power inverter

[George Taylor]

I am in the process of finding a inverter for the times that we are using the battery and need to use something that needs 120v. I found this one while looking and it sounds good. What does the group think?
http://www.invertersrus.com/whistlerpi-2000w.htmld.

[starleen2]

Well first you gotta have some idea of what you are planning to run off the inverter - that will determine the wattage you need. So what are you thinking about using that's 110v?

[George Taylor]

Most likely the bigest thing will be our microwave. It is a small one, 1000 or 1100 watter. But that would only be for a short time. if we would use it for anything else it would be for some small lights.

[Ratkity]

A microwave uses an enormous amount of power. It will most likely blow a fuse in the inverter and drain the battery.

Hugs,
Ratkity

[bobhenry]

Most likely the bigest thing will be our microwave. It is a small one, 1000 or 1100 watter. But that would only be for a short time. if we would use it for anything else it would be for some small lights.

Here is my microwave.



If you can't slow down and enjoy the moment just stay home.

Cooking is time and temperature~~~ more time and lest temperature is a better end product.

[dh]

And this is BobHenry's toaster oven

[wannabefree]

You really don't want to run a microwave off an inverter. Buy a generator. It won't cost much more and you won't have to deal with things like exploding batteries.

I'm sure you can find people who have done this, but it's not a good idea. You will be drawing huge amounts of current from a battery that is designed to deliver current slowly (unless you use a standard car battery, which again I wouldn't recommend, but it would be better than a deep cycle for this use).

The techie part (skip if you have a low threshold for boredom):
When you draw large amounts of current from a battery in a short period you generate heat. You can generate enough heat to boil the electrolyte, venting hydrogen, oxygen, and vaporized acid. If the battery gets too hot the case can crack.

Deep cycle batteries (used in trailers) are designed to deliver current slowly, say at 1/20 to 1/10 of their rated capacity. Since they are designed to give up currently more slowly than a starter battery, their internal resistance can be higher, meaning they heat faster than a starter battery.

A starter battery, on the other hand, can give up current faster. This is the reason for cold cranking amps (CCA) ratings on car batteries. A typical CCA is 700A, plenty of current to run your microwave a very short while. Then this battery, too, starts to heat up. And they don't do a good job of delivering current slowly, which is why leaving your dome light on overnight can discharge your car battery.

Batteries fail messily. Usually they just leak, but they can explode. The more you stress a battery the more likely this is to happen. You can be relatively safe drawing 1/4 of the capacity of a battery (25A for a 100Ah battery) but more than that is heading into dangerous territory.

Sorry, I am passionate about this. If you decide to go ahead and run your micro off an inverter, try this experiment first. Take a fresh alkaline 1.5V batter and short it with a paper clip. Stand back and watch what happens. Do this outside; it can be messy.

[bobhenry]

And this is BobHenry's toaster oven

And my redneck hot water heater to !

[Shadow Catcher]

If you have a properly sized inverter and an appropriately sized battery I don't see a concern, that is what an inverter is for.

[b.bodemer]

I use my inverter for small things:

dvd player
radio
fan at night

I have an 800 watt inverter and could go down to 400.

Barb

[Senior Ninja]

We bought an inverter from H/F. Now with the twenty per cent off coupons I'd check out what they currently have on the shelf. You'll get a free flashlight too.
Steve

[timlsalem]

I have a 1200 W inverter and a 700 W micro. In order to use the micro I need to be pluged into my car also. The alt. is the umph it needs to run.

[bdosborn]

I'm sure you can find people who have done this, but it's not a good idea. You will be drawing huge amounts of current from a battery that is designed to deliver current slowly (unless you use a standard car battery, which again I wouldn't recommend, but it would be better than a deep cycle for this use).

The current draw of an inverter running a 700W microwave will be around 75 amps, which is well within the capacity of a deep cycle battery. Here's a link to a smaller trojan deep cycle battery:

Trojan Battery

It shows a cold cranking capacity of 440 Amps at 0F so the inverter is only about 20% of the rated capacity. Thousands of commercial RVs have inverters that run the microwave without a problem, other than greatly shortened battery life. I don't see there being as big a problem as the post would lead you to believe, unless you're using too small of a battery (<120 amp- hr).

Microwaves don't run well on modified sine wave inverter; the output is reduced. A pure sine wave inverter is best and it should be at least 1000W so they can get pretty spendy. The xantrex prowatt SW is popular over at the big RV forum for running microwaves. Here's a link to an inverter install. The discussion is a little squabbly but that's how those guys are over there:

Inverter Install

That being said, you probably won't be happy with the battery life you get running the microwave as it is such a large load....

Bruce

[ERV]

I run a 2000 watt inverter in the back of my pickup. It is hooked up to 2 big batteries, and also hooked to the trucks battery. If I am running a big load I always start the truck. This just keeps the batteries from getting pulled down to fast and hard. Run a lot of tools off of it when I am building decks in peoples back yards.
When in camp we use an electric skillet and coffee make, and a few other low draw items. It is a lot better than cranking up a loud generator. And we don't use it that often, so the cost of running the truck is very small.
I would say that if you watch what you use and the length you use it you should be fine .
Work takes a lot out of the batteries because I do put loads on them all sumer. I get about 4 years out of them. In the winter I keep a battery tender on them when it is cold. The other nice thing about having them hooked to the truck battery is when I forget and leave the lights on and come out to start it and the truck battery is dead. I just go under the hood and the back and throw two lock-out switches and I am on my way.
One of these days I will add pics in the album of my setup. They are in my new truck, but not the way I want them.

[Billy K]

I have a 1500 watt Cobra inverter in my semi. To run an 800 watt microwave the truck needs to be running.

The startup draw is impressive to the negative side!!

ALL of the drivers I know; run the truck in order to run a microwave or electric skillet. Computer,tv, dvd player, and a small fan all run at the same time without the engine; though more frequent startups for charging are required.

None of the 3 batteries we have are deep cycle and your mileage may vary...

For me....a generator is needed for loads as big as a microwave on an inverter and the inverter should be 1.5 to 2 times bigger than the startup watts.

Also, when buying an inverter; ask about the SINE Wave. You want the 'cleanest' current you can get, in order to protect your electronics.