I recon a 600w unit would do what I would want (certainly no more than 1000w). I understand it depends on what I want to run on it. To be honest I'm just imagining a laptop, I don't want to have mega watts so I can "weld" with it (joke by the way), I just want the ability to use 240v for low wattage gear on the battery if needed.
Now my question is this - " am I better off having a hard wired inverter setup to a suitable power socket in the caravan, or would a portable inverter that plugs into a cigarette lighter style socket cut it"
I understand the principles of an inverter, but I suspect the second option might draw too much current through wiring that may not be heavy enough for that use.
I'm no expert, but I've connected mine to the batteries and it came with a remote on/off switch. So I've got a power lead connected to the inverter and I just plug in an appliance and switch the inverter on when required. Got one big enuf to run my Nespresso coffee maker or the microwave.
Dougwe said
05:31 AM Jun 11, 2015
How, Jeff.
I have a 300w PSI and it was plugged into a cig lighter socket in the van or a outside one but for some reason a protector light kept coming on after a while and would cut off. In my limited wisdom decided it was voltage loss in thin cable so wired up a Anderson plug directly to the battery with heavier cable then made a heavier cable to go on Inverter with a Anderson plug. All works well now. If I need to replace Inverter I will get a 600w probably.
jules47 said
08:20 AM Jun 11, 2015
We have 600 pure sine wave inverter, purchased form Repco, and it works really well, laptops, phones, hair trimmer, has even run the drill for very short time. We also can use it for the media player to watch movies - really, anything that doesn't have an element like toasters, kettles etc., can be used on this quite satisfactorily. Used heavy gauge wire to connect to battery.
June said
11:02 AM Jun 11, 2015
One question people, what kind of battery are you wired up to? Would I need a different/bigger battery other than the normal car one? Don't want to flatten my battery. Great information, thanks, had been wondering how to go about running a computer and dvd player without causing any trouble with the electrical system in the van.
June C.
Dougwe said
01:03 PM Jun 11, 2015
I hook mine up to the van batteries June and usually only use when they are charging. Keep in mind that when you use a Inverter that they use up the power very quickly so just be aware of that.
June said
02:22 PM Jun 11, 2015
Dougwe wrote:
I hook mine up to the van batteries June and usually only use when they are charging. Keep in mind that when you use a Inverter that they use up the power very quickly so just be aware of that.
G'day Doug. as you can tell I know next to nothing about the electrical workings of a car etc. Should have said 'campervan' instead of van as I have a Toyota campervan that I am getting ready to take to the road in. When I plug the GPS into the cigarette lighter the cig. lighter gets very hot and that could not be a good thing. The battery, as you probably know, is under the floor behind the drivers seat, so I'm trying to figure out how a converter can be connected to it and if I need to get a bigger battery so as to hold more charge. I realize the cables would have to be heavier also.
Be prepared for more questions, I've got plenty of them!
As a matter of interest, daughter lives in Kelso, could be up there soon and will pick your brains...... cheerio, June C.
Bruce and Bev said
08:10 PM Jun 11, 2015
Sorry June, but theres nothing left there to pick - it turned to jelly and then liquid from all the red stuff (yep - cordial) LOL
Dougeeeee..............how are you mate, buddy, pal haha
Dougwe said
08:22 PM Jun 11, 2015
Mmmm, pay backs are double bigB, and when least expected mate
I think I'm fine but the Doc seems to think otherwise but what do they know I know I have blood at least cos the pressure is high, bugga.
Sorry June but bigB tends to "stagga" away from the original topic Nearly as bad as KFT
Dougwe said
08:24 PM Jun 11, 2015
I have PM'd you June cos this is Kendo's topic.
Sorry Jeff.
Baz421 said
08:25 PM Jun 11, 2015
Suggest you search for inverter in search box above,, there are 5 good threads with 91 responses with some very good info from some very respected posters.
SnowT said
10:13 PM Jun 11, 2015
350-600w PSI that have heavy enough cables to meet the power demands... Plus a Suitable size Fuse to protect the cabling/PSI...
I can run my power hog of a Laptop Plus the 24" TV off a 350W PSI...
-- Plus the other stuff I need to use...
Mind you this is all powered off the 24v 300Ah Lithium's so I have heaps of energy..
juergen
Jaahn said
12:48 PM Jun 12, 2015
June wrote:
G'day Doug. as you can tell I know next to nothing about the electrical workings of a car etc. Should have said 'campervan' instead of van as I have a Toyota campervan that I am getting ready to take to the road in. When I plug the GPS into the cigarette lighter the cig. lighter gets very hot and that could not be a good thing. The battery, as you probably know, is under the floor behind the drivers seat, so I'm trying to figure out how a converter can be connected to it and if I need to get a bigger battery so as to hold more charge. I realize the cables would have to be heavier also.
Be prepared for more questions, I've got plenty of them!
As a matter of interest, daughter lives in Kelso, could be up there soon and will pick your brains...... cheerio, June C.
Hi June,
There are some other good suggestions so follow up on them.
However I can only suggest that you be careful about only using the Camper van main battery for other power use. It can and will leave you with a flat battery UNLESS you are extremely careful. See about fitting in another battery in the hole down there. There is a bit of room. OR at least carry a jump starter of good size for flat battery starting. However using it on the main battery under the floor is a pain !!!
There are lots of ways to setup a second battery for occasional use. I have an automatic relay which switches the second battery to charge when the engine starts. Also a row of LED lights to tell me how much voltage is in both batteries. You know when to quit using it for the night just by looking at how many lights are left Easy and no skill required !
If you only want to charge laptops and phones etc, 600watts is too big. 250 would do.
Cheers jaahn
Aus-Kiwi said
05:21 PM Jun 12, 2015
We charge ours on 12v now .. Much less hassle !
The Doo crew said
08:45 AM Jun 14, 2015
We changed everything to 12v charging, laptop used to suck up so much power at 240v, adapter from Jaycar for the laptop plugs into the cig-lighter socket near the dining table. Fitted 4 2amp USB lighter sockets for camera's, & all the "I" stuff, but have a 2000w 24v inverter hard wired direct to the battery's for the inverter air-conditioning & toaster, nothing makes toast as well as an electric toaster. Inverter gets turned on only when we need 240v then turned off again as it is a HUGE power user, has its own battery's so if forgotten & flattened it wont affect anything else.
-- Edited by The Doo crew on Sunday 14th of June 2015 08:46:28 AM
Kendo said
08:59 AM Jun 14, 2015
Thanks everyone. Some good info and ideas, and it even came back to topic
Watch that blood pressure Dougwe. We can't have our Grey Nomad road site assistance specialist feeling poorly
Jeff
June said
01:00 PM Jun 14, 2015
Thank you Kendo for asking the question re: inverter setup, it was something I was puzzled about myself and the answers were so informative, now I have a good idea which way to go. Sincere thanks to everyone who took the trouble to explain the workings and set up, in every-day language, I did understand what was said.
Cheerio, June C.
Stratman77 said
12:38 AM Jun 23, 2015
Most inverters will have a low voltage cut out (usually around 11.5 v) so it is impossible for them to flatten your house battery. Also a PSW inverter is normally considerably more expensive than a MSW that will run 90% of appliances anyway , such as TVs, CPAP machines, fans, charge phones etc. To calculate the approximate current drain, just divide the wattage of the appliance by 10 (to allow for losses), so at 600watts you will be dragging approx. 60 amps from your battery which is an awful lot more current than I'd like to see out of a cigarette lighter socket through 15 amp flex. Hard wired with 6mm cable, maybe.
Kendo said
07:24 PM Jun 23, 2015
Thanks again everyone.
I'm just going for the 300w inverter setup. I can't see any other need other need than running a laptop when I sit and have a think about it.
Some good information came from my question and I'm certainly better informed after asking.
I am considering a pure sine wave inverter.
I recon a 600w unit would do what I would want (certainly no more than 1000w). I understand it depends on what I want to run on it. To be honest I'm just imagining a laptop, I don't want to have mega watts so I can "weld" with it (joke by the way), I just want the ability to use 240v for low wattage gear on the battery if needed.
Now my question is this - " am I better off having a hard wired inverter setup to a suitable power socket in the caravan, or would a portable inverter that plugs into a cigarette lighter style socket cut it"
I understand the principles of an inverter, but I suspect the second option might draw too much current through wiring that may not be heavy enough for that use.
What ya recon?
Hi Jeff
have a look at BitDeals
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pure-Sine-Wave-600W-1200W-Max-12V-240V-Power-Inverter-Caravn-Camping-Boat-4WD-/271429284076?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item3f327230ec
Cheers John
I have a 300w PSI and it was plugged into a cig lighter socket in the van or a outside one but for some reason a protector light kept coming on after a while and would cut off. In my limited wisdom decided it was voltage loss in thin cable so wired up a Anderson plug directly to the battery with heavier cable then made a heavier cable to go on Inverter with a Anderson plug. All works well now. If I need to replace Inverter I will get a 600w probably.
One question people, what kind of battery are you wired up to? Would I need a different/bigger battery other than the normal car one? Don't want to flatten my battery. Great information, thanks, had been wondering how to go about running a computer and dvd player without causing any trouble with the electrical system in the van.
June C.
G'day Doug. as you can tell I know next to nothing about the electrical workings of a car etc. Should have said 'campervan' instead of van as I have a Toyota campervan that I am getting ready to take to the road in. When I plug the GPS into the cigarette lighter the cig. lighter gets very hot and that could not be a good thing. The battery, as you probably know, is under the floor behind the drivers seat, so I'm trying to figure out how a converter can be connected to it and if I need to get a bigger battery so as to hold more charge. I realize the cables would have to be heavier also.
Be prepared for more questions, I've got plenty of them!
As a matter of interest, daughter lives in Kelso, could be up there soon and will pick your brains...... cheerio, June C.
Dougeeeee..............how are you mate, buddy, pal haha
Mmmm, pay backs are double bigB, and when least expected mate
I think I'm fine but the Doc seems to think otherwise but what do they know
I know I have blood at least cos the pressure is high, bugga.
Sorry June but bigB tends to "stagga" away from the original topic
Nearly as bad as KFT 
Sorry Jeff.
Suggest you search for inverter in search box above,, there are 5 good threads with 91 responses with some very good info from some very respected posters.
I can run my power hog of a Laptop Plus the 24" TV off a 350W PSI...
-- Plus the other stuff I need to use...
Mind you this is all powered off the 24v 300Ah Lithium's so I have heaps of energy..
juergen
Hi June,
There are some other good suggestions so follow up on them.
However I can only suggest that you be careful about only using the Camper van main battery for other power use. It can and will leave you with a flat battery UNLESS you are extremely careful. See about fitting in another battery in the hole down there. There is a bit of room. OR at least carry a jump starter of good size for flat battery starting. However using it on the main battery under the floor is a pain !!!
There are lots of ways to setup a second battery for occasional use. I have an automatic relay which switches the second battery to charge when the engine starts. Also a row of LED lights to tell me how much voltage is in both batteries. You know when to quit using it for the night just by looking at how many lights are left
Easy and no skill required !
If you only want to charge laptops and phones etc, 600watts is too big. 250 would do.
Cheers jaahn
We changed everything to 12v charging, laptop used to suck up so much power at 240v, adapter from Jaycar for the laptop plugs into the cig-lighter socket near the dining table. Fitted 4 2amp USB lighter sockets for camera's, & all the "I" stuff, but have a 2000w 24v inverter hard wired direct to the battery's for the inverter air-conditioning & toaster, nothing makes toast as well as an electric toaster.
Inverter gets turned on only when we need 240v then turned off again as it is a HUGE power user, has its own battery's so if forgotten & flattened it wont affect anything else.
-- Edited by The Doo crew on Sunday 14th of June 2015 08:46:28 AM
Thanks everyone. Some good info and ideas, and it even came back to topic
Watch that blood pressure Dougwe. We can't have our Grey Nomad road site assistance specialist feeling poorly
Jeff
Thank you Kendo for asking the question re: inverter setup, it was something I was puzzled about myself and the answers were so informative, now I have a good idea which way to go. Sincere thanks to everyone who took the trouble to explain the workings and set up, in every-day language, I did understand what was said.
Cheerio, June C.
I'm just going for the 300w inverter setup. I can't see any other need other need than running a laptop when I sit and have a think about it.
Some good information came from my question and I'm certainly better informed after asking.
Cheers
Jeff