Inverter (1 Viewer)

pamie

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I'm a newbie
any advice on inverters dont want to run much just a kettle and coffee machine low microwave i was thinking about this Broken Link Removed
 
Feb 24, 2013
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not long enough
I will await more technical / knowledgeable replies, but I don't think it is anywhere near big enough for a coffee maker let alone a kettle

It will all depend on the rating of your appliances, but a 1Kw kettle is very small, much better to boil on hob with conventional kettle, you cant beat a nice whistle

Coffee makers I am not so sure about the watts

But I will watch for other answers as it is one of my next jobs to sort (y)
 
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pamie

pamie

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my coffee maker is 1710w kettle is 900w i would not have them on at the same time

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scotjimland

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before advising.. what size leisure battery(s) do you have.. ?

the reason I ask, each kilowatt , (1000 watts) of power at 23ov will consume 84 amps from the battery.. so an 85 ah battery would be effectively flat in less than 30 mins.

So unless you have a big bank of batteries and a way of recharging them .. ie solar panels or a genny.. use gas for everything you can.. leave the battery for essential stuff like lights and water pump.. and the TV
 
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pamie

pamie

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we have two leasure battery's top up by solar panel

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pamie

pamie

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we also have a genny under the van run from the gas if ever needed to top up but never used it never needed because we have always been on site just thinking about if we wanted to go on a site without elec for a night
 
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funflair

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Hi

I would say not big enough at 1000 watts, 2000w peak means that is the maximum it will supply that's just to get something started.

I would go for 2000 watts continuos but also pure sine wave as I found the microwave more efficient and the Nespresso coffee machine will not run at all off modified sine wave.

I would say that as long of you have at least 200ah of decent batteries you should have no problem, yes 1000 watts at 240 volts might use 85 amp but the equipment you have suggested using would only be on for a short time so a decent solar panel set up should keep on top of it, sun permitting. We only have 160ah of Gel batteries and 320 watts of solar and can use hair dryer, microwave coffee machine and microwave for a total of around 10 minutes so only taking 20ah out of the batteries so solar charging st 10 amps can soon put it back.

I think a decent set up, and it must be fitted properly will certainly not come cheap but we think it's worth it.
 
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Jan 27, 2013
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£75 what could go wrong?

Well quite a bit actually. Kettles start at 600 watts and go through to 3kw, coffee-makers are typically 600w - 1200w.

600w is likely to draw 60+ amps from the battery and any poor cables, crimps or connections (crocodile clips etc) can get rather hot if they aren't up to the job.

Then you have the quality of the inverter itself to consider. Let's put it this way - I'd wouldn't leave this one unattended.

Whistle kettles and stove top coffee makers take a little longer but you don't need to rush when you're in a motorhome.


So just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

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Armytwowheels

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I would go for 2000 watts continuos but also pure sine wave as I found the microwave more efficient and the Nespresso coffee machine will not run at all off modified sine wave.

By coincidence a few Funsters and I tried an experiment with my Nespresso machine in a Morocco a couple of days ago. Here is the result -
Our 1000w modified sine wave inverter ran the machine but it kept pulsing instead of running smoothly.
Canopus's 3000 watt modified inverter ran it well with no problems.
Suggy's 3000 watt inverter wouldn't run it at all, it didn't seem to recognise the power demand from the machine.

A few things we have learnt this trip is that our 1000w modified sine wave runs my 800w hair dryer just fine, does not run the coffee machine very well and kills toothbrush chargers stone dead! :crying::doh:
Anyone got a pure sinewave inverter for sale, 2000w or more?
Anyone want to buy a 600w and or a 1000w modified inverter?
 
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pamie

pamie

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think i may just leave the inverter and stick to elec sites plus dont want to spend a fortune on one the van is all set up for an inverter two sockets all wires in place done by prev owner dont think i will ever get off road camping or just for a cup of tea if i cant convince the husband that we can sustain ourselves
 
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UK Pete

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I had this dilema, in the end i opted for a stove top peculator for the coffee , and a double skillet for a small oven which solved the problem very cheaply, if i was going down the inverta route i would have at least 400ah battery bank and a bloody good means of replenishing the batteries
pete

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pamie

pamie

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I just had a look at the battery's 2x 110ah not enough then
 
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scotjimland

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well thats it then if it wont run my Nespresso electric sites only !!!!!

good decision .. (y)

While off grid, my maxim has always been to try and use as little 12v as I can.

LPG is the main energy source.. cooking, water heating, space heating, coffee making with a peculator or French press if you prefer.. makes wonderful coffee.... you really don't need that much 12v power, an inverter is like a black hole for 12v energy..

in our early days of campervanning we didn't even have a leisure battery, the minimal needs were supplied by the engine battery,.. an early 70s caravan didn't have ANY 12 v ..it had a gas light, gas catalytic heating, gas fridge and a Whale foot pump for water.. never gave it a second thought..

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scotjimland

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I just had a look at the battery's 2x 110ah not enough then

your choice.. it's still a finite resource and depends how long you want to be 'off grid' and not run out of power.. you need to do the sums.

1kw uses 84 A .. you have 2 x100 =200 .. but you can only use 50% = 100ah

but as said.. you will also need a pure sine wave of at least 2kw .. not worth it just to make coffee when there are good alternatives .. peculator, French press or Espresso machine.. all on gas
 
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By coincidence a few Funsters and I tried an experiment with my Nespresso machine in a Morocco a couple of days ago. Here is the result -
Our 1000w modified sine wave inverter ran the machine but it kept pulsing instead of running smoothly.
Canopus's 3000 watt modified inverter ran it well with no problems.
Suggy's 3000 watt inverter wouldn't run it at all, it didn't seem to recognise the power demand from the machine.

A few things we have learnt this trip is that our 1000w modified sine wave runs my 800w hair dryer just fine, does not run the coffee machine very well and kills toothbrush chargers stone dead! :crying::doh:
Anyone got a pure sinewave inverter for sale, 2000w or more?
Anyone want to buy a 600w and or a 1000w modified inverter?
i will ask my brothert for you i know he has a couple not sure of size they come out of mess vans that he has sold

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Armytwowheels

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Gorse Hill

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Hi

I would say not big enough at 1000 watts, 2000w peak means that is the maximum it will supply that's just to get something started.

I would go for 2000 watts continuos but also pure sine wave as I found the microwave more efficient and the Nespresso coffee machine will not run at all off modified sine wave.

I would say that as long of you have at least 200ah of decent batteries you should have no problem, yes 1000 watts at 240 volts might use 85 amp but the equipment you have suggested using would only be on for a short time so a decent solar panel set up should keep on top of it, sun permitting. We only have 160ah of Gel batteries and 320 watts of solar and can use hair dryer, microwave coffee machine and microwave for a total of around 10 minutes so only taking 20ah out of the batteries so solar charging st 10 amps can soon put it back.

I think a decent set up, and it must be fitted properly will certainly not come cheap but we think it's worth it.
Probably typo error, just to point out 1000w/1kw take around 4A at 230/240v
At 12v the same load would be around 83A
 
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Feb 27, 2011
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I am with @ScotJimland on this one. I am a fulltimer and spend a lot of the year off hookup.
My rules are to conserve 12V as much as possible. Everything I buy has to be 12v. Everything that has a heating element runs on Gas.

I then have 2 Gasit LPG cylinders to power heating, hot water and kettle.

For coffee I use an Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker ( ) and make it using a whistle type gas kettle.

Plenty of solar panels and as big a battery bank as possible.

The only things I have that are 240V are my main computer and a 400Watt convector heater which I only use on hookup. I also have a Water Pick and electric toothbrush and have a very small 300 watt pure sine inverter which I only use during the summer when there is good sun.

For a hair dryer I use this. ;):LOL:
wahl trimmer.jpg
 
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funflair

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Wow i would give up coffee if i had to pay that much

It's a nice bit of kit and you get what you pay for usually, slightly exponential but still proportional. If I paid £50k or £150k for a motorhome I would not want to fit it out with the cheapest electronic and electrical gadgets.
 
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Gorse Hill

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yes 1000 watts at 240 volts might use 85 amp but the equipment you have suggested using

Probably typo error, just to point out 1000w/1kw take around 4A at 230/240v
At 12v the same load would be around 85A
I didn't realise the OP had put the same, only pointed it out for other people who are not familiar with V/A
(y)

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funflair

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I didn't realise the OP had put the same, only pointed it out for other people who are not familiar with V/A
(y)

Sorry it might be me confusing things, I meant 1000watts at 240 volts would take 85 amps from 12 volts, I abbreviated too much as I'm on my phone in Spain with loads of amps volts and sun.

You should have heard the conversation the other day as I tried to explain to other half that although we had 10 amps supply at the site the 6 kW/h per day limit meant we could only run the Fridge so I unplugged and ran the inverter while the sun was shining, saved about 50 pence per day.
 
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funflair

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By coincidence a few Funsters and I tried an experiment with my Nespresso machine in a Morocco a couple of days ago. Here is the result -
Our 1000w modified sine wave inverter ran the machine but it kept pulsing instead of running smoothly.
Canopus's 3000 watt modified inverter ran it well with no problems.
Suggy's 3000 watt inverter wouldn't run it at all, it didn't seem to recognise the power demand from the machine.

A few things we have learnt this trip is that our 1000w modified sine wave runs my 800w hair dryer just fine, does not run the coffee machine very well and kills toothbrush chargers stone dead! :crying::doh:
Anyone got a pure sinewave inverter for sale, 2000w or more?
Anyone want to buy a 600w and or a 1000w modified inverter?

Interesting experiment, did you do a correlation of £/watt with the modified wave inverters, I guess it comes down to the number of incrimental steps on the modified wave, possibly my original was a not very modified square wave.
 
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Armytwowheels

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Interesting experiment, did you do a correlation of £/watt with the modified wave inverters, I guess it comes down to the number of incrimental steps on the modified wave, possibly my original was a not very modified square wave.

Err, no. The result and conclusion to the experiment was that we got two cups of coffee - eventually!
 
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