Where should I mount Power Inverter?

[PBinWA]

I just bought a 2000 Watt Coleman Power Inverter. It's bigger than I thought it would be.

Where should I mount this sucker in my 99 F250 SD(I think its a little big for my tractor)? Suggestions? Where did you mount yours?

 

[snorider]

One thing you want to do is mount it as close to the battery as you can or you could have power trouble. AC travels distance alot better then DC. just some things to think about.

Joe

 

[bczoom]

Well, not sure if this would work for you, but here's what I do:
Get a big deep-cycle marine battery.
Put it in a marine waterproof box.
Strap the invertor to the top of the box (the OEM strap from the waterproof box might make it).
Connect inverter to the battery.

It's a self-contained unit and I can use anywhere I need. It's day-to-day storage is close to my woodstove so I can use it if the power goes out but I've used it for running all kinds of electrical stuff.

 

[EastTexFrank]

I use a Vector inverter but I don't permanently mount it to the truck. I cut leads from an old set of heavy duty jumper cables. I made them reasonably short, about 2 feet. I carry the inverter in the truck and if I'm somewhere where I need power for a short length of time, I pull it out, lift the hood, connect it up and I'm ready to go. I've done the same thing using the tractor battery on occasion to run an electric pole saw and other stuff. I always keep the engine running while I am using it and the duration isn't usually too long. If you are going to be using it for any length of time, a marine deep cycle set up as described would be ideal 'cos I'm not sure how robust a truck battery(s) and charging system would be for a long, continuous drain. If you're somewhere you'd be using an inverter for power, it's probably someplace you don't want to get stuck because you messed up your vehicle battery.

 

[WhiteRock]

bczoom, interesting idea. I am curious about a couple of things.

Have you used high wattage items for any length of time? Does the marine battery operate for a pretty fair duration?

One reason I was curious is that while a marine battery has a lot of capacity and usually a deep cycle, I was thinking that after some use the voltage starts to fall off. They still have a lot of capacity, just at a lower voltage.

Also some of the inverters I have seen have voltage alarms on them when the voltage gets low, and it doesn't take much on some. I am not sure if this is to help with a warning so as not to run the battery down, and/or it will not produce output with a low voltage. Do you get low voltage alarms? Does the inverter still work ok at low voltage?

 

[daedong]

Here is a calculator for batteries / inverters calculator

 

[bczoom]

WhiteRock,

Not sure what exactly would qualify as "high wattage" but I can run most anything a looonnnnngggg time off a big deep-cycle marine battery.
I can spell electricity but that's about it.
As it's been described to me:
The battery has a 156 hour reserve and 760 cca.
I was told it can run a 10 amp DC draw for 156 hours before it'll reach its (and the inverters) minimum of approx 10.6 volts.

Basically, (although I haven't tried it), plug in your inverter. From there, connect a boom box and 100w light bulb. Let both run for about 4-6 days (not hours). At that point, the battery will hit the 10.6v and the inverter will shut itself down.

I put one of the deep-cycle batteries in my UTV after finding the OEM was dead after about 4 hours of running accessories. Now, I run everything on the UTV for 6+ hours and the deep-cycle starts the engine like the battery is brand new.

Brian

 

[bczoom]

WhiteRock,

Oops. Didn't answer all your questions.
Yes. Mine has a low-voltage alarm.
The only time is has come on was when I was testing an emergency scenario on trying to get into one of my buildings. I ran the inverter through a 50' extenstion cord and back-fed into the entire building and tried to open the garage door via the electric door opener. I wasn't using the deep-cycle battery and have no idea what else was electrically running at the time. It did open the door (so yes, the inverter did work) but the alarm went off.

Brian

PS. Thanks for the link Vin. I plugged in the #'s for a 150w draw off a 760cca battery. It returned 25 hours. I'd like to see what it says when using a deep-cycle or dual-purpose battery.

 

[WhiteRock]

Gee, this sounds cheaper and possibly better than a small generator! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Good stuff, thanks for the nice detailed reply.

2000 Watt inverters have really come down in price a lot. I may have to try this. I have a 1000W generator that weighs 29#. The 2000W configuration may weight a little more (including the battery). I think the Honda 2000i is around 50 or so pounds. Probably a lot more pricey though.

At the full 2000W your looking at 160-200 Amps. Some serious current. But seldom would I need to run that kind of load for very long.

 

[bczoom]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Gee, this sounds cheaper and possibly better than a small generator! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

At the full 2000W your looking at 160-200 Amps. Some serious current. But seldom would I need to run that kind of load for very long. )</font>

WhiteRock,

It's getting late (or early, depending on how you look at it), but in either case, I'm running on empty so pardon any screw-ups I might make.

First, I think you need to divide your amperage by 10. A 2000w inverter at 110v A/C = approx 9 amp. If I recall correctly, Power = current * voltage

What all are you thinking about running off the inverter?

Brian