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Post by Pollik on Dec 31, 2012 23:20:16 GMT
I have solar panels rated at 120W (I think). I have three batteries, total rating 330 Ah. Mostly that works well, in the south of France in summer...I can run my fairly high end lap pretty much all day. In winter, in Wales, it is a different tale, of course, and it doesn't even produce the power to run the satellite receiver on standby and the satellite modem, but that is a different story. I have a small inverter that runs off the cigarette socket which gives me enough to recharge my camera battery, say. I want to take my food processor next time I go, which is about 800W. It would only be used for 10 to 20 minutes a day, but it would be be used most days. So I am thinking of adding a 1000W. Obviously, I am not going to use the cigarette lighter for this. My plan is to take a line straight off the batteries, with an inline fuse. I have cupboard space near the batteries to house the inverter and from there is only a small hop to the kitchen work surface. What have I have forgotten? What should the fuse be rated? The lines from the battery - thicker the better, for less resistance, but minimum thickness should be what? Should I stop kidding myself and find someone to do it for me? An inverter can be had for £70 www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?client=opera&q=1000w+inverter&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=199864128019129864&sa=X&ei=GhniUKH3JpK2hAfNg4GYBg&ved=0CGEQ8wIwAQ - would that be OK or best avoided/ Help me out here, chaps, please?
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Post by robmac on Jan 1, 2013 15:16:28 GMT
Not sure but a 1000w inverter may not be sufficient to power an 800w appliance. I know that may sound silly, but the start up load may exceed 1000w, somebody more technical than what I am should be able to advise, but bear that in mind!
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Post by bigboack on Jan 1, 2013 18:43:42 GMT
Soft start inverters are better suited to devices with motors. They can handle the initial surge required to start the motor moving. Always choose an inverter with a higher power rating than the appliance that you want to use, as some energy is lost, typically 10%, by the inverter itself.
There are two power ratings on an inverter, continuous and peak. Beware of sellers who quote only peak values. You should choose an inverter by its continuous output or power.
Inverters up to 150 watts can be plugged into a car cigar lighter. 300W inverters are supplied with cigar lighter (for use with appliances up to 200W, and battery leads for use with appliances over 200W. Larger inverters are supplied with battery leads only.
Consider the size of inverters, and the weight. Our range is compact in size, but higher power ones can be quite heavy.
Our range of inverters are all fitted with one or more standard UK square pin sockets. We also sell travel adapters to convert to European twin plugs.
The table below gives a general indication of power consumption. As a rule of thumb, appliance that produces heat (e.g. a kettle) heat will use lots of power. Anything with a motor will use a fair amount of power. Consumer electronics generally use very little power. It is always best to look at the appliance rating plate. We sell both 12 and 24 volt inverters. Cars have 12V batteries, many commercial vehicles have 24V batteries.
An inverter will consume battery power. Using an appliance that takes 120W is the same as leaving your car headlights on. You can calculate how long you can run an appliance for on a battery by looking at the battery rating. A 50 ampere hour battery will deliver 50 amps for 1 hour. At 12 volts, that is 600W for 1 hour (12volts x 50amps=600watts). Therefore it will power one tenth of the power (for example a 60 watt portable TV) for ten times as long, i.e. 10 hours. However in reality you will not drain the battery completely, so you will probably get about 8 hours usage. Batteries also get less efficient as they get older, so you should take this into account. If you use the inverter sensibly with the car engine running, it should be OK. Domestic Appliances Electric clock 4W Clock radio 5W Worklight 100W Blender 350W Food processor 400W Electric blanket 400W Portable vacuum cleaner 525W Dishwasher - cool dry 700W Hair curler 750W Microwave - 600W to 900W Clothes washer (vertical) 900W Vacuum cleaner 900W Coffeemaker 1200W 2-slice toaster 1200W Electric iron 1200W Small hob 1250W Dishwasher - hot dry 1450W Hair dryer 1500W Audio / Video 12 Inch colour TV 16W Games console 20W Satellite TV receiver 30W CD or DVD player 30W VCR 40W Stereo system (at average volume) 55W CD changer / mini system 60W 13 Inch colour TV 72W 20 Inch TV/VCR combo 110W 27 Inch colour TV 170W Home theatre system 500W Lighting Fluorescent light 15W 100W incandescent light 100W Twin halogen worklight 1000W Home Office Fax machine - standby 5W Inkjet printer 35W Laptop computer 50W - 70W Fax machine - printing 80W Desktop computer 75W - 150W Power tools Glue gun 20W Soldering Iron 30W Switchable soldering Iron 130W Jigsaw 240W 6 Inch bench grinder 250W Belt sander 400W Electric drill 3/8 inch chuck 400W Electric drill 1/2 Inch chuck 600W 14 Inch chain saw 1200W Battery charger
7.2V cordless drill charger 8W Camcorder (6V, 1200mA) 23W Phone charger 25W Fast charger (for AA/AA) 35W
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Post by Etienne Le Croq on Jan 1, 2013 19:23:59 GMT
Great tutorial! Thanks Big Man
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Post by bigboack on Jan 1, 2013 21:12:03 GMT
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Post by Pollik on Jan 2, 2013 11:16:31 GMT
I was just scrolling down to ask you what you meant when you said "our range of....." ;D Thanks BB.
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Post by Firefox on Jan 3, 2013 8:48:58 GMT
I have a 1000W inverter. I run it off 220Ah batteries which is not really enough capacity but it gives me flexibility.
All the bigger inverters come with thick cables you attach direct to the battery.
Most things like drills, food prcessors and fan heaters up to 700-800W you should be Ok running off a 1000W inverter. It takes quite a chunk out of your battery though. You can be drawing 70A which is not good for a pair of batteries. Really need a bank of 3 or 4 . Also there is some effect (forgotten what it is called) but basically it says you get less capacity than you would think when drawing a big current. It boils down to the fact you are pulling the charge off the plates at a big rate and the batteries need recovery time for the charge to redistribute.
So you may think 70A is OK for an hour if you have 220Ah but in practice depending on the state of batteries and their charge (most charging is not fully efficient) you will only get 15 or 20 minutes use before the inverter alarms due to low voltage at supply batteries. Most inverters will alarm and switch off as the voltage drops below 12v to prevent damaging the supply batteries with heavy discharge.
Regular food processing and low power grills/microwaves would be better suited to a bigger battery bank - 4 x 100Ah batteries at least. You also need a means of charging your battery bank like 4 big solar panels or a high power alternator and battery to battery smart charging system - Stirling or similar. It can be done on a van but better suited to a boat due to weight and space for the batteries.
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Post by Pollik on Jan 3, 2013 23:00:36 GMT
Thanks FF. I thought about a 4th battery, but I don't have a natural place to put without without some planning...my battery box holds 3 x 110 Ah batteries. I have solar panels, but they don't do much in winter. I don't have a generator either, so it would be running the engine. The charging system is whatever Euramobil put in as standard for two batteries, ditto alternator. Thanks for the advice guys. Something for me to think about some more.
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Post by Pollik on Jan 23, 2013 22:48:44 GMT
Been away, done some thinking, come back. Inverters seem to come in three flavours - true sine wave, modified sine wave, step wave. Maplins told me that my laptop would be OK, but that my food processor might not be. Online, www.roadtripamerica.com/dashboarding/Power-Inverters.htm , it is a different story. The bit that worries me is where it says that variable speed motors might benefit from pure sine wave. My food processor has, I think, 7 discrete speed settings, from the feel of the control, anyway. The difference in price to opt for pure sine wave is substantial! Any thoughts?
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Post by Firefox on Jan 23, 2013 23:18:01 GMT
Pure sine wave are a lot more expensive it's true. I would generally say don't bother with them but I know certain bits of electronic kit are sensitive. It would probably be cheaper overall to get a modified sign wave and cheaper food processor - something that uses a resistor or similar to give you 2-3 speeds rather than fancy electronics. Strange but true! Then again some fancy food processors may work off modified sign wave - difficult to know exactly though. I know my low power microwave does not like the modified sign wave. The lap top is OK as they usually use another plug in transformer which give the right DC the laptop needs.
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Post by Pollik on Jan 24, 2013 17:28:13 GMT
So let's say my food processor doesn't like it...how would I notice?
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