Inverter Dilemma
Comments
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JimE,I have a 135w panel. 2000w PSW inverter and two 110ah batteries. I use my microwave , an electric toaster, a blender and a 240 HooveR. Not all at the same time of course but I have been using this system for three years and have found it very satisfactory. It's amazing to me how many folk think you are going to use these appliances 'forever' where in reality, 5 or 6 minutes maximum for toast, 3 mins to heat a drink and 45 secs to blend food! The vacuum is used for 3 or 4 mins at a time - nowhere near 'ruining' the batteries or anything else for that matter. The panel quickly restores the juice! We watch 3 or 4 hrs of tele some nights too. My advice would be to seek professional advice re the size of cable required. Mine is chunky and the thicker it is the less voltage drop. Dont be put off by the doom mongers!!! I wasn't and I am now EHU free and enjoying fabulous sites at massively reduced prices! That's the payoff! One last thing- 1500 watts is better that 1000 watts- you don't want your inverter to be near to max. I had my system professionally fitted- best money I ever spent!
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Your toothbrush- if you buy one that can be charged by USB (therefore able to charge off the 12v system) it will use a tiny amount of battery power- in fact, the panel will generate far more than the toothbrush uses. I installed my inverter on a heat sink but, I have never known it get warm let alone hot! but the system was 'belt and braces'. The other advice I would give is make sure that you can turn the inverter off when you have finished using it as it will continue to draw a little power when live. We overcame this problem by installing a 12v relay operated from an illuminated switch on the end of the bed box (wherever is convenient) which kills the inverter completely and I don't have to keep going under the bed to switch the inverter on and off- I really cant ever see us going back to EHU- this gives us fantastic freedom. Good luck with whatever you decide. Sorry I have appeared late on this one- I don't go into all sections all the time!!
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Hi Merve - your experiences makes me feel a lot more confident that an inverter will work for me.
With regard to the cable, I have already realised that a nice big chunky cable run between the floors of my MH will give optimum performance. Thanks for your wise words.
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No problem Jim. Non EHU? - best move I ever made. I've just booked another week at Cromer in Nov so I must be confident! Did it last year- No problems. 120w SP is certainly worth having and as I've said so many times, I would regard that as the starting
point for powering non EHU caravanning. My next one will be 200w.0 -
I've read this thread with interest. We have a caravan with a 120w suitcase style solar panel. We would like an inverter to only run the oh hairdryer in the winter. I'm slightly confused about what size inverter we would need and about various sine wave
options are best for a hairdryer.0 -
A hairdryer will probably be perfectly fine on modified sinewave Jim. It has no sensitive electrical components as far as I know. Most things will run on MSW - the omly reason I had PSW is that I don't have to check or worry about anything running off it-
everything will run on it. 120w SP is a good starting point for power collection. You really have to look at your system as a whole. What I mean by that is its no good having a large panel and a small battery as the SP can produce all the electricity it can
but will have nowhere to store it. You need to have a good capacity for storage. I got talking to a company at the show who had the new lithium ion batteries. Much lighter than the lead acid and stores more amps. You also need to do a bit of calculation with
amps, volts and ohms and work out how long you can have it on knowing the amps it will draw from the system. With my system for instance, with a hairdryer drawing say 40amps, I could easily tolerate it on for half an hour if needed although a microfibre towel
would be a better bet as the ladies on here will confirm. If you are interested in looking at non EHU I would suggest the section ' Tips for making caravanning cheaper' and the thread 'How to survive a non 240v site' Lots to read but excellent knowledge from
people who have done it- I have and I love it! Best of luck.0 -
Just a bit more Jim, The inverter chosen should reflect what 'is likely to be required of it' plus a good safety margin, hence mine with a capacity af 2000w. Although I will never use that sort of power through it, I know that it will work at nothing like maximum even with things like toaster, microwave etc. Again, the battery storage is a vital part of the system. In other words, it has to be 'balanced'
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Thought I would provide an update on my inverter. I have installed a 1000/2000W Pure Sine Wave model in a locker under a bed, with a 4 foot cable run to the batteries.
We have just tried out the hairdryer in the MH and using it for 10 mins on its low setting achieved the required result, although it was noticeable that the dryer wasn't producing quite as much heat as when connected to the mains.
The battery started at 12.9v, dropping to 11.8v during use and returning to 12.5v a minute or two after the inverter was switched off.
Thanks to everyone for all your advice. I think we now have a workable set up ready for off grid use.
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what make inverter did you fit?
I bought this item off ebay which has twin cooling fans and also comes with a remote controller.
We already had a 120w solar panel.
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I was looking at this one for running a hair dryer off a 110 amp hour battery with a 120w solar panel. Not nearly as expensive as Jims. would this do the job or do I need to be less tight?
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I will hard wire it direct to the battery and fuseit of course.
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Glad to hear it Jim. Don't forget that a nice bright day with the sun above in summer will be far more efficient than in winter with a weak sun. You just have use your noddle. Dont forget that you can always add another battery if needed as I did. Just be
aware of weight though. There is the new lithium ion batteries of course which are half the weight and they hold more charge. If you want to go full non EHU then they might be an option. I am eyeing them up at the moment!!0 -
I was looking at this one for running a hair dryer off a 110 amp hour battery with a 120w solar panel. Not nearly as expensive as Jims. would this do the job or do I need to be less tight?
From my research, I have found that modified sine wave inverters are usually much cheaper than pure sine wave models. I chose the latter because I want to use it to recharge my laptop and PSW inverters are recommended for this application.
Am I right in thinking that some MSW inverters are more noisy, emitting a buzzing noise when under load ?
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remember that many devices (phones, ipads etc) can be charged dorectly from a 12v socket (perhapd with USB adaptor) and dont need to go theough the inverter.....laptops?, youll have to check....
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Hi all.
I've just bought my first motorhome as I decided to stop working and do some touring instead.
I'm wondering about which inverter to buy to run a smart tv 240v
also, can I use a generator to power, out with a caravan site?
any advice appreciated
thanks.
Ray
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If you’re using EHU on site, you won’t need an inverter. If you're using a genny off site (and where the noise won’t bother anyone), surely that will run the TV.
You could just get a 12v TV.
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A 12v TV will be cheaper than a genny. A smart TV is, unless I'm mistaken, reliant on a good broadband connection. You are unlikely to get that on any site.
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If the need is really only the hair drier then some swear by products like this https://www.tresemme.com/uk/products/dry-shampoo.html. These can reduce the frequent need, running time or even eradicate the need for a hair dryer completely..
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Micky, that was the OP from 15 months back.
And dry shampoo is horrible.
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Wouldn't know, I'm as bald as a coot so don't slap any hair products on! May be you could educate me as to why it's horrible wIth what seems to be your personal knowledge and experience.
Mind you, may be the product you used was way past its use by date given the age of the original post!
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