DC to AC Power Inverter

[Znarfgh]

Hopefully all of you with 2000W inverters have at least 200Ah of battery capacity - you're going to need it. If you are running flooded batteries you'll only have 100Ah of useable capacity (if you want the batteries to last).

I work on the principle "if I can't run it on 12V, it stays at home"

 

[AnD3rew]

Hopefully all of you with 2000W inverters have at least 200Ah of battery capacity - you're going to need it. If you are running flooded batteries you'll only have 100Ah of useable capacity (if you want the batteries to last).

I work on the principle "if I can't run it on 12V, it stays at home"

I doubt I will ever use the full capacity of mine. I generally also only use 12v stuff on the road.

 

[MrMike]

Hopefully all of you with 2000W inverters have at least 200Ah of battery capacity - you're going to need it. If you are running flooded batteries you'll only have 100Ah of useable capacity (if you want the batteries to last).

I work on the principle "if I can't run it on 12V, it stays at home"

I run a 100amp lithium with a 3500W inverter, no issues with power, BMS puts out 200amps and the cells have a 3C rating, 60amp dcdc charger keeps it all topped up. Great for induction cooking and charging drone/power tools batteries.

 

[DenisM]

I run a 100amp lithium with a 3500W inverter, no issues with power, BMS puts out 200amps and the cells have a 3C rating, 60amp dcdc charger keeps it all topped up. Great for induction cooking and charging drone/power tools batteries.

That's a very solid battery BMS performance! I'll need to check on the rating of my existing 100AH battery, but from memory 200amps is about double the recommended output... maybe I need a second one

 

[MrMike]

That's a very solid battery BMS performance! I'll need to check on the rating of my existing 100AH battery, but from memory 200amps is about double the recommended output... maybe I need a second one

That's a very solid battery BMS performance! I'll need to check on the rating of my existing 100AH battery, but from memory 200amps is about double the recommended output... maybe I need a second one

I thought about getting a 280 amp set-up, same size ABS case I have but with prismatic cells and same BMS, no need to worry about power for days..................

 

[emax]

@Jean Mercier

I would do a serious load test, for example with a 2KW heater. Run it for two hours, that's not a waste of energy in these cold days.

Check the temperature, maybe you have a thermal imaging camera or can borrow one somewhere. It's about the heat pockets, not the overall heat.

Even European electronics are mostly Chinese. However, quality control may be worse or non-existent at Chinese garage "companies". And I'm a bit picky about power electronics, especially in cars.

Electrolytic capacitors are often the cheapest and tend to fail too quickly. If you're clever enough, you can replace them with "Rubicon" capacitors.

Another test would be useful: an electronic power supply or something else that uses a lot of power but is not a resistive or inductive load, but is an electronic load. Run it for a while, turn the loads on and off, and stress it. For example, if you have an inverter, say a welding inverter, take that as a load and run that thing. You just have to pull some useless welds, but so what?

It would be important that you get repeatedly into the overload range, so that the thing switches off. Without a working safety shutdown, that would be out for me.

And it's a good idea to dismantle the housing when looking for heat pockets. Everything above 80 or even 90° C is suspicious.

If no problems occur during all the tests, that should be OK.

 

[Tinki]

I was very excited about the 220v outlet of the grenadier at the back of the centre console (now scrapped ) to be honest the main reason i wanted it is for laptop charging ( yes i know 12v laptop chargers exist ) and other small bits and bobs . I do long road trips ever 3-4 months and there is a lot of waitting @ ports and water crossings , so a 220v is a luxury. Once i get the car i will try and see if i can retrofit it ( the space for it should really be still in place under the console presumably . I personaly applaud the idea to play with stuff on the cheap ( that is my brothers way of doing things ) completely opposite to mine where i go all out ( after i convinced my self thay i absolutely need it or want it or a mixture of both ) . Looking forward to install ideas boys and girls .

 

[MrMike]

@Jean Mercier

I would do a serious load test, for example with a 2KW heater. Run it for two hours, that's not a waste of energy in these cold days.

Check the temperature, maybe you have a thermal imaging camera or can borrow one somewhere. It's about the heat pockets, not the overall heat.

Even European electronics are mostly Chinese. However, quality control may be worse or non-existent at Chinese garage "companies". And I'm a bit picky about power electronics, especially in cars.

Electrolytic capacitors are often the cheapest and tend to fail too quickly. If you're clever enough, you can replace them with "Rubicon" capacitors.

Another test would be useful: an electronic power supply or something else that uses a lot of power but is not a resistive or inductive load, but is an electronic load. Run it for a while, turn the loads on and off, and stress it. For example, if you have an inverter, say a welding inverter, take that as a load and run that thing. You just have to pull some useless welds, but so what?

It would be important that you get repeatedly into the overload range, so that the thing switches off. Without a working safety shutdown, that would be out for me.

And it's a good idea to dismantle the housing when looking for heat pockets. Everything above 80 or even 90° C is suspicious.

If no problems occur during all the tests, that should be OK.

@emax I've run an inverter for 3 years now (cheap Chinese) without issue, ventilation is the key so it seems with these. Runs faultlessly powering up to 2.2 KW
https://www.elinz.com.au/shop/inver...hlA3n8pGgvYU0Scw11nGphinsLBNnu4RoCFTEQAvD_BwE

 

[emax]

That's nice. But just a different kind of testing.

I don't say that Jeans is bad or unsafe. But I'm careful with power devices of any kind, be it electric or whatever. And unfortunately, especially with Chinese retailers, you can't judge the quality of other devices based on your experience with one device.

 

[Satoshi]

That's nice. But just a different kind of testing.

I don't say that Jeans is bad or unsafe. But I'm careful with power devices of any kind, be it electric or whatever. And unfortunately, especially with Chinese retailers, you can't judge the quality of other devices based on your experience with one device.

That was my whole point.

So yeah @Jean Mercier you're free to "buy from wherever you want". Just calm down. Talking about experience here:

Of course, Victron is probably built based of chinese components, but assembly is made in Europe, under European quality controls.
It won't overload nor explode as easily as a cheap chinese thingy dropshipped from the other side of the world, again talking about experience.

It costs a lot more but it's safer and more powerful. You don't want your Grenadier to catch fire on the next week of your delivery ;-)

 

[Beormund]

I have one of these (used for camping) which would fit snuggly under the rear seat as I don't have a secondary battery. Is there a way to get a 12v supply to it from the fuse/battery area on the other side of the seat? It can be recharged from a lighter socket. I have a lighter to dc5521 lead at the moment.

 

[Eric]

What about air fryers; they seem to be "on trend"?

Yep, China can't knock them out fast enough

 

[Logsplitter]

Yep, China can't knock them out fast enough

I love a good air fryer to take camping

 

[muxmax]

While trying not to be too sick of waiting I male plans and discard them again and make new ones. One question that keeps coming up is what power inverter I should buy. Does anyone have experience (preferably from continental Europe) with certainproducts that seem recommendable? What have I to consider when looking for one? Please excuse these stupid questions but I have neither experience nor a clue.

 

[emax]

The usual suspects with a good reputation are e.g. Victron, Envertech, Hoymiles.

Which model is another question: as always, it depends on: what power, what duty cycles, what type of construction (housing, connections, IP protection class ...), active or passive cooling, etc..

Lots of question to clarify.

 

[AnD3rew]

While trying not to be too sick of waiting I male plans and discard them again and make new ones. One question that keeps coming up is what power inverter I should buy. Does anyone have experience (preferably from continental Europe) with certainproducts that seem recommendable? What have I to consider when looking for one? Please excuse these stupid questions but I have neither experience nor a clue.

Apart from a quality brand the main things to consider are what you want to run from it. Check the power draw of the devices you want to run and make sure that the capacity of the inverter is enough. So if you have a device that needs 1000w you need an inverter with at least that cap in and preferably a safety margin on top. Also be aware that many devices may have a start up demand that is higher than the running demand. Inverters usually have a constant rating and a peak rating which it can sustain for short periods, but you shouldn’t rely on that to handle to surge demand of equipment that has larger electric motors and compressors etc as their surge can be for linger than the inverter is capable of it’s rated peak the base capacity should be high enough to handle the surge demand. And the you need to figure out how sensitive the devices you want to run are. Most modern appliances are designed for sine wave, those with basic electronics can run happily on the cheaper modified sine wave inverters, but those with more sensitive electronics need the pure sine wave. Unless cost is your biggest consideration always safer to choose pure sine wave. The higher the output and the pure sine wave are going to be the most expensive. If you want to run an induction cooktop or an electric kettle or a heater you are going to need probably at least 2000w, if just charging batteries then probably significantly less. 1000w should comfortably handle tv’s, radios, laptops, small kitchen appliances, electric drills etc.

 

[globalgregors]

Apart from a quality brand the main things to consider are what you want to run from it. Check the power draw of the devices you want to run and make sure that the capacity of the inverter is enough. So if you have a device that needs 1000w you need an inverter with at least that cap in and preferably a safety margin on top. Also be aware that many devices may have a start up demand that is higher than the running demand. Inverters usually have a constant rating and a peak rating which it can sustain for short periods, but you shouldn’t rely on that to handle to surge demand of equipment that has larger electric motors and compressors etc as their surge can be for linger than the inverter is capable of it’s rated peak the base capacity should be high enough to handle the surge demand. And the you need to figure out how sensitive the devices you want to run are. Most modern appliances are designed for sine wave, those with basic electronics can run happily on the cheaper modified sine wave inverters, but those with more sensitive electronics need the pure sine wave. Unless cost is your biggest consideration always safer to choose pure sine wave. The higher the output and the pure sine wave are going to be the most expensive. If you want to run an induction cooktop or an electric kettle or a heater you are going to need probably at least 2000w, if just charging batteries then probably significantly less. 1000w should comfortably handle tv’s, radios, laptops, small kitchen appliances, electric drills etc.

Stumbled upon this helpful table:

 

[Tinki]

I would be very interested to know where the original planed location was for the inverter . The location if the plug at the back of the center console was pretty solid choice .

 

[@nd]

I knew I would get comments on my Chinese stuff ... but I will answer ...

• I am free to buy wherever I want!
• A lot of stuff comes from China, the iPhone, the seat belts of the Grenadier, and probably quite some components of your Victron, if not all of them,
• The Victron is unknown British stuff for me
• The Victron (see link here) does cost 10 times more! 1100 euro instead of 100 euro (rounded prices)
• I am playing around, and am not sure I will use it often, therefore I don't buy expensive stuff, I am not a professional who will really work with the inverter and depends on it!
• I don't mind the warranty: as I will almost not use it, I don't need it, and for the price of the Victron I can buy 10 of them!

I bought some other stuff on Amazon (also for playing around with my Grenadier), thought it was European made, and it was also made in China, distributed by a Spanish company. Watch a later post!

I'm after a 3000w/6000w peak don't care where its from as long as it works and gets under the seat.
My seatbelts are no longer from China

 

[AnD3rew]

I would be very interested to know where the original planed location was for the inverter . The location if the plug at the back of the center console was pretty solid choice .

Possibly although in theory the vehicle is supposed to be water resistant to the level of the top of the footwell, possibly better elsewhere