inverters (1 Viewer)

bazfergy

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Hi guys ive got a 85watt solar panel fitted and ive got a 110ah leisure battery im planning on fitting another 110ah battery so i can do away with my gennie, the big question is what size inverter should i use i would want to run a tv and satellite charge phones etc no microwave ive been told this uses a lot of power. Thanks in advance barry:thumb:
 

scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
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Hi

Good question because sizing is important, too big it will be inneficent and waste power, too small and it will cook .. soo

Decide how many appliances you will connect at the same time, add up the watts and buy an inverter with about 20% spare capacity ..

Example

TV = 80 watt
+ Sat receiver = 30 watt

Total 110 watt.. + 20% = 132 watts

Ideal inverter 150 watt

jim
 

Terry

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Simple get everything to run on 12v (more efficient) and don't bother with the inverter :thumb: works for me.I have / had a 700 watt inverter in the garage but have never seen it since buying it :ROFLMAO:
terry

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S

stagman

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Hi guys ive got a 85watt solar panel fitted and ive got a 110ah leisure battery im planning on fitting another 110ah battery so i can do away with my gennie, the big question is what size inverter should i use i would want to run a tv and satellite charge phones etc no microwave ive been told this uses a lot of power. Thanks in advance barry:thumb:

I wouldn't bother much with an inverter . 12v TVs and other accessories are cheap enough . We do have a 1000w inverter which the wife uses very sparingly with her hair drier .:thumb:
 

scotjimland

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While I agree that it would be better if everything was 12v , an inverter is invaluable for charging such things as phones, laptops, cameras etc and for powering games machines, DVD, Sat box, TV etc etc.
Replacing existing 230v kit with 12v or buying 12v adaptors can work out a lot more expensive than a small inverter .. and if it's properly sized is almost as efficient as 12v adaptors ..
But as in all things in life, it's horses for courses.. and the wallet often dictates our choice.

jim
 

Neckender

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I have twin 85 amp batteries, part led lighting, 800 watt invertor from macro £43, 240 volt tv also recharge ,shaver, phones, etc, webasto diesel heating, no solar panel fitted. We have just done 2 seperate weeks holiday with no hook up.

John.

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vwalan

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hi harleyjohn did i see shaver. thought you would have a great long beard . you letting the side down.
 

hilldweller

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From Aug 2007
Hi guys ive got a 85watt solar panel fitted and ive got a 110ah leisure battery im planning on fitting another 110ah battery so i can do away with my gennie,

Have you done the sums.......

85 watts, at very best 7 amps. Realistic 5 or less.

110 / 5 = 22 that is over 22 hours under best conditions to charge one battery. I'll leave it up to you to work out how long to charge two.

Don't scrap that gennie too quickly.
 

Beachbum

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I wouldn't bother much with an inverter . 12v TVs and other accessories are cheap enough . We do have a 1000w inverter which the wife uses very sparingly with her hair drier .:thumb:

Hi Stagman. I too have a 1000w. If your Mrs uses a hairdrier, can I use an 800w toaster. I know from what folks tell me, I will need a 2500w Inverter for a 800w toaster. Or can I get away with it for just making 2 slices of toast once a day.

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hilldweller

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I know from what folks tell me, I will need a 2500w Inverter for a 800w toaster

You need to talk to a better class of folks !

800W is 800W.

800W also represents 75 amps from your battery which will probably last one hour on an average battery. So how long do you intend cooking toast ?
 

RichardnGill

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Sep 22, 2007
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110 / 5 = 22 that is over 22 hours under best conditions to charge one battery. I'll leave it up to you to work out how long to charge two.

Don't scrap that gennie too quickly.

In practice you would only run your battery to 12Volts so you would only need to put aprox. 55AH back in.

We have an 85w Solar and 2* 110AH batterys, yes the solar does not fully charge them up each day but it will make them last a lot longer and we have 2 kids and 2 TV and a lap top on a lot of the time when we are away.


We have a 150w Inverter which use to power out TV and sat box no problem, but now we have gone to 12v Tv's and sky box the inverta only charges the lasp top now. I find the inverter uses more power to run the Tv than a 12V TV will use.

Rich...
 
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vwalan

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thought 800watts will be the output not the input

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robinmclaren

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Feb 23, 2009
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he is right

the output is at 230/240v which is 20 x of the input voltage so what ever ampage you draw out in theory is x 20 as loss from battery
so yes 5 a @ 230v = nearly 100a drain from 12v battery

we have a 800w deep fat fryer and this drops our battery voltages rapidly when on invertor and can only use sometimes

our lcd tv/dvd from comet had a 240v/12vdc adaptor so scrap adaptor and run direct from 12v ( ampere unit in line to protect in case of surges/overvoltage )
most phones direct from 12v car chargers
gameboy and psp charge from 12v adaptors
inverter only used for wifes dryer and straightners ( apparently these are essential and must work where ever we are or life is over )
we do have 2 large solar panels and did over 2 weeks in cornwall this year ( weather crap and not much sunlight ) and were just starting to run low by end , but no genny and no starting engine

we will see how it survives in disney new year although am loading a genny just in case
:Cool:
 

Beachbum

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You need to talk to a better class of folks !

800W is 800W.

800W also represents 75 amps from your battery which will probably last one hour on an average battery. So how long do you intend cooking toast ?

Hi Brian, Some guy in Spain a couple of summers back said whatever wattage you use, your Inverter should be 3 times more powerful, i.e: 800w x 3 = 2400w. If you disagree, what wattage Inverter should be used for 800w. Toasters usually take about 1 1/2 to toast. Will my 1000w Inverter do the job without causing a problem?
 

haganap

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I'm an oldbie MH number 9
I too have everything running through 12v. I can charge phones, laptops and games this way. I also carry a small genny for making sure my batteries stay tip top when wilding for more than a couple of nights or in winter time.

I carry just a small inverter just in case, Nikki has a 12volt set of hair equipment or gas? not sure which :Blush:

I would keep the genny.:thumb:

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robinmclaren

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i guess we will all be making the most of our mains hook up next weekend then, bet all the women bring mains dryers etc , etc
must load my chip fryer !!
 

Tony Lee

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Some guy in Spain a couple of summers back said whatever wattage you use, your Inverter should be 3 times more powerful, i.e: 800w x 3 = 2400w. If you disagree, what wattage Inverter should be used for 800w. Toasters usually take about 1 1/2 to toast. Will my 1000w Inverter do the job without causing a problem?

Perhaps he sells inverters.

It depends on what you are running from the inverter. Loads incorporating compressors or other non-commutator motors do require a large surge to get them started and although all inverters have short -term ratings much higher than continuous, the electronics are often not able to cope with the surge so a higher rated inverter will be required.

purely resistive loads such as toasters and electric kettles also have a small surge when starting but this can easily be handled by the inverter so an inverter with a continuous rating equal to the appliance rating would cope. 1000W would run an 800W toaster but of course a single 100Ah deep-cycle battery is really not designed to deliver that sort of current. Two in parallel would be kinder.
 

Beachbum

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Perhaps he sells inverters.

1000W would run an 800W toaster but of course a single 100Ah deep-cycle battery is really not designed to deliver that sort of current. Two in parallel would be kinder.

Hi Tony, I have 110AH x 3. I will have a go and use the 800w toaster tomorrow. The MH is outside the back door in case I have to boost up the batteries. Thanks Buddy.

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Tony Lee

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Hi Tony, I have 110AH x 3. I will have a go and use the 800w toaster tomorrow. The MH is outside the back door in case I have to boost up the batteries. Thanks Buddy.

Only thing that might happen is if the batteries are down a bit, you might get the inverter tripping out because of low input voltage.

You could check your inverter specs but generally would be something like 1100Watt continuously, 1500W for 5 minutes and something like 2000W for 5 seconds.

For other applications involving motors or other loads with a non-unity power factor, inverters can have a lot of trouble but that shouldn't be the case for a toaster.

BTW - I use a toaster consisting of fine SS mesh that sits on the gas burner and the bread sits on a rack about an inch above. Makes perfect toast in seconds and no inverter needed.
 

hilldweller

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Hi Brian, Some guy in Spain a couple of summers back said whatever wattage you use, your Inverter should be 3 times more powerful, i.e: 800w x 3 = 2400w. If you disagree, what wattage Inverter should be used for 800w. Toasters usually take about 1 1/2 to toast. Will my 1000w Inverter do the job without causing a problem?

I wonder if he's fallen foul of switch on surge at some time. An 800W inverter and 800W motor could be a problem because startup current could be very much higher for the first second or so. Probably the same with a microwave.

But a toaster is purely resistive, has no switch on surge so 800W should work. It's nice to have a bit of spare so 1000W sounds fine, unless you are a battery and it sounds like hell on earth. I don't think you'll have any problem with that short time providing the battery is OK and if it isn't it will let you know. Your inverter will shut down before it damages the battery - allegedly.
 

hilldweller

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BTW - I use a toaster consisting of fine SS mesh that sits on the gas burner and the bread sits on a rack about an inch above. Makes perfect toast in seconds and no inverter needed.

There are easy ways to make toast or hard ways.

1. A bit a stainless mesh.

2. A battery crapping itself + a shedload of electronics + plus a crude heater difficult to clean and store.

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Terry

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Hi Brian, a 800w inverter will not work a 800w micro for deffo,it needs at least a 1000 w with 2000 start up,just as you said :ROFLMAO: Got the tee shirt for that :ROFLMAO: if memory serves me right a 700 w micro needs 1200 w on start up :Doh:
terry
 

Terry

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There are easy ways to make toast or hard ways.

1. A bit a stainless mesh.

2. A battery crapping itself + a shedload of electronics + plus a crude heater difficult to clean and store.
:ROFLMAO: along with everything else 12 v I make toast on the grill / cooker :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
terry
 

hilldweller

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along with everything else 12 v I make toast on the grill / cooker
terry

This is a problem that crops up every week - it is a MOBILE home not a HOME and people fail to adjust to the differences. We have to adjust to get the best out of a MH.

I can understand that to many people re-thinking in terms of 12V is much more difficult than "plug in an inverter and it's just like home" but we of FUN are here to enlighten them.

I wonder how many people transfer technology from MH to home ? I must confess I don't but I wonder how much money we'd save on electricity alone ?

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lebesset

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my experience of inverters is that you had better have a lot bigger one than your rated need , I had a 150watt one to charge my laptop which took 80 watts , all ok
changed the laptop for one that takes 110 watt , burned out ; got another one ..burned out
got a third one and only charge when switched off ,uses less current , gets mighty hot but survived 3 months so far with that system

that guy in spain had the right idea , not triple maybe , but double anyway

all 12v is the way to go if you can , where are all the 12v digiboxes ? personally I am going down the no TV route , got the 17 inch laptop , just waiting for a digital sat decoder from hauppage that does HD , plugs into the laptop , got a loop through for an old analogue signal if you need it
 

Terry

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Asda DURABAND (£13)AND A Philips MAKE 12V ON DIGI BOXES
terry
 

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