OT - Inverters 12vdc - 240vac
Turbo Mini Forums

I'm looking to get a large inverter for my campervan. Thinking of aroun 3000W so big enough to power a microwave and the wifes hair dryer. I'm not sure at the moment to go for a modified sine wave or pure sine wave.

Are there any disadvantages of pure sine inverters, apart from the cost?

In reality do I need pure sine? what will not work with modified sine?

Team Racing

Would building a genny into a side/under locker not be easier Jim? This is what my Dads motorhome has got.

the only problem with that is that a genny big enough to run a microwave will be bloody noisy, and I've got about 40 deep cycle batteries to use

Team Racing

What about a 12v microwave? They are about £180 I think

EDIT: Wrong price

Edited by John on 18th Nov, 2009.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

exactly £180 for a 12v microwave, or £40 for a 240v microwave and £150 for large inverter to keep wife happy with hair dryer, hair straitners sex toys etc.

Team Racing

Do your missus have Sybian or something Jim? Or do ann-summer make 240v vibe's now?

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

not sure which one it is, I think it's for farm animals

Team Racing

lmao! you a sick puppy Jim!

Another thing, do the maths....

3kW from 12V (assuming the inverter is 100% efficient which it won't be) is 250A.

Even if your battery(s) could deliver 250A for more than a couple of minutes, it/they wouldn't last for long......

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

oh well, theres always the gearstick

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

on a serious note, in the summer when doing alot of woodwork on my boat, i borrowed a mates 1000w convertor to saw wood etc in the back of my van down the port, got one on my xmas list now, i think he got his from northern tools or whatever that catalogues called, about £120

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

a 3000w Sinewave inverter is around 1200 quid ... a cheap 3000w inverter is 200 quid but on the cheaper item you cant run certain appliences ..

Here is the inverter I'm thinking off. Pure Sine 3000w peak (1500w continous) £199 delivered to my door. Can't be bad for this can it?

I've got 4 38ah yuasa batterys, each with a max dscharge of 300amps. they would in theory last 30 mins flat out. I do that a microwave pulls more than 1000w so should leave plenty of overhead. Also a pasty only takes 2 mins to warm up, so I will have to recharge batterys after every 5 pasties. I can live with that :)

Team Racing

Can you cook me a pasty at Avon next year please Jim? Or do you need all 5?

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Just a couple of points.

Those inverters are very inefficient, you put in a lot more than you take out. I ran down a 80Ah battery in a couple of evenings watching TV on my 350w inverter.

Think about re-charging. You could overload your alternator if you switch in a load of flat batteries.

Personally I chose just to use a 350W in our motorhome. The plan was to get a small silent generator if I needed more, but that has never happened.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

doh! forgot the link

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Team Racing

I have to agree with the Genny if you want some oompf, i was suprised at how quite some of them are, literally just a phut phut when you are right next to them.