[C38] Invertors

[Les]

Hi, Paul,
	Nancy and I have an 1800 watt inverter.  It is a modified sine wave
type (the signal goes 0,120,0,-120,0 to create sort of a stepped
sinewave.) This type is OK, but the newer real sinewave types are much
easier on electronics, because that stepped waveform really beats the
heck out of modern powersupply transformers and input circuits, in fact
some devices just plain won't work on it.  If I had to do it over (and I
do someday) I will get the real sine wave type of inverter.  They are a
tiny bit less efficient, but the difference is worth it.  Another note
is that using it with my new engine running the fusible link blew and I
lost charging ability.  It was a major job to replace it and the
mechanic charged quite a bit (I thought I had blown the alternator).  So
there are some caveats about inverters and engine usage I guess.  I will
be looking at a better solution shortly.

	Before I replaced the engine I had a 100A alternator on the engine, so
it was no sweat to run the inverter while the engine was running.  I
will probably reinstall that alternator this year.

	Make sure the leads from the battery to the inverter are short, and
HEAVY.  the inverter draws about 11.5 times the current from the
batteries that it is required to produce.  Thus with a load of say
1000W, (my coffee pot, one must have priorities) the current is about
8.5 A at 120 and about 93.5A on the 12v side, give or take a bit.  

Also cooling is vital.  Another annoyance to Nancy is that I have bad
hearing , but Nancy says the inverter "sings" at a very high frequency,
worse when the battery voltage falls off.  I have 420A of house battery
(4 t-105 Trojans).  Make sure you have plenty of house reserve.  High
demand eats the battery even faster, check out the 100A cycle on your
battery bank.   If  you don't know the curves, check the website for
your battery manufacturer.  Trojan makes it easily available on theirs,
some you really have to hunt to find the discharge characteristics (and
the worse their discharge characteristics, the harder you have to hunt).

Regards,
Les H
On Thu, 2009-01-22 at 21:46 -0800, PAUL NOTTE wrote:
>  
> Hi All :
>  
>   Iam going to buy an invertor for Impulse in the 2 to 3 thousand watt
> range ,any input from any one would be appreciated as I am suffering
> from info overload and a great fear of making the wrong choice.
>  
>  
>  
>    Paul
>  
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