Inverters

mark e · 14-11-2007, 01:28 PM

Cant find " past threads " on subject, sorry if i've missed it !

600 watt inverter on offer again for £40, it's a good price i know. Proper price £70.

Because of the watts, can only be powered from battery, NOT cigarette socket, but does anybody agree with me that they eat batteries ? I only have one 85 amp battery.

I was going to buy one, but wanted a generator as my first big spend and did'nt want to waste £40 on it and then still go and buy a genny for about £300.

What would anybody else do ?
Only genny, or inverter and somthing else ?

Solar not reliable enough in my opinion as i want to do a bit of wildcamping over the winter months.

Beachbum · 14-11-2007, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark e

Cant find " past threads " on subject, sorry if i've missed it !

600 watt inverter on offer again for £40, it's a good price i know. Proper price £70.

Because of the watts, can only be powered from battery, NOT cigarette socket, but does anybody agree with me that they eat batteries ? I only have one 85 amp battery.

I was going to buy one, but wanted a generator as my first big spend and did'nt want to waste £40 on it and then still go and buy a genny for about £300.

What would anybody else do ?
Only genny, or inverter and somthing else ?

Solar not reliable enough in my opinion as i want to do a bit of wildcamping over the winter months.

I have a 1000w Inverter with 3x185AH leisure batteries. I run comfortably on 2x1200w solar panels as I ONLY wildcamp. In your case with a 600w Inverter a 110AH battery should be sufficent, only if you run a single item at a time. If you are on the run daily, the battery should charge up enough for your next stop. If you stay in one spot for a period of time (2 days or more) I don't think you will make it. A genny will be needed. This is from my past experiences. Other camping buddies perhaps will be able to give you more sound advice.

olley · 14-11-2007, 02:00 PM

Hi what do you intend to power with it?

Olley

Bryan · 14-11-2007, 02:02 PM

Mark,

What is it you are wanting to power?

If it is just an LCD TV, freeview box then 600w may be overkill. I have heard of people running TV, STB, DVD on less than 600w inverters.

Do they 'eat' batteries? Well they do use power themselves of course so this has to be factored in. Just how much they use should be detailed in the manual, so if the unit is the one at Maplins, pop along (or call them) and see what it uses.

I have an RV with a 5.5 kw genny but I have bought a 150w fanless inverter (Maplins - £15) to see if it will run my lcd TV (when I get one), my STB and my dvd player.

A genny alone may not suit your use. I won't run my genny late at night so need an inverter if we are off ehu and want to have 240v power.

HTH

Bryan

mark e · 14-11-2007, 02:37 PM

Keep your replies coming guys and girls. Just been looking and decided that i will
be getting a 150 watt inverter ( maplins £15 ) and a genny.

Only want to run a 12- 15 inch tv, and freeview box at the same time. ( or a combined unit )
Would that be okay ?

My daughter's portable DVD player, when the batteries run out and phone chargers.

Beachbum, thats one hell of a setup

Must have cost you a packet to have
all those

RichardnGill · 14-11-2007, 02:58 PM

We got a 150w inverter from Maplins last time they had them on special. It powers a 15" Lcd Tv and Sky box/ Dvd player no problems and will charge the laptop and a phone.

We only have a 85ah battery as well and we have had 3 nights away with out hookup. We managed ok but only had the Tv on for a max of 2hours a night and as it was summer the lights were not on that much. If you tavell around during the day dont forget you battery will charge up giving you planty Tv time on a night even with your 85ah battery.

A bargain for £15,

Richard...

Beachbum · 14-11-2007, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark e

Keep your replies coming guys and girls. Just been looking and decided that i will
be getting a 150 watt inverter ( maplins £15 ) and a genny.

Only want to run a 12- 15 inch tv, and freeview box at the same time. ( or a combined unit )
Would that be okay ?

My daughter's portable DVD player, when the batteries run out and phone chargers.

Beachbum, thats one hell of a setup

Must have cost you a packet to have
all those

Nope. Didn't cost me a penny. Had it all in when I bought the MH in Hamburg about 3 weeks ago. Reversing camera, and a lot more. I can't remember if I gave all the spec: on Motorhomefun or Wildcamping. If you look through under the title "On the road again" you will find details of my purchase.

GeorgeTelford · 14-11-2007, 03:40 PM

Hi

If you use a 1000 Watt invertor to power a 50 Watt TV it will use almost exactly the same power as a 150 Watt invertor powering the same item.....

Having said that there are a few advantages to using a smaller unit, it avoids temptation to power everything, most 150 Invertors are fan free/fan only when needed which means quieter.

Some (but not all) combined units do not like Quasi sine wave invertors, this is to do with how the combined power supply works, but in general nearly all new units use switch mode power supplies which should be OK.

Personally, I would relegate an 85 ah battery to the bin and have at least 2X 110 Ah batteries.

Jim · 14-11-2007, 03:45 PM

Hi Mark, the 150 will be fanless which is good. I have a 600w with a single fan hidden behind the TV the fan is slightly noisy but as we only every use it to watch TV we never hear it and very rarely use it.

Always go fanless if you can. Fans do fail, and can get clogged, then things can get hot and might prove to be dangerous. To get at my inverter I have to remove the TV out of a fitted cupboard easy enough but a pig to put back! This makes it hard to check so I will be replacing it with a fanless one. Its on my 2 do list!

If you get an inverter with a fan, make sure its accessible so you can inspect it now and again, and keep the fan blades clean.

Beachbum · 14-11-2007, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachbum

Nope. Didn't cost me a penny. Had it all in when I bought the MH in Hamburg about 3 weeks ago. Reversing camera, and a lot more. I can't remember if I gave all the spec: on Motorhomefun or Wildcamping. If you look through under the title "On the road again" you will find details of my purchase.

Hi Mark, found the post and pasted it on here for you to look through.