Im an electrician and have PMS i will post anything i can dig up

 

Inverters put out a lot of heat.

I have no experience with this particular application but with my EE background I will say under the hood is probably a bad place to mount an inverter. The extreme heat from the engine will not help the inverter with it's own heat problem. The extra heat will probably shorten the life of the inverter a lot. Also engine compartments have a lot of water spray in the rain. AC power and water do NOT mix. Engine vibrations will cause electrical connection fatigue/failure over time. Also the potential of electrical noise from the spark plugs might be an issue.

If I was doing a permanent mount, I would mount it in the cabin with plenty of free air flow and use heavy wires and a relay or some sort of disconnector so you don't drain the batteries. Also put in a correctly sized fuse or fusable link.

If you just have to have it under the hood, look for protection from what I mentioned above, mount it on something to absorb vibration and probably go with a much larger inverter so it is not running at full capacity thus generating a lot of internal heat.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

Munkey....I'm originally from Alice. I figure you'd be one of the few that have heard of it!

So PM me and we'll talk about the Dells. Mine's just over 3 years old.

 

Mine's under the passenger seat. I ran some big heavy wiring to it under the truck. It works great.

 

How do I tell if my lap top is a power hog? I just bought a Dell Latitude D620 that I was hoping to use in my truck.

 

Check the wattage on the back of the laptop, probably not much, one of the plug in lighter inverters would probably power a lap top.

Jim H. thanks for your input, i am fully aware of protection of electrical devices and conductors And some of are fortunate to not have to deal with spark plugs What sort of EE are you? Power systems/Utility? Tech?

 

Another option would be to install a small generator like some of the ambulances and fire trucks have. It bolts on like an alternator, and puts out straight 120v. I don't have time tonight, but tomorrow I will try and find the old links I had to some of the manufacturers.

 

I graduated from UCLA in 1980. UCLA does not give a EE degree. They give only an E, ie Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Their philosophy was that when we graduated we were ggeneral purpose engineers who could learn to do anything. Interesting side note. During the years I attended UCLA, the engineering department was NOT accredited since we did not have enough hands on application work, so theoretically my degree is worthless. I am a hands on guy so I almost quit the U since I felt like I wasn't learning how to design anything. Then Dean Stern, bless him told me I was at UCLA to learn how to think like an engineer. If I wanted to learn to design toasters, I could go to blankblank blank. So I stayed, and when I graduated, I R an Enjunear.

My background from about 13 years old is EE, my gramps was an EE from U of NM and he got me interested I think when we blew up the wiring on the roof airconditioner. Got my ASEE in 1975 at Don Bosco Tech in Rosemead Ca, we were the last class to actually have to understand and memorize the vacuum tube databook. Yes I am a dinosaur.

Worked at JPL on ground comm 75-80, coop education, Aerojet in the defense satellite program(have to kill you if I said more ;^) and then I went into marketing and sales of Computer design equipment for 2 decades so saw lots of different kinds of systems.

My hobby since before I could drive has been tinkering with anything, including cars. I have made several "G Jobs" of electronic systems for various cars of mine in the past. And I like to play with old electronics, including tubes but I don't have enough time anymore to really know what I am doing. Tha's what data books and Sam's are for.


Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

Ok, did some digging. Here is another option for full AC power in our rigs.

http://www.electronicproducts.com/Sh...1.feb2005.html

http://www.eleberg.com/mightymx.htm

This is a nice writup on in install in a jeep, with pics.
http://www.casitaclub.com/forums/ind...95&mode=linear

Most installs of this nature are under the hood on the passenger side in that empty space.

 

Those are kind of interesting but did you notice the price on the first one? $5,000 seems a bit steep to run my computer in the truck.

Also, I haven't read all of the specs, but they don't appear to specify what frequency these things put out and how stable the frequency is. The second model does specify 3600 RPM so that would imply 60Hz, but what happens when engine speed varies?

IF these are alternators they would be at the mercy of the engine speed for frequency and voltage unless they had some control circuitry.

If these are generators as they call them in the adds, then they are at the mercy of the engine speed for voltage but should have a DC output so I would assume they need an inverter.

My guess is they are standard alternators with variable frequency and voltage outputs that might be regulated to a stable frequency and voltage. I would hope so for $5000.


Just my guess from a quick read of the adds.

Jim Henderson

 

I've dabbled in this area myself and my final decision was to go with a xantrex xpower 1500 inverter behind the rear seat on the wall and run a plug, hard mounted, to the front of the rear seat. I'll eventually run another outlet to the front of the vehicle or maybe the rear bumper, just haven't decided yet.

For those looking at the "generator idea" it might be better to set up a backup power system similiar to a house. You can have alternator (primary or dedicated) juice running to a dedicated deepcycle (wired properly) mounted on the frame under the bed in a marine battery box (there was a sale on optimas at sam's club I think) and then to an inverter in the cab (for protection) with wires where you want the outlets.

I use mine for onsite drill battery charging and the laptop. I'm even thinking of getting some solar panels for a dedicated battery idea. I know, I know, fantasy for sure. Anything's possible when it's in your head...

 

And if the thing has any sort of thermal protection, it'll probably shut off as soon as the engine gets to full operating temperature

Intriguing topic... I've often pondered doing it myself - mostly for camping.

But then, the Honda 2200 works perfectly fine.

And is probably more efficient at generating power than a V10 feeding an alternator feeding an inverter...

Also, the need for a second battery if you go too big, is an obvious gotcha.

Watts = volts X amps. If you want to run a 2000 watt inverter, you are going to need at LEAST 166.67 amps to power it when drawing 100% of that 2000 watts. Which is far far more than a stock alternator puts out COLD and running at max RPMs. And I say "at least 166.67 amps" because nothing is 100% efficient. I'd say an inverter is what, 80% ?

So, unless you have a LOT of spare battery, AND don't mind running out of juice eventually, an inverter is a good choice.

But don't expect to run even a 10AMP 110-volt appliance/tool with the engine idling for very long. It'll suck the battery dry.

If you want the truck to act like a mobile generator, just buy a mobile generator and leave it in the bed

 

Actually krewat the 2000 watts is on the 110V side so it would be 18.2A. If you figure 80% efficiency that means you are drawing 22.8 amps from the 12V system in your vehicle.

 

I have 1000 watt unit under the seat, Works great for the laptop with a jotto desk. Also saved all my salt water fish during the many Blackouts during the storms in Florida. And by the way the Pontiac Aztec(UGLY) has a plug for laptops built in the dash.

 

Watts is watts

If you have a 2000 watt inverter, it supplies 18.2amps at 110 volts. 110 X 18.2 = 2002

It DRAWS (2002 / 12) = 166.83333333 amps at 12 volts.

I dare you to hook a 2000 watt inverter through a 20 amp fuse ...

That fuse will last right up to the point where you plug in something that's 240 watts. Actually lower, I found inverters are around 90% efficient (for the good ones).

So a good inverter will blow that 20 amp fuse when you hit around 216 watts or so on the output.