800W Inverter

[nemo45]

I have installed an 800W inverter in my basement on the front wall above the hole that goes to the hydraulic slide system compartment and ran the wires thru the hole and hooked it to the battery in that compartment. I plan to use it only while traveling to operate a 2.5 cu. ft. freezer that we keep in the basement. Does anyone think I'll have a problem with this? We always camp in places with elec. hookups and would be using the inverter only when we are on the road.

 

[SmokeyBare]

Don & Carol,

I don't see any problem... But I'd question if it was even needed. We have had our BigHorn for real close to 3 years now. We full time in it since the first day... I am one who does not drive with the Propane gas on... I don't have my Fridge working as I drive from location to location. We have never melted anything in our Fridge Ice box... not even the darn frost that grows on the back wall of the freezer. Not even when we've driven well past 8 hours straight. Door stays closed and the temp stays cold.

All that said, as long as you have run a heavy enough wire from your battery source to the inverter so as not to over load that wire... your plan should be fine.

Good Luck with your travels.

 

[Seaulayter]

We have a 5.0 cu.ft. freezer that we placed in the area that the washer dryer would have gone and use a 1750W inverter to power it when we are on the road. This past summer we dry camped at Davidson River NC for 7 days and had no problem running the freezer off the inverter. We did run our little Honda 2KW generator for 2 hours in the morning and then 2 hours in the late afternoon to keep the batteries up. You should be OK driving with the truck charging your batteries as you drive as long as the 800W will run your freezer.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

I'm with SmokeyBare. We have a 3.2 freezer in the bedroom closet and have left it off all day during travel and not had any defrosting at all. But since you already have the inverter and as long as the wattage of your freezer isn't more than 750-800 watts, go for it.

 

[nemo45]

The nameplate on the freezer says it draws 67W so I guess I should be fine.

 

[superduty08]

I have been using a simular setup for years without any problem. Last year I added a second 12v battery and selector switch. I have found that the 2 batteries hold up without getting low enough to cause the invertor low battery alarm from sounding. On short trips of 4-5 hours I just let the frig stay cold on it's on. I generally use it on long trips in hot weather.

 

[Larryheadhunter]

OK rookie question, I know the purpose of an inverter is to be used for electricity while dry camping, but how do you determine how high wattage inverter you need? I know the amount of appliances and the wattage they require could be figured out, but in general rv circumstances, including a BiPap sleep apnea machine, etc. whats the consensus. Lesson time for Larry. Thanks alot as I know at some point I will probably have to get a generator so we can have serene, peace and quiet environment, but I might as well learn this stuff to begin with.

 

[jbeletti]

Larry,

If you get a generator at some point and want to pull much of the load of your RV, including one A/C, get a *3,000-4,500 watt unit with a remote control starter and an extended run-time fuel tank.

As for the inverter, it's a balance of how much load you want to pull vs. how much weight you want to carry in batteries (and space and $$$). Many people use a 2000 to 3000 watt inverter with 2 to 4 large batteries.

This information is a good starter for you to noodle for a while. For your use, I would recommend this:

3,000-4,500 watt Honda or Yamaha inverter style generators with remote start and an extended run-time fuel tank, mounted on a platform welded to the back of your RV. This, knowing you cannot lift this generator. Another option is to have it mounted into your truck and keep a vinyl cover on it when not in use.

Then, a small pure sine wave inverter that will run your BiPap. Pair the inverter with a set of Trojan T-105 6 volt golf cart batteries or better yet, 2 sealed AGM type batteries that do not require electrolyte maintenance.

To calculate a load in watts, many devices have their wattage or amperage draw listed on a plate on the device or in the paperwork. If it is a 110 volt AC device and it lists the wattage - there ya go. If it is a 110 volt AC device and it lists amperage, multiply the listed amperage by 110 to get the wattage.

Have fun!

Jim

* 3,000/4,000/4,500 watt generators are used by a good many RVers. That said, they may NOT pull the load of the entire RV all at once. For example, if you need to use the air conditioning, you will not want to run the water heater on AC power. Rather, you'd run it on LP. You may have to turn the air conditioner off to use the microwave. It's all a function of the combined load these devices are pulling. But for general all around use, the 3,000-4,500 watt generators are widely used. If you want to pull it all - it's hard to beat a 6,500 watt portable generator. But for a portable unit, that's a bit unwieldy!

 

[Larryheadhunter]

Ok JimBo, I better get a dictionary for technical words. You sound like a college Professor talking to a 2nd grader. I guess none of this stuff works for me to go the easy route to dry camp with a bipap unless I get a generator. Thought the inverter could be the answer to save some money. Wonder if I get an inverter, how long it would work to run the bipap before discharging all the batteries of the rig or the TV. One of my buds wants me to go dry camping up in the Sequoias, but the hassle of a generator for only a few days a year seems overkill. Those hookups work very nice. I should appreciate them more.

 

[jbeletti]

Larry,

If you only wanted to power the BiPap, a small inverter off the house battery may work. Depends on the load. Find out the load (in watts or amps) for your BiPap. It is likely listed on the bottom or side of the unit. From there, others here will be able to give you a better sense of what size inverter is needed and how long your house battery may last.

Skip the dictionary and use Google. Much faster

 

[ricatic]

Larry,

How many batteries are in your 3400 now? A breathing machine is basically a computer controlled fan (simplistic I know) as it relates to electrical requirements.They should require very little in wattage to operate. Look at the label on your machine. It will read something like 110 volts/2amps and may even give the wattage. The math is simple if the wattage is not there. In my example, multiply the 110 volts times the 2 amps and you get 220 watts. If you have 2 batteries and used a 300 watt inverter you would be fine for this example. You will need to locate a 12 volt supply for the inverter. Hope this helped

Ricatic

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

Hey guys and gals, just another thought: Would there be enough output from our diesel tow vehicles to keep the batteries topped off while using a large inverter/converter or whatever? Thought is that if the rig were running while the battery bank is full and the inverter is on taking care of the 110 stuff why would you need a generator? Diesel engines sip fuel while at idle. This is just another thought.

 

[wdk450]

Wiring

Hey guys and gals, just another thought: Would there be enough output from our diesel tow vehicles to keep the batteries topped off while using a large inverter/converter or whatever? Thought is that if the rig were running while the battery bank is full and the inverter is on taking care of the 110 stuff why would you need a generator? Diesel engines sip fuel while at idle. This is just another thought.

Rick:
One drawback to charging using your existing towing cable from the truck is the relatively small wiring from the truck through the connecting cable for this function. From what I know this wiring is primarily intended to keep your batteries up while you are travelling in case your trailer becomes unhitched and activates the emergency electric brakes lanyard.
I have heard of people who run heavy cable from the battery to the rear of the truck, and have a special 2nd connector and cable to the trailer for this. A RV battery isolator in the truck might be a good idea, too. NAPA has special high amperage connectors used by vehicles that routinely do jump starts.(I used one on an inverter in a previous RV). Maybe you could just get by with jumper cables from the truck to the rig while idling the truck engine.

Good luck with the Sequoias, We went up there this summer when it was 103 degrees in the valley - it was 75 degrees at the top.

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

Yup you are right. what was I thinking...

How about this: 2000 watt converter hooked to large battery bank in truck. Then run shore power from truck to trailer. again, just a dumb thought process.

 

[caissiel]

I am dry camping Friday with my new camper. We are at a Ballon Festival and we will be on site. I always leave the truck hooked up to my trailer and when the voltage drops so low that the Inverter beeps I start the truck and idle for a while. On this trailer I have installed an 80 Amp Gauge on the line from the truck, to see how it works. My truck has dual Aternators, and Idling it for a short while everyday keeps all 5 batteries charged. By using juice from the truck batteries and glowing it to start downs the batteries enough to kick the alternator in at hi amps. I never got stuck in all the years I have used this method. I was camp next to a camper using a small gen. to keep his TV going and he ran it all all night creating smooke and smells, and by Idling 10 min. per day I was able to watch TV all night with the Satelite box also connected. My truck Idles at less then 1/2 Gal fuel per hr. Sure beats using a Gen. Air conditioning has been out of the picture for us. I admit that I did not use the installed wire on the Ford trailer setup. I put a 10GA wire with a 30 Amp Breaker. and soon it will be a 6Ga wire like the type used on Amplifier setup. But the trailer wire is only 14Ga big bottle neck in the system. The plug is what I am searching for. A gen charges a battery at a rate of like 6 Amp like the trailer converter. Idling the truck sure is more practicle.

 

[branson4020]

Laurent,

The built-in converter in my Bighorn can charge my batteries at almost 60 (not 6) Amps when they are way down.

 

[caissiel]

I am taulking about a gen set DC charger, The 60Amp Converter controls the charging and it takes 11 Hrs to charge a down battery.

 

[Larryheadhunter]

Thanks everyone for their advice, I am wondering still since we have never dry camped before, if there are other considerations for use of electricity and other uses of power that I haven't thought of what watt amount should I get for a inverter?

 

[porthole]

Some inverters will not work with a small load, so you may want to check that out.

We use a 2kw unit for some of our work and you can't use it to charge cell phones, to low of a draw.

Something else to consider is the efficiency. The better ones are about 90% efficient.

Cheaper ones can be as low as 50%.

 

[porthole]

The plug is what I am searching for.

We use these in our boat towing business, everything from trailers to jumpers to whatevers

http://www.mcmaster.com/#7043k76/=3kmoe0http://www.mcmaster.com/#order-history/=3kmj90

# 7043K76

We also use this wire for a lot of projects.

In my truck I have 2 lengths of this wire going from the engine compartment to my back bumper, terminating with the above connectors.

My motorcycle trailer then has the same wire and connector going to the trailer's inverter and charger.

We also use 20-25' jumper cables with these ends. All of our towboats also have the connectors so we can jump start boats.