I'm so darn happy with my 2005 F-350 Lariat with the 6.0 Powerstroke that I have trouble finding useful bells and whistles to make it even better. One option that occurred to me as being pretty useful would be a permanently installed 1000 watt power inverter under the hood. Has anyone had any experiences with this? I would appreciate any pros and cons that would help me make my decision.

 

I have a 2000W inverter mounted under my back seat. Welding cable leads from the drivers side battery, thru a 200amp fuse, under the truck, up thru the rear floor to a battery switch, then to the inverter.

Inverters use a LOT of DC (battery) power to make some AC power.

If you have a constant AC load, you will kill your stock batteries fairly quickly. I use mine for running a circular saw, and occasionally a small air compressor. On a couple of occasions have made coffee with it

If you are running a small TV or something similar, there isn't a lot of draw on the batteries.

If your looking for extended usage (a 1/2 hour or more) look seriously at a gas powered generator. Or installing several LARGE batteries for the inverter.

Good luck

 

don't mount it under the hood... it will give off enough heat on its own, put it in a cooler place.

As far as enough DC power to supply it, consider a second alternator and battery.

you can basically dedicate this battery and alternator to the inverter. Past that, I'd recommend building into the circuit a safety feature where the inverter is only powered when the truck is running.

 

Excellent advice. The relatively small advantage of having 110 volts AC is by far better addressed by safer, more efficient means. A smaller inverter for making coffee or even a 1000 watt generator makes more sense and doesn't put nearly the load on my critical starting system.

Thanks a bunch,
Pixl8ed

 

Welcome to FTE, pixl.

What do you want to run off the inverter? If it's just small electronic stuff, I think it's a great idea. Many vehicles are now optioned with onboard inverters, including the new 2011 King Ranch I saw a couple weeks ago. You might want to look at one when you get a chance and see what they used. It might be something you can retro.

 

When it comes right down to it I'd probably use it more for coffee and a laptop. It would be real handy once in a blue moon to be able to run a saws-all. Everything considered, I'm inclined to believe that there are smarter solutions out there rather than an inverter. Can't wait for the price of APU's to come down to something a non-big rig owner can afford.

 

My inverter isn't that large but I do have one hard wired in my truck. It has a built in cooling fan so I wasn't too worried about the mounting location, just as long as it vented to an open space. Anyways, I ran the wires under the carpet (had it up already for stereo wiring) and mounted it under the middle front seat. It was just tall enough to fit in there and is easily accessible.

It's a great permanent item to add to a truck.

 

If you really want to get into a electronics project and have the knowledge, many inverters have a low voltage warning alarm/light. You could get into the alarming circuit and have it auto start the vehicle. I haven't researched but some inverters may have a "external" alarm/relay contacts.

 

You know... there has been a lot of good advice in this forum and it's given me a lot to think about. I believe in the end I have to keep my true motives in mind. Life is great in a Super Duty, a laptop can help me find the best places to travel and a great, fresh cup of coffee can help me arrive with the shiny side up. For my somewhat trivial expectations I believe that I can get by with a smaller inverter that can plug into the power port and mount under the front seat. A small generator mounted in my truck box can handle any additional requirements and life will be good again. Many thanks to all who have contributed, I believe I've taken something from everyones comments. I hope my experiences will prove to be valuable to you all someday.

By the way, what is the square hook looking device in the lower dash of my '05 F350 below the pull-out cup holder and to the right of the cigarette lighter? Kinda of an over kill for a trash bag holder don't you think?

 

Everyone note that a 120VAC coffee maker pulls 600-800 watts. Not a trivial amount of wattage for an inverter, and certainly more wattage than any "power port" will handle.

A laptop pulls 100 watts, max.

12VDC coffee makers take 45 mins to an hour to make a pot of coffee.

(went thru this many years ago.)

-blaine

 

If you want to get real serious about power you can use your PTO and get one of these. It only takes money.
Real Power - Features

 

Technically, it is a panty hook. But you can use it for other things, too.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...ag-holder.html

 

You know, occasionally people write in with various kinds of electrical/computer problems, that frequently are traceable to system add-ons. For a couple hundred bucks you can buy a small generator that won't eat batteries or alternator diodes.

For coffie I'll bet you can get a dc single-cup heater wand and use instant....

 

You are not saying for how long are you going to run the saw? Cutting fence board can be done with single battery, but cutting 2x6 will take some serious current.
As already pointed several times -the biggest issue with inverters is the cooling.
I am using all sizes of them. From $6 (!) -120W plug-in inverter for my laptop GPS via 1200W inverter on my boat to run micro-oven to 2400/4800W inverter that I am using in my bus conversion for running 15k AC.
All of them will overheat at one point, or another.
1000 watts inverter will take about 120 amp from the DC system.
What do you expect?
BTW 12V coffee makers are garbage.

 

Panty hook?! Good one. We'll see if my wife agrees. News flash... the wife prefers it when we take the panties off first.

Pixl8ed