Inverter Advice Please (1 Viewer)

TonyMH

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I need an inverter to power a small TV (35 watts) and satellite box (30 watts) in my motorhome. I have tried a 300w inverter from Maplins but find that the fan switches on almost immediately and is very noisy i.e. too noisy for watching TV in the MH. Does anyone know of an inverter which will do what I want without the noise? (are there any fanless inverters?)
thanks, Tony
 

Wildman

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I have a 150W inverter without a fan, it works well in the winter and spring. However it overheats in the summer and I have to switch to the fan model. the amount of noise you hear can be reduced by careful siting of the inverter.
 

pappajohn

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I need an inverter to power a small TV (35 watts) and satellite box (30 watts) in my motorhome. I have tried a 300w inverter from Maplins but find that the fan switches on almost immediately and is very noisy i.e. too noisy for watching TV in the MH. Does anyone know of an inverter which will do what I want without the noise? (are there any fanless inverters?)
thanks, Tony

sounds faulty to me.....the fan should only come into action at a preset invertor temperature level, not constantly.

300watt invertor running 65watts of appliance isnt even breaking sweat :Eeek:

i have a 500watt (peak)/300watt (constant) invertor and shirl's used a 150watt styling wand and 150watt curling tongs (not at the same time :Doh:) without problem, or the fan cutting in, unless she's taking her time.

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TonyMH

TonyMH

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sounds faulty to me.....the fan should only come into action at a preset invertor temperature level, not constantly.

300watt invertor running 65watts of appliance isnt even breaking sweat :Eeek:


Maybe it is faulty...I only purchased today and tried it this afternoon. It is not a hot day - rainy and cool here and I didn't think that the inverter was particularly warm. However, if this is the noise it makes when hot...it won't be suitable anyway. I'll take it back tomorrow. What make is your inverter Pappajohn? I don'y have much choice regarding the siting of it, but it has got plenty of ventilation space and is standing on a soft surface.
 

keith

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Did exactly the same, with one that Argos had, a few years ago.

With nothing plugged in the fan ran and was way toooooo noisy. Took it back and got refund.

I use a 150W one I got from Lidl, I think it was, works just fine running our TV (only small one) & sat receiver, even in 30 degs. in Portugal this spring. It has a fan but so far I have never heard it running in anger.
 
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TonyMH

TonyMH

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Did exactly the same, with one that Argos had, a few years ago.

With nothing plugged in the fan ran and was way toooooo noisy. Took it back and got refund.

I use a 150W one I got from Lidl, I think it was, works just fine running our TV (only small one) & sat receiver, even in 30 degs. in Portugal this spring. It has a fan but so far I have never heard it running in anger.

Thanks Keith...I'll check Lidl out, but they only have items available for a short time..then you have to wait till they come back again.....

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Wildman

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I have had a couple of the cheapo 300W inverters and the fan runs from switch on to be honest when its hot as in France 40 deg in the shade the fan isa welcome bonus.
 

Squire

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Dec 30, 2010
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I need an inverter to power a small TV (35 watts) and satellite box (30 watts) in my motorhome. I have tried a 300w inverter from Maplins but find that the fan switches on almost immediately and is very noisy i.e. too noisy for watching TV in the MH. Does anyone know of an inverter which will do what I want without the noise? (are there any fanless inverters?)
thanks, Tony

If it was me I would consider ditching the inverter idea altogether and source a 12v TV and 12v satellite box. Unless you're going to get a 'serious' (and expensive) inverter I think they're more trouble than they're worth. Inefficient and cumbersome too, especially in a small van.
 

Heyupluv

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Thanks Keith...I'll check Lidl out, but they only have items available for a short time..then you have to wait till they come back again.....

Tony....I was in Lidl yesterday (in France)...normally the same items are on in the UK around the same time....it was camping/holiday offers.....I have checked the offer page on the web for both UK & France and neither are showing the inverter..But they had some on offer here in France not sure what size inverter....they do not always show a full list of offers on the web
........so there may be some in the UK stores.....worth a look....
also we find what ever Lidl have on offer Aldi have similar items at the same time...

Mel:thumb:

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pappajohn

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Maybe it is faulty...I only purchased today and tried it this afternoon. It is not a hot day - rainy and cool here and I didn't think that the inverter was particularly warm. However, if this is the noise it makes when hot...it won't be suitable anyway. I'll take it back tomorrow. What make is your inverter Pappajohn? I don'y have much choice regarding the siting of it, but it has got plenty of ventilation space and is standing on a soft surface.

mines a RING from halfrauds...had it a few years now and was around £35 on special offer at the time.
 

pappajohn

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If it was me I would consider ditching the inverter idea altogether and source a 12v TV and 12v satellite box. Unless you're going to get a 'serious' (and expensive) inverter I think they're more trouble than they're worth. Inefficient and cumbersome too, especially in a small van.
agreed squire, but i wouldnt say cumbersome, mines around 7" x 3" x 4"
usual efficiency is around 90% with the missing 10% being converted to heat, not power.
 
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TonyMH

TonyMH

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Thanks Mel for your reply - I have just come back from a month in France and Germany - visited a few Lidl's but did not see any inverters either. I agree Aldi seem to have similar stuff.

Anyway, just to wrap this up - I visited Thr Family Tent Shop http://www.thefamilytentshop.com/ in Shepperton today and purchased a 150 watt inverter (£30) which I have hooked up and appears to be working fine. I'm not sure whether there is a cooling fan in this one, but it certainly hasn't come on yet and I had it powering TV amd sat box and DVD palyer for a while....not too long as I didn't want to run battery down :Smile:, I think I may look at a second leisure battery and a solar panel now.

Maplins refunded the £25 for their inverter.

I did have a small problem when I first tested the new inverter. Although the inverter showed power up OK, the DVD player power light glowed, then went off. The TV and sat box did not power up. I had plugged a multi connector into the inverter with the 3 devices plugged into that. The TV had an "anti surge" plug fitted, so , as I couldn't think of anything else, I changed this for a normal 13 amp plug (with 5 amp fuse) and hey presto! it all worked fine.

thanks to all for your input and help.....incidentally, I had not visited the shop in Shepperton before, and although it is more camping based than motorhome based, it did have good stock and I ended up buying a few things ....so a good day today altogether,

regards,
Tony
 

hilldweller

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The TV had an "anti surge" plug fitted, so , as I couldn't think of anything else, I changed this for a normal 13 amp plug (with 5 amp fuse) and hey presto! it all worked fine.
Tony

Which means you have an inverter with built in surges. Cheapo inverters output a square wave or near square wave. If your equipment runs then fine, but they can kill off some less robust units.

If you want real peace of mind the only way is "pure sine wave".
 
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TonyMH

TonyMH

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Which means you have an inverter with built in surges. Cheapo inverters output a square wave or near square wave. If your equipment runs then fine, but they can kill off some less robust units.

If you want real peace of mind the only way is "pure sine wave".

Yes this outputs a modified sine wave which is square. Do you think it can damage equipment? It says on the instruction sheet that it is fine for TV's. If the inverter has built-in surges it sounds quite dangerous...

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pappajohn

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I did have a small problem when I first tested the new inverter. Although the inverter showed power up OK, the DVD player power light glowed, then went off. The TV and sat box did not power up.regards,
Tony

you should turn on the invertor and not plug anything in for a minute or so to allow it to warm up.....:thumb:
 
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The "Roadpro" 2011 catalogue has and excellent article on the different types of inverters and some very useful advice on choosing, if you can get hold of a copy or perhaps download it!

We are at the Great Escape Rally and visited their stand today where we were given some very helpful advice before finally purchasing a 350w Sterling unit (Quasi-Sine Inverter).

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TonyMH

TonyMH

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The "Roadpro" 2011 catalogue has and excellent article on the different types of inverters and some very useful advice on choosing, if you can get hold of a copy or perhaps download it!

We are at the Great Escape Rally and visited their stand today where we were given some very helpful advice before finally purchasing a 350w Sterling unit (Quasi-Sine Inverter).

Thanks Stewart...have just ordered the catalogue
 
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TonyMH

TonyMH

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I did have a small problem when I first tested the new inverter. Although the inverter showed power up OK, the DVD player power light glowed, then went off. The TV and sat box did not power up. I had plugged a multi connector into the inverter with the 3 devices plugged into that. The TV had an "anti surge" plug fitted, so , as I couldn't think of anything else, I changed this for a normal 13 amp plug (with 5 amp fuse) and hey presto! it all worked fine.

Tony

Sorry for the mis-information here - it now appears that the problem was nothing to do with the anti-surge plug. I have found that by plugging the devices into the multi connector one at a time once the inverter has been switched on works. I am not getting a loud fan noise from this inverter - just a hum, so it's quite ok for watching TV
 

JeanLuc

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I can't resist the temptation to post a plug for a paper that I put in the downloads section some time ago. It is about installing a 150W pure sine wave inverter. Not a cheap model, but I decided to pay for what I saw as quality and security in use. You may find some of the information useful.

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TonyMH

TonyMH

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I can't resist the temptation to post a plug for a paper that I put in the downloads section some time ago. It is about installing a 150W pure sine wave inverter. Not a cheap model, but I decided to pay for what I saw as quality and security in use. You may find some of the information useful.

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Thanks Philip - exactly what I need:thumb:
 

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