably go with about a 500 watt inverter keep it portable and use anderson plugs as you suggest run a box type fan in the camp and would like to be able to run a small tv very occassionally for the news and the sport not really a tv fan when away from it all - i am in brisbane so will probaly call in to have a chat about it in the next week or two
my regards greg
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Reply By: zha zha cruiser - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 07:32

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 07:32
Greg,

I am interested too. I would like an inverter, thinking 300 watt would be enough, to run a pedestal fan in my camper trailer that's been wired for 12 volt. I didn't buy the one at dick smith/tandy because I can't find anyone who knows eneough about inverters. My question is - running a pedestal fan thru an inverter (300 watt), would this drain my camper trailer battry down too quickly? The inverter would be plugged into the camper trailer wired for 12 volt. Pls help?
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 15:34

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 15:34
ZZC, whats the rating of the fan? Our pedestal fan here is 55watt and being a single phase motor, it is apt to draw up to six times that load on starting, thats 330watt and that means 28 amps funning out of the battery to start the fan and about 4.5 constant to keep it running.

Most inverters have a short load rating, so for a 300w that could be anywhere from say 400 to 900w depending on the unit. It will be in the specs for the inverter.

So if u have a 55a-h battery and you are running a fridge (cycling at 4 amps) you will get about 6-8 hrs of the fan and fridge running before the battery cacks itself, Divide the amps out by the amp-hours (a-h) of the battery and you get a useful guide to how long it will run.

I would get a small 12v fan and run that meself. Some people use 6" computer fans in their CT's
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Follow Up By: greggu - Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 17:14

Saturday, Feb 03, 2007 at 17:14
thanks guys for the feed back
have a small 12 v car fan in the camper but not really good enough on some of the hotter days - just does not move enough air about - hence the desire to take a larger box type fan away to use under the awning
battery capacity - have 250 amps hrs in the kimberley and dual batts of 100 amps hrs in the patrol also have a small honda gen and a couple of solar panels that total 120 watts so should have sufficiant battery and charging capacity even with the fridge running, fan on etc
thanks for the tech info bonz
see you greg
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