Inverters

Splottboy · Senior Member

Inverters

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Welcome to the gang Colin, enjoy here and out in the playground.

Firstly, you are much better off puting your question in the "Techies" section of this great forum as there are many knowledgable people hang out there and your question will easily be found later once it gets in the dungeon area.

Secondly, I see no reason why your set up won't work, that said though, I would only use that 1,800w appliance during the day when the sun is doing it's thing with those panels and battery as yes it will chew into the batteries for sure. By using while the sun is doing it's thing the batteries are being topped up as they are being used. The other thing I would be doing is use the 3000w Inverter as 2000w is way to close for my way of thinking.

Keeping in mind Uncle Al gets up before me some days. I think he is still asleep as we speak.

Hope my thoughts on your question help.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Like "oils ain't oils Sol", inverters ain't inverters Colin.
It really depends if you buy cheap crap or quality.
I have a quality 1300W PSW inverter that is now 11 years old. It will run a 1500W load for 5 or 10 minutes and a 1300W load for ever.
In general terms, it will use about 10% more power than the large appliance when you are running it.
They also vary a lot in terms of how much power they consume when not running anything and an amp or 2 more than the appliance +10% when running small things.

Cheers,
Peter

Hylda&Jon · Guru

My 2 cents worth If you want to use an inverter for a laptop you would need a pure sine wave one which is way more expensive. Also it is a lot of overkilll to use that size inverter for a laptop.

Best off using one of these: http://www.jaycar.com.au/IT-Products/Connectivity/Power-Products/150W-Car-Laptop-Power-Supply/p/MP3472 Instead of converting 12v into 240v then back down to the 16v or 19v that the computer needs, this device just converts 12v up to 16v/19v so is much less draw on your battery. All you need is a cigarette socket to plug it into.

Cheers

Jon

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Hylda&Jon wrote:
.....My 2 cents worth If you want to use an inverter for a laptop you would need a pure sine wave one which is way more expensive.

I agree you need a PSW (and that is safest for any use, especially for anything with electronics), but they are no longer much more expensive and it makes no sense to buy anything else.

Cheers,

Peter

Hylife · Guru

Hylda&Jon wrote:
My 2 cents worth If you want to use an inverter for a laptop you would need a pure sine wave one which is way more expensive. Also it is a lot of overkilll to use that size inverter for a laptop.
Best off using one of these: http://www.jaycar.com.au/IT-Products/Connectivity/Power-Products/150W-Car-Laptop-Power-Supply/p/MP3472 Instead of converting 12v into 240v then back down to the 16v or 19v that the computer needs, this device just converts 12v up to 16v/19v so is much less draw on your battery. All you need is a cigarette socket to plug it into.
Cheers
Jon

Nope not so unless your laptop is really ancient like 15years + old.

As a veteran computer tech I can inform you that you can run just about any laptop from a cheapo $30 150Watt coke can inverter.
For the last decade laptop chargers are multi voltage and accept anything from 100 to 260 volts AC and a modified sine wave or even square wave will do just fine.

The back of your charger will have the voltage and wattage ratings. The largest charger you can buy these days is 90watts at 220V AC.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Yep I use my laptop with the 12v adapter as mentioned but Colin also wants to use something that is 1800w. I noticed a comment at the bottom of a thread in Techies from back in November last year, it is a coffee machine. I'm prepared to be shot for butting in :)

-- Edited by Dougwe on Monday 23rd of May 2016 08:43:13 PM

lizard · Veteran Member

we have been using a cheap modified sine wave inverter for years for our laptops - no problems at all

Friar Park · Senior Member

Colin I have a 2500 watt PSW inverter bought from "bit sales" 3 years ago It runs my electric kettle when needed. So long as you don't run it excessively it will do the job. just apply your common sense when using it.

Friar