Date:         Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:39:46 -0700
Reply-To:     jbrush@AROS.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Anonymous Digest <jbrush@AROS.NET>
Subject:      Re: Inverter advice needed
In-Reply-To:  <200401272107.i0RL7oJg014834@mars.aros.net>

>Already have 2 batteries, want to "hard wire" and hide an inverter sized
>between 500 and 1200 Watts.
>Need it for laptop, cellphone, digital camera, cameracorder, TV, small
>powertools, etc.
>Does anyone have a recommendation for make/model and a good place to
>mount it in the vehicle?

Obviously, it should be near the second battery <g> I don't have a 'house'
battery, so my inverter lives under the passenger seat, with easy access
to the battery. I am not one who wants to punch holes in the sheet metal,
so the end of an extension cord peeks out behind the seat, and can be
hidden when not used so no one could get the idea that there is anything
worth stealing inside. Kind of keeps the inverter portable if I need to
use it elsewhere.

If you do the math on the devices you want to power, you may find that you
can get by with less than you might think. You would have a hard time
carrying all the devices of the type you mentioned to get any where near
even 800 watts, so you might consider a smaller inverter, but a better
quality device with regards to the output waveform. I would think that 65+
amps is probably more than you want to hit your batteries up for anyway.

Just charging batteries or running a "wall wart" you can usually get by
with a cheaper inverter like you might get at Home Depot, but radios and
TVs sometimes don't get along will with a poorly generated, psuedo square
wave.

As for brands, well, I only use a no-namer from Home Depot. 500W, but I
don't have the TV or use a radio. Mostly just charging small batteries or
portable CD players to shut the kids up :-) and running the laptop, so I
settled for a cheaper one. Coleman comes to mind as a decent device, and
if you are into the higher quality, do a search on the renewable energy
web sites, as they have a lot of options, and offer a lot of detail. Once
you search past the giant, yuppie sites, there are a lot of small
suppliers that offer pretty good deals.

Its a nice accessory to have around.

John