New 800/1200 watt inverter...

[TobyJug]

I just got myself a 800 watt inverter with a 1200 watt peak..

They were on half price sale.... Tested and working fine..
I am gonna fit it someday soon.. honest (no Rich the exhaust isn’t fitted yet this is different tho. :P)
I will fit a normal dual socket somewhere, not sure where yet tho..
I am getting a little solar panel to drip charge the battery when stood still..

It come with really short cables tho about 1ft not sure what that is all about..
I will get some heavy duty cable in the next couple days..
I am gonna run it into a heavy duty switch next to the back window switch so I can cut it out completely as apparently it still draws a little current when turned off..
I might put my amateur radio and the new to fit CB via some switches as well....
More for the fact that I like the look of a few nice switches than any other purpose... lol


Have many of u got a inverter this wattage or higher?
If so what ampere cable have u used?
Because if I do the math 800/12/0.7=95 Amps..
That is gonna be one thick cable..
I am gonna wire straight of the battery into the switch then into the inverter..
The from there to whatever spot into a normal dual socket..

[mckirdy-services]

Sounds good.

Mine packed up a few weeks ago, I think the transformer went on it as i cant see anything else wrong with it.

Where did you get yours / how many tokens?

[Apache]

The cable is very short because either a) the manufacturer is too tight to give you longer ones, or more likely b) because cable resistance is an issue once you start trying to draw large currents such as you are at ~100A.

If you assume your cable has a resistance of 10milliohms/m, and you use 3 metres, then you'll end up with a volts drop across the cable of around 3v when your drawing 100A! Thats significant! Very very thick cable should have a lower resistance than that in the order of a milliohm or two. Having said that, you'd be better fitting your inverter as close as possible to your DC power source.

BTW, you dont EVER want to draw that kind of current with the engine off, so it should see 14.4v thereabouts so the current draw wont be quite so high.

[mud skipper]

to use an inverter of that size you will need very heavy gauge cable, we are talking 16mm.
i would fit a vehicle battery in the boot via a split charger and connect the inverter directly to it. this is what i did with my 600w inverter, but i had the battery stand alone- battery was flattened in minutes so junked it.
i gave the inverter to a work mate, he says it will not run unless the engine is running!!!!!

seek the advice of an auto electrician would be my advice

[TobyJug]

Sounds good.

Mine packed up a few weeks ago, I think the transformer went on it as i cant see anything else wrong with it.

Where did you get yours / how many tokens?

Got it from Argos...
Half price sale was only £30.....

The cable is very short because either a) the manufacturer is too tight to give you longer ones, or more likely b) because cable resistance is an issue once you start trying to draw large currents such as you are at ~100A.

If you assume your cable has a resistance of 10milliohms/m, and you use 3 metres, then you'll end up with a volts drop across the cable of around 3v when your drawing 100A! Thats significant! Very very thick cable should have a lower resistance than that in the order of a milliohm or two. Having said that, you'd be better fitting your inverter as close as possible to your DC power source.

BTW, you dont EVER want to draw that kind of current with the engine off, so it should see 14.4v thereabouts so the current draw wont be quite so high.

Rite I get it..
Yeah I was gonna put the inverter under the dash about 1.5mtr from the battery and then charge the battery via solar panel if the engine is off.

That 100amp was only my math I wud not think that it will actually draw that much just running the laptop or a kettle...
I will put a meter on it one of these days...
Do you think it will be ok then??

to use an inverter of that size you will need very heavy gauge cable, we are talking 16mm.
i would fit a vehicle battery in the boot via a split charger and connect the inverter directly to it. this is what i did with my 600w inverter, but i had the battery stand alone- battery was flattened in minutes so junked it.
i gave the inverter to a work mate, he says it will not run unless the engine is running!!!!!

seek the advice of an auto electrician would be my advice

Read above as well and tell me what u think...

[Apache]

Dunno really. Better than having long leads from the battery, but you'll still have long leads TO the battery at the same voltage so = same current along long cables.

£30 is a stunning price for an inverter of that power BTW!

Running the laptop, it will be about 30W - I manage that with a 150W inverter, but all I do with it is charge phones / cameras / kids games etc. Running the kettle could overload it - unless you get a wee travel kettle.

[TobyJug]

Dunno really. Better than having long leads from the battery, but you'll still have long leads TO the battery at the same voltage so = same current along long cables.

£30 is a stunning price for an inverter of that power BTW!

Running the laptop, it will be about 30W - I manage that with a 150W inverter, but all I do with it is charge phones / cameras / kids games etc. Running the kettle could overload it - unless you get a wee travel kettle.

Rite well I will see..
I'll just wire everything in and see how she goes....
Might upgrade to 900milliamp battery's and get a second alternator....
we'll see...
I will let u know how I get on...
Thanks for the advice mate

[Apache]

900 milliamp?

PP3s then?

[TobyJug]

900 milliamp?

PP3s then?

huh?
Dont forget I am Dutch...
pp3s?

[Apache]

900ma/h is a pretty timy battery. The sort of thing you might use in a vibrating toy for instance

[TobyJug]

900ma/h is a pretty timy battery. The sort of thing you might use in a vibrating toy for instance

oops I ment 9000 90amp battery like the heavy duty ones

[Apache]

Would be a shame to see the IOTW avatar on you again mate, so I wont say anything to trev about all of this, and the fact that 90A is 90,000ma

Tough week?

PS, has Jan been trying to ring my moby? Missed a couple of calls, from 018xxxx but dont want to call back incase its Yodaphone trying to sell me shit.

[TobyJug]

Would be a shame to see the IOTW avatar on you again mate, so I wont say anything to trev about all of this, and the fact that 90A is 90,000ma

Tough week?

PS, has Jan been trying to ring my moby? Missed a couple of calls, from 018xxxx but dont want to call back incase its Yodaphone trying to sell me shit.

oops yet again...
ppfffffffffffffffffffttt
Thanks for saving me from yet another avatar..

Yeah very tough week.... It's got the ARRRGGGGHHHHH factor...

Jan might have to try and ring u as he wanted more stickers.. I think..
The area code = 01928 tho..

[mckirdy-services]

[QUOTE=TobyJug;463008]Got it from Argos...
Half price sale was only £30.....
QUOTE]

Blimey thats cheep!

I cant see there being any left for that much but i will have a butchers tomorrow.

BTW if you want to run a kettle you might be better off just getting a 12 volt travel kettle instead. It will be more efficient with less power loss. I had one until i melted it and it worked great, heated up very quickly.

When i get round to replacing it it will be with another 12V travel kettle not a240V kettle on the inverter.

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

oops yet again...
ppfffffffffffffffffffttt
Thanks for saving me from yet another avatar..

Yeah very tough week.... It's got the ARRRGGGGHHHHH factor...

Jan might have to try and ring u as he wanted more stickers.. I think..
The area code = 01928 tho..

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm