1000 watt inverter draw

[Neil S]

Ok I’m looking at installing a
1000 watt renogy pure sine wave inverter in my caravan coupled to a single 100 amp AGM battery
Will power a 600 watt hairdryer for approximately 3-4 minutes without totally killing it
I have 250 watt of solar fed through a Victron MPPT solar controller which will hopefully be enough to replenish the battery if the sun shines sufficiently

 

[Jamesh]

A 600w battery will drain your battery to 50% in 1hr.

So 3-4mins will fine.

I'm thinking of doing the same for power tools.

 

[Lenny HB]

A 600 watts allowing for inverter inefficency will be drawing 55 amps.
You shouldn't discharge a lead acid battery at more than the C20 rate which for a 100 ah battery is 20 amps.

It won't t kill the battery but it will shorten its life, I would fit at least one additional battery preferably 2.
I would also add AGM's are not a good choice for leisure use.

 

[Neil S]

A 600 watts allowing for inverter inefficency will be drawing 55 amps.
You shouldn't discharge a lead acid battery at more than the C20 rate which for a 100 ah battery is 20 amps.

It won't t kill the battery but it will shorten its life, I would fit at least one additional battery preferably 2.
I would also add AGM's are not a good choice for leisure use.

Thanks Lenny an AGM battery wouldn’t have been my choice but the dealer fitted it as part of the deal .
As for fitting an additional battery space under the front dinette is very limited as the ALDE boiler takes up so much room .
I’m also considering a single Renogy
100 amp lithium leisure battery which might be better suited for occasional inverter use .

 

[Reallyretired]

Interested to know where you found a 600w hairdryer. Our travel type is 1200w though only 350w on low (I have measured it).

You may find using only a single battery that the voltage drops and the inverter stops for that reason.

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[Richard n Ann]

Interested to know where you found a 600w hairdryer. Our travel type is 1200w though only 350w on low (I have measured it).

You may find using only a single battery that the voltage drops and the inverter stops for that reason.

Is that the Babyliss Big Hair? I think Ann's is 350 on low and 750 on high

 

[Reallyretired]

It is babyliss, don't know what model, had it for ages.

 

[jongood]

Interested to know where you found a 600w hairdryer. Our travel type is 1200w though only 350w on low (I have measured it).

You may find using only a single battery that the voltage drops and the inverter stops for that reason.

I agree, not enough capacity so voltage will drop too fast, might work on a new battery but will quickly knacker it. I think you would have to check the discharge rate on some smaller lithiums too.

My wife has a 450w samsonite hair drier that she doesnt complain about, so must be ok. Not sure where you buy one now though

 

[DBK]

I think it will work but as mentioned expect to replace the battery after not too long. How often will depend on usage but after 3 years might be necessary. I base this on our setup which has 190Ah of flooded lead acid batteries and they need replacing after 4 years. Whether this is due to hair dryer use or the over-sized B2B I'm not sure.

As an aside if anyone wants to use the MH as a base for amateur radio work be very wary of inverters. My cheap pure sine model produces masses of RF interference. Running the radio from 240 volts is a non-starter but even with the radio running off its own battery, which is how I do it, the RF still swamps it

A model from someone like Victron might be better. It isn't a problem and I'm not going to bother trying to suppress it but it is something to be aware of if you plan on doing something using communication equipment in the MH.

 

[Lenny HB]

I’m also considering a single Renogy
100 amp lithium leisure battery which might be better suited for occasional inverter use

Wise move.

My cheap pure sine model produces masses of RF interference.

Mine does too interfears with the head unit, next van will get a Victron.

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[Neil S]

Interested to know where you found a 600w hairdryer. Our travel type is 1200w though only 350w on low (I have measured it).

You may find using only a single battery that the voltage drops and the inverter stops for that reason.

I’ll have a look when I’m back at the van , I believe it’s 1200 watts on full power and 600 watts on the halve setting

 

[Neil S]

I think it will work but as mentioned expect to replace the battery after not too long. How often will depend on usage but after 3 years might be necessary. I base this on our setup which has 190Ah of flooded lead acid batteries and they need replacing after 4 years. Whether this is due to hair dryer use or the over-sized B2B I'm not sure.

As an aside if anyone wants to use the MH as a base for amateur radio work be very wary of inverters. My cheap pure sine model produces masses of RF interference. Running the radio from 240 volts is a non-starter but even with the radio running off its own battery, which is how I do it, the RF still swamps it

A model from someone like Victron might be better. It isn't a problem and I'm not going to bother trying to suppress it but it is something to be aware of if you plan on doing something using communication equipment in the MH.

Thanks DBK I’m only expecting to use it maybe 5/6 times a year at most for the odd time we are on THS and only for 3-4 minutes at most so my dearly beloved can dry her hair
She refuses to be parted from her hairdryer.

 

[Lenny HB]

I’ll have a look when I’m back at the van , I believe it’s 1200 watts on full power and 600 watts on the halve setting

That's what our one is, when it's used only in the low setting but I have 3 batteries.
Rarely ever used she has a much more efficient hair dryer it's called a towel.

 

[DavidCh]

You could just start the engine for five minutes?

 

[Lenny HB]

You could just start the engine for five minutes?

Not a good idea.

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[Swifter]

That's what our one is, when it's used only in the low setting but I have 3 batteries.
Rarely ever used she has a much more efficient hair dryer it's called a towel.

 

[DavidCh]

Not a good idea.

Out of interest, why? I have little camper experience, huge amounts of sailing though. I cant see why, with a modern engine five minutes on running on idle will do any harm. Obviously no more than about ten minutes or you risk overheating the alternator?

 

[heliart]

As an aside if anyone wants to use the MH as a base for amateur radio work be very wary of inverters. My cheap pure sine model produces masses of RF interference. Running the radio from 240 volts is a non-starter but even with the radio running off its own battery, which is how I do it, the RF still swamps it

Interesting comment this. I've been thinking about getting more use from my HAM license when out and about. Not looked into it too much yet, but will do. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[DBK]

Interesting comment this. I've been thinking about getting more use from my HAM license when out and about. Not looked into it too much yet, but will do. Thanks for the heads up.

I did a first test yesterday running my Icom IC-7300 off a battery in the MH. Its only a 12Ah capacity but I think it will run it for a couple of hours or more if I wind the power down to 40W or 50W. At 100W it draws about 17A and the battery is only rated for 12A continuous current. After about 45 minutes of use the voltage, which was over 13V on receive was dropping to 12.5V on transmit with a current draw of 7A. The IC-7300 is supposed to be able to run on 12V so it could have run on for longer. However, I intend to add a small voltmeter into the cables so I can monitor the voltage as I suspect it might cause damage if it dropped below 12V.

I've previously used my IC-705 from the MH but as that only produces 10W it can run for much longer off a small battery.

In theory you could connect the radios to the MH 12 volt system but I am worried about RF getting into the CANBUS and causing expensive havoc! It seems much safer to run it from a completely isolated supply.

73, John M0WIV - or MQ0WIV as I am in this Jubilee month!

 

[heliart]

I did a first test yesterday running my Icom IC-7300 off a battery in the MH. Its only a 12Ah capacity but I think it will run it for a couple of hours or more if I wind the power down to 40W or 50W. At 100W it draws about 17A and the battery is only rated for 12A continuous current. After about 45 minutes of use the voltage, which was over 13V on receive was dropping to 12.5V on transmit with a current draw of 7A. The IC-7300 is supposed to be able to run on 12V so it could have run on for longer. However, I intend to add a small voltmeter into the cables so I can monitor the voltage as I suspect it might cause damage if it dropped below 12V.

I've previously used my IC-705 from the MH but as that only produces 10W it can run for much longer off a small battery.

In theory you could connect the radios to the MH 12 volt system but I am worried about RF getting into the CANBUS and causing expensive havoc! It seems much safer to run it from a completely isolated supply.

73, John M0WIV - or MQ0WIV as I am in this Jubilee month!

View attachment 629307

Hate to derail this thread, but that's for sharing. I had a IC-705 on my Christmas list. I currently run a IC-9100 at home.
What do you do about antenna's on campsites? I was thinking that everyone would blame their poor TV reception on you if you put an antenna up?

Cheers,
Steve M0WXY

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[Old Gibber]

That's what our one is, when it's used only in the low setting but I have 3 batteries.
Rarely ever used she has a much more efficient hair dryer it's called a towel.

Even more efficient, a good hairdresser and shorter hair.

 

[DBK]

Hate to derail this thread, but that's for sharing. I had a IC-705 on my Christmas list. I currently run a IC-9100 at home.
What do you do about antenna's on campsites? I was thinking that everyone would blame their poor TV reception on you if you put an antenna up?

Cheers,
Steve M0WXY

Antenna on sites are a bit awkward as I worry about garrotting children. But I have used an MP1C from the US company Super Antenna. It was expensive and it is a bit tricky to tune but it takes up next to no space and the radials can be wrapped around the pitch if necessary. Where there is more space I've strung a dipole, typically along the fence or hedge at the back of the pitch. On a recent stay at a CCP aire the pitches were deep enough I could run something lengthwise, parallel to the 'van.

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

Out of interest, why? I have little camper experience, huge amounts of sailing though. I cant see why, with a modern engine five minutes on running on idle will do any harm. Obviously no more than about ten minutes or you risk overheating the alternator?

Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) at risk of getting clogged up due to not reaching optimal operating temperature?

 

[Lenny HB]

Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) at risk of getting clogged up due to not reaching optimal operating temperature?

Yep & the CAT modern diesels never get up to operating temperature on tickover.