What Inverter to buy? (1 Viewer)

[Abacist]

What manufacturer of pure sine wave inverter to buy and how much should I expect to pay?

I have in mind a 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter. Chinese, Sterling or something else?

The battery bank will be a 220 Amp battery bank charged by a battery to battery charger which is the subject of another thread seeking advice.

The installation will be removed when we get another van.

The battery bank is to be used for 12 volt supply for a breeze cooling fan and also to power a 240 volt inverter to drive a hair dryer and possibly some low voltage phones, iPads, sat nav, iPods, iPhones and perhaps a Nespresso though not all at once! etc

 

[Bacchus]

I think it really depends on your usage, I bought one of these for the occasional use you describe

http://www.sunshinesolar.co.uk/prod...Sine_Wave_Sunshine_Power_Inverter/VP1500.html

and am very happy with it (these guys seem to have offers every now and again, at the moment the 1200W Pure sine is only £179, I paid about that for the 1500w which is currently £359 so you have to keep an eye on them). I used it (whilst driving only) to power a 240v cool box for a couple of weeks last year when I had fridge issues, worked very well, and Lady Bacchus used it for an 1100w hairdryer with great success but only for a couple of minutes at a time! Also enabled me to buy a cheap Argos TV which lives in the van in case of extreme boredom but, apart from "does it work" testing, hasn't been switched on yet...

If I lived in the van or used the inverter every day I would probably spend a grand or so on a Victron or a Sterling (I put a victron easy plus in a boat once, fantastic split charger/inverter - detects when you are on EHU and charges the batteries or runs the inverter when not, VERY user friendly but no change from a grand)

Also, for the pads, pods, PCs, and phones, get a universal 12v charger from Maplins... MUCH more efficient!

 

[funflair]

Whatever you get, think about having a remote start/stop as the inverter needs to be as close to the batteries as possible so most likely not accessible.

I fitted a Merlin pure sine which we are happy with but they are about £700.

Martin

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[peterc10]

You really do not need an inverter for low voltage stuff like ipads, iphones, and other tablets and phones. Most only need 5v from a USB socket. We use 12v USB adapters for wife's ipad and iphone and my phone with no problem. My tablet and laptop work off higher voltage (15v and 19v) but I use 12v adapters for both that can be bought cheaply from Amazon or Ebay. Even got a 12v adapter to charge my electric shaver.

 

[funflair]

You really do not need an inverter for low voltage stuff like ipads, iphones, and other tablets and phones. Most only need 5v from a USB socket. We use 12v USB adapters for wife's ipad and iphone and my phone with no problem. My tablet and laptop work off higher voltage (15v and 19v) but I use 12v adapters for both that can be bought cheaply from Amazon or Ebay. Even got a 12v adapter to charge my electric shaver.

Quite right you don't "need" but it is quite easy to just plug in the 240 volt adapter from home and stick the inverter on, if you are worried about power plug them all in as you drive.

That's what I do anyway.

Martin

 

[oldosc]

God getting worried about showing off.
why do you need a pure sine wave inverter, that's for pretty sensitive stuff.
I run a bog standard chineese inverter 700 watts, TV, samsung, mac air book .
Lady J's iron(reluctantly) 800 watt, by running engine while she irons (can't break her of the habit, although sheets are out) 800 watts is 800/12 =60+ amps.+ 5%.
Best battery inverter see Stirling B to B (don't need to hack the alternator avoiding warranty problems) I gave 45 quid for my 700 watt machine some two years ago still running.(ebay()

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[Huwmari]

God getting worried about showing off.
why do you need a pure sine wave inverter, that's for pretty sensitive stuff.
I run a bog standard chineese inverter 700 watts, TV, samsung, mac air book .
Lady J's iron(reluctantly) 800 watt, by running engine while she irons (can't break her of the habit, although sheets are out) 800 watts is 800/12 =60+ amps.+ 5%.
Best battery inverter see Stirling B to B (don't need to hack the alternator avoiding warranty problems) I gave 45 quid for my 700 watt machine some two years ago still running.(ebay()

Can't believe you use an iron - on holiday!? The crumpled look is definitely de rigeur for us and everything else we have is 12V, making for an easy life on holiday.

 

[funflair]

God getting worried about showing off.
why do you need a pure sine wave inverter, that's for pretty sensitive stuff.
)

Pure sine wave to run the coffee machine as the Nespresso won't run on square wave also microwave runs a dam site better on pure

Martin

 

[wizzer59]

Being a single man the only thing I miss in my van is a microwave oven for TV dinners what size inverter would I need for average 4.5mins miking?? Happy to have engine running as well

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[138go]

Being a single man the only thing I miss in my van is a microwave oven for TV dinners what size inverter would I need for average 4.5mins miking?? Happy to have engine running as well

Yep meet someone like that on Portland in a car park. We were parked next to them. Had to move when he switched everything on and then the engine. He had it running for a couple of hours on tick over. Same with generators .. Very Anti-Social especially parked near others who use 12v for everything. Even converted an electric toothbrush. We do use an inverter sometimes but it's only 300w

 

[funflair]

Being a single man the only thing I miss in my van is a microwave oven for TV dinners what size inverter would I need for average 4.5mins miking?? Happy to have engine running as well

2kw should do you, with big cables and big fuse and at least 200ah of Good batteries.

Martin

 

[wizzer59]

Yep meet someone like that on Portland in a car park. We were parked next to them. Had to move when he switched everything on and then the engine. He had it running for a couple of hours on tick over. Same with generators .. Very Anti-Social especially parked near others who use 12v for everything. Even converted an electric toothbrush. We do use an inverter sometimes but it's only 300w

Wow backup a bit fella, I did say 4.5 MINS and you will never be parked next to me cos I don't camp in car parks

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