Small Inverter choice

Blowby · 09-20-2020, 12:07 PM

I recently had the need to run a small device that required 110, and a friend was able to supply an inverter that plugged into the lighter outlet.
The appliance required about 50W I think and it did work fine,as I just ran the engine while we were using it.
I am now looking at installing a small inverter for a cleaner look,and was thinking I would just connect straight to my house batteries which are a total of 200 amp/hr.
Was looking through previous threads and see a lot about inverter/charger choices but not a lot about inverters.
Had a quick look at the Xantrex 450 and this looked like it would be a good fit,but have no knowledge whether these are any good or not.
Any recommendations from the wise,and is it feasible to just connect straight to one of the house batteries with a inline fuse.
Thanks
Roger

Scalf77 · 09-21-2020, 05:47 AM

Yes, you can wire the 450 directly to the battery (or main power bus). In fact it is the preferred method. If you use a 12 Volt aux outlet you would be limited by to 150 watts, or about 1.3 AC amps. They recommend a t least 8 AWG wire up to 6.5 feet and a 60 amp fuse. If attaching to the main power bus, the wire going to the battery would need to be minimal 8 AWG or heavier.

I have no experience with this actual unit.

-greg

Blowby · 09-21-2020, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scalf77

Yes, you can wire the 450 directly to the battery (or main power bus). In fact it is the preferred method. If you use a 12 Volt aux outlet you would be limited by to 150 watts, or about 1.3 AC amps. They recommend a t least 8 AWG wire up to 6.5 feet and a 60 amp fuse. If attaching to the main power bus, the wire going to the battery would need to be minimal 8 AWG or heavier.

I have no experience with this actual unit.

-greg

Thanks Greg,after looking at the footprint of where I am going to locate the inverter I am now looking at going a little bigger as I have the room for it.
Is the xantrex worthy or are there better options?
Thanks
Roger

Scalf77 · 09-22-2020, 08:34 AM

I had a bad experience with Xantrex the company, not related to their RV business years ago. I had a a discussion with a engineer from a Lithium battery manufacturer who works closely with Xantrex for their products. That discussion is leading me to install a Xantrex XC - Pro in my new rig. My bigger concerns are based on the design high frequency or low frequency. A lot of the high frequency inverter at the low end are junk, but as you move up in size, the usage model and cost points change.

If moving up slightly the Xantrex Prowatt 600, or you could go 1000 watts and hit their Prowatt 1000 or Freedom X 1000. Again I haven't used any of these, but have recently purchased a Xantrex unit. I am a pretty big fan of Magnum Inverters, but haven't looked at the smaller units.

On a side note I have an unused still in box, Magnum 2000 inverter/charger that I will probably be listing in the classified soon.

-greg

boywonder · 09-22-2020, 05:21 PM

Blowby....keep in mind that a small inverter used to charge a laptop or a camera draws very little idle current....like the one you borrowed that plugged into the cig lighter socket.

Larger 1000W/2000W inverters consume more idle current (which in turn ends up as heat that the inverter is generating)..so if you truly need 1000W or more no worries, it will charge small loads and larger loads up to 1000W.

But if your needs are just charging small loads like laptops and cameras etc a small 300W (or less) inverter is more efficient...and with a small cigarette lighter inverter you likely don't need to run the engine.

If you run a 1000W microwave from a large inverter you may need to run the engine to keep the voltage from sagging much below 12V depending on how much house battery capacity you have, and the size of the cables from the battery to the inverter.

Blowby · 09-22-2020, 09:55 PM

Thanks for the education Boywonder and Scalf as I am learning more the deeper I dive!
Am now considering the Xantrex pro 600 as my needs are not that
great and it comes down to size as 12" long and 8" wide is close to my limit so that it can fit in a particular location for ease of wiring.

porschedpm · 10-08-2020, 09:47 PM

I found this in a recent posting on the Airstream Forum. It describes using a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) for occasional low wattage AC needs. This alternative only makes sense if your total daily AC wattage consumption is low, you don't already have an inverter and you're able to plug into shore power often enough to keep the UPS charged.

https://rvlife.com/dry-camping-produ...m_medium=email