New to inverters. Have some Q's.

[John61CT]

My full sized clippers for the dog say .19 amp at 120v. With inverter losses that would be 2 amps or so at 12v.

And the startup surge could be 5A or more.

 

[BigT]

I didn't really believe the 500A comment either, but being an electrical ****, and had ask in case, as I often do, I has misquoted what I read.

I found this on Amazon ---> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DA29ES8/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2AZX3U4LEII4O&colid=3RXTXFO12V95Z&psc=1

It's only rated for 85 Watts, though, so you'd have to be careful and not try to use the laptop while it was charging (not a big deal really).

Also, there are many reviews suggesting the quality of the plastic is pretty weak, causing the charger to break apart easily.

 

[RVTravel]

Nice find BigT! I may need to pick one of those up myself. I was considering the Kensington, but those adapters should use less power.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Yes if you can find a suitable high quality 'car adapter' for your Mac, then by all means, use that. Still, its nice to have a PSW inverter for some items. And as a backup with your AC adapter for the laptop if the uh......'ciggy port' fails....


I have an adapter similar to that for one of my laptops and after awhile it can lose connection, and I have to shove and twist to get it working again.

 

[John61CT]

Note that some Dell models, maybe ThinkPad and Mac as well do handshaking with their proprietary power supplies, may not work at all with third party gear.

Good reason IMO to avoid those brands.

___
Death to factory ciggy plugs! Chop 'em off, replace with Blue Sea twist-locks (backward compatible) or even better Anderson PowerPole (wire up a couple adapters to carry).

The intermittent disconnection issue can cause fires even at low current rates.

 

[BigT]

Yes if you can find a suitable high quality 'car adapter' for your Mac, then by all means, use that. Still, its nice to have a PSW inverter for some items. And as a backup with your AC adapter for the laptop if the uh......'ciggy port' fails....


I have an adapter similar to that for one of my laptops and after awhile it can lose connection, and I have to shove and twist to get it working again.

I'm still planning to get a PSW, right now I'm just looking for an easy and quick way to recharge my Mac while on the road this weekend.  

Loosening up of the Acc. outlets is something I have noticed too.

To be honest, I'm starting to wonder if I need my laptop on road trips at all.  If my iPhone has a decent signal, I can take and post photos straight through the phone, check and send emails, and do pretty much everything I can/could do on my computer.

 

[Weight]

The argument against inverters is never ending. I prefer to have a small quality inverter and use the chargers that were supplied by the manufacturer of the computer or other stuff. The problem with cigi type plugs is they make bad contact, are limited to the amps they can carry, and i'm sure other things. The marine power outlets are a bit better but not as good as a direct connection to the positive battery. with a fuse. there are other type plugs for dc voltage. see anderson. I use my tablet when traveling. But there are things a lap top is best.

 

[BigT]

Weight.  We're in complete agreement about using the original power cords, especially when powering something as expensive and potentially touchy as my MacBook Air.  
I'm really not too keen on plugging it into one of those cheap Acc.-powered chargers.  

I still plan to get a PSW inverter, just not this weekend.  

Maybe I’ll see if Fry’s has anything I can use.   I see they have a Wagen 2600 / 200 Watt PSW inverter for just $70.  
200W should be enough for an 85 - 100W laptop and a small razor.  Their website says they have it in their store, just down the road.   

I always worry about their stuff, though. Most of the boxes look as if they were opened at some point and then taped shut.

 

[BigT]

OK, I got one.

I found a Wagan Tech, "Elite 400 Watt Pro" PSW inverter at Fry's Electronics.  

List was $130, but they price-match Amazon prices, so I got it for $104. 

I actually went there for the "Elite 200 Watt Pro", but noticed the 400 right next to it on the shelf and thought, "What the heck"...  

I like the way the wires attach to the 400 better than the 200.  The smaller unit had sockets you plugged the included wires into, and they didn't look very tight; kind of like how the leads of a multi-meter plug into their unit.

The 400 has threaded posts with large, insulated nuts that you secure eyelet connectors to.  I like that a lot better.  

It's also got an additional ground terminal, but I've read that most users don't actually use it.  

Now I just have to figure out where I'm going to mount it and what size fuse to run on the positive cable.  

Thanks again to everyone who replied with advise on this topic, and thanks in advance to whoever tells me what fuse to run. 

 

[Weight]

You need a wire size chart. Wire size determine the fuse size. The fuse protects the wire and must be at the positive battery terminal. Amps & distance & volts are used to determine wire size. I prefer 1% or less voltage drop for sensitive things as inverters. This company offers a chart. They also make quality cables.; http://www.genuinedealz.com/custom-cables/custom-battery-cable-assembly
I like these terminal mounted fuses by Blue Sea.; https://shop.marinehowto.com/products/blue-sea-marine-rated-battery-fuse
Again, the fuse protects the wire. I looked at the unit online, they don't tell you much about draw. The supplied wires are too small. 400 watts will not work on a cigi plug. Quick math; 800 watt surge = close to 70 amps from battery. 400 watt = 35 amps from battery. 10 feet one-way from battery. If it were mine, I would use 50 amps as my reference. Use 2 awg cable, with a 200 amp fuse at the battery positive. The fuse protects the wire, larger fuses have less voltage drop than smaller ones.

 

[John61CT]

Blue Sea's Circuit Wizard app is IMO the best resource, clearly shows the many factors involved in sizing wire gauge ove distance.

Make sure to use "round trip" and measure the actual wire path rather than as the bug flies.

 

[BobBski]

I use the same Schumacher 410 power inverter that I used while a truck driver. Alligator clips. Use it to recharge my razor, laptop, run my CPAP at night and also Ryobi battery charger; not all at the same time. It also has one USB port that works even when inverter is off. Had it a long time now and no issues.

 

[Lowdesertpatrol]

Ive always used MSW. I recently bought into the internet experts hype and got a PSW. It is 4-5x the size of a normal inverter....absolutely ridiculous frankly. 1500w is the size of a 5 gallon gas jug. It consumes 3x the idle current and doesnt run anything with less measured amperage out of the battery. The only difference is my 120v fan doesnt make any noise on startup, my fridge is slightly quieter, and fridge seems to run about 30-60 seconds less.

Overall im using more current from PSW.

My ipad, dorm fridge, fans, tv, etc has been on MSW for 4-5 years no problems.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

sorry to hear your new inverter is not giving you the benefits you mau have hoped for.

not all pure sine inverters are made the same. also, there are applications where modified sign wave is just fine. you may not have anything that a good pure sine inverter can do better at.

i have been very happy with my upgrade to puresine. i have had lower running temps so less fan time and as such quieter operation. i can run my hair trimmer on it and not have to find a plug in or run the genny for a trim now. i can use the touchpad on my laptop while charging (before the touch pad was useless while plugged into a MSW source)

the over all conversion efficiency of my new victron pure sine is a good 10% better than any of my old MSW units, and i had some quality ones from zantrex not cheapo walmart ones

my 375 watt puresine will start motor loads (mini fridge) that my 700 watt msw would not. even though the msw had a higher surge rating by 50% and the victron is far more configurable and accepts a broader range of input voltages

best thing to do is really research the needs of the loads you run, and the specs and capabilities of the new inverter one might be considering

 

[Lowdesertpatrol]

Mine is also 10% better conversion efficiency. But actually measure the load from backside. You will probably see no difference.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

i always measure at the battery, only real info. just because one or 2 examples dont pencile out, does not mean every possible scenario will be the same. that is why i reseach and test the heck out of stuff to get real data that applies o my situation. after doing this for 20 some odd years, i got a pretty good grip on what is going down

my big disappointment is the so called "search modes" that some have. where they shut down the inverter and just pulse it every so often to see if there is a load that it needs to turn on. i have tried a few but none have worked with the loads i was hoping to use them to my advantage. like a 120v fridge, even a swing motor style

 

[Marvin]

Hey, why don't you use solar generator-battery. I'm waiting for my new Imuto M5 and folding solar panels, my friends use it and never complained, and is summer it's just perfect, take a look here https://bestgenset.org/best-small-generator/
There are other safe generators, but solar do not emit anything and there are cheep models
I've also seen some wind turbines that are connected to power station and produce enough power for small gadgets and appliances