Has anyone used the power inverters that Harbor Fright sells? I'm thinking of getting one so that we can use a car to power a fridge. https://www.harborfreight.com/750-watt-continuous-1500-watt-peak-power-inverter-66817.html
Never heard of CEN-Tech, but it's so much less expensive than others out there....
I've used one to power our fridge during the ice storm 11 years ago. Hooked it up to the battery of the Rolla parked outside and would start and run the Rolla when the battery got low. Buy the "extended warranty" if you are concerned about longevity.
The GRM Event van used one if I remember right. Maybe Tom can chime in on how it's held up for another year of hard use?
The0retical said:The GRM Event van used one if I remember right. Maybe Tom can chime in on how it's held up for another year of hard use?
It’s still in the van. I’ve not needed to use it, but it’s one of the reasons I bought the van from Tom - rather than dealing with a generator I’ll never remember to start/test periodically, or have to worry about it getting stolen if it’s left running overnight, I’ll always have this one ready. I’m not sure how long the van will idle with a load on the inverter, but with a 30-gallon tank I think it’ll be longer than most generators.
In reply to Pete Gossett :
Based on the rating, that appears to be the Jupiter one, as the CEN version does not have one that high.
And looking up the alternator rating for the car, it's peak is just over 1200W, so I may as well stop at the 1000W inverter- which is less than $100. Just need cables- which is easy to make.
Get the one rated for what you intend to use at the "continuous" rating, not the "peak" or "surge" rating. And it doesn't hurt to upsize. Even a 1500/3000 (really 1500) watt model isn't going to always pull 1500 watts, it will just be available should you need it.
https://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_i2050_chevy-high-output-alternators.html
This made me remember my plans for an "ultimate survival vehicle". It appeared that factory alternators generally put out 100-105 amps which is your limiting factor for inverter output. These monsters at 240 and 370 amps look pretty cool though. Any downside to installing a high output alternator on the tow pig?
In reply to Dr. Hess :
I only need to run a fridge, which I need to find out it's power- but it appears that the biggest ones run at ~750 W. So 1000/2000W should be fine. If it can run a TV and cable box, that would be a bonus- since that would provide info.
KyAllroad- thanks for the suggestion, but I'm just going to use the Focus that is in the garage not being used. If I were to "extend" it, it would be adding a second battery to run stuff when the car is off- which isn't a bad idea. Beyond that, I'll just get a generator.
I have one hard mounted in the RX-7 so I can use cheap used laptops and other 110v accessories. They just work. Only problem I get is when the fan gets clogged with dust and the unit overheats. But this is kind of an edge case, since everything in the car eventually gets clogged with dust and stops working.
Some electronics aren't happy with cheaper inverters, I'd like to say microwaves rely on a quirk of the shape of the household AC wave to work. For certain, laptop power supplies are perfectly happy, so a modern TV should be okay too.
I use the little 100W-ish HF inverters in my cars for laptops, cell phones, whatever. I had one permanently mounted with a 110V plug in the dash for the Megasquirted 20V Rolla. I'd plug the tablet into that for tuning.
In reply to Knurled. :
What I'm finding are true sine wave inverters- assuming they are actually delivering a true sine wave. But the one thing that MUST be powered is the refridgerator. Everything else has an alternative- although sleeping w/o a/c sucks.
KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:https://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_i2050_chevy-high-output-alternators.html
This made me remember my plans for an "ultimate survival vehicle". It appeared that factory alternators generally put out 100-105 amps which is your limiting factor for inverter output. These monsters at 240 and 370 amps look pretty cool though. Any downside to installing a high output alternator on the tow pig?
Could potentially burn through cables...
In reply to alfadriver :
A/C might be too much load for an inverter unless you get the big mammajamma. They have a remarkably high startup current. (I am thinking window-mount house type units)
In reply to Knurled. :
I really have no idea how to plug in the AC units- they are hard wired to the house. But the real vital stuff can unplug plug in.
What I did realize is the challenge it making sure the people who are there know how to use it.... It's not that obvious to a 90 y/o widow. But I think one hour a day of the fridge running may be good enough. Or perhaps twice a day, since we have someone stopping by twice a day.
RVers have some sort of mod to smooth out the startup jolt window units tend to have.
You can run a lot of modern TVs straight off 12v. Skip the cable box and get a roku, and run that off the USB out on the TV.
In reply to Tim Baxter :
The cable box is the same unit that would feed the Roku, LOL. Then again, my MIL would not understand streaming- she has her shows that happen at specific times.
I had a HF inverter once. Just like with audio amplifiers, ratings are bogus numbers. I had a 110w mini fridge with a starting wattage of 185. I bought a 200w/350 surge watt inverter from HF and it couldn't do it. When the fridge tried to start the inverter just screamed an overload warning and shut off.
Replaced it with an Energizer brand 150/300w and it never flinched.
If you get a HF inverter, double the rating and it should work.
It's kinda like when you're buying an audio amplifier. Buy a Pyle rated at 300w and it won't make nearly the SPL of a Fosgate rated at only 200w. They play with numbers. The HF units might rate theirs based on 130v AC since most residential electric is a little above 120v. Or they might rate them assuming 60F operation instead of a realistic operating temp.
I will go cheap on anything... except inverters.
mtn said:KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:https://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_i2050_chevy-high-output-alternators.html
This made me remember my plans for an "ultimate survival vehicle". It appeared that factory alternators generally put out 100-105 amps which is your limiting factor for inverter output. These monsters at 240 and 370 amps look pretty cool though. Any downside to installing a high output alternator on the tow pig?
Could potentially burn through cables...
Do your research!
High amperage alternators can be a good thing, but for any given case design there is a max amperage they can adequately handle. I bought a hi-amp alternator for a 73 Impala. I forget if it was a 10-series or 12-series alternator, but I got one re-wound for 80 amps because I used that wagon as an RV. I had an isolated coach battery that I wanted to be sure it charged with short runs. Big mistake. The first time charging a low coach battery resulted in cooking the alternator (and rather stupidly my hand when I touched it). The big-amp alternators in those cases are designed for audio where high-amp draws are infrequent and short (big bass hits). They can't take the amperage for longer than a second or two.
CS cases like are found in 90s GMs can take a significant amount of load, but just make sure you aren't giving a constant load to the alternator that is larger than it can handle. The most I've seen from a factory alternator was in commercial/ambulance/cutaway trucks at 250A. There are also some applications where they install two alternators to get more amperage instead of increasing the output of one.
In reply to Curtis73 :
The more I think about it, the more likely that I go to Home Depot when we get there and just get a Dewalt one. Even better is that I'll know what the rating will need to be, as I'll get the boilerplate from the fridge.
I knew a guy once that set up a Blazer to "go anywhere." He sort of overdid anything. Like in the 70's, he had a 454 Corvette he was idling through BF, TX, trying not to be noticed and the local PoPo stopped him anyway. The cop wanted to see how fast it would go, so the cop set up a radar gun and clocked him at 196 cresting a hill. Anyway, he built this K5 Blazer. It had a large inverter, refrigerator, etc. He mounted an additional generator to the motor and an extra battery.
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