Small 300 to 700 watt pure sine wave inverters

[Midnightsun]

Do not remember but pretty sure it was the ones that came with it. Think it was 6 gauge or less. My run was about 2 feet so not much loss there.

[bud37]

Hans , I went thru that site you sent the link to and they had a long video about cable sizing etc....I found out how they size the breakers as well, Turns out there is a multiplying factor of 1.56 x the max amperage for each unit, basically this comes from a US regulatory/code association regarding solar power installs, can't remember the exact name.

Anyway thanks for the input, I think I know what and how I am going to do this install now.....

[bud37]

After these last days looking over offerings, I am still perplexed by the choices....seems like everything comes from china that I have seen so far, with some very discouraging reviews....I ordered 8 awg cable and a 25amp breaker, so I will treat whatever I decide, be it 400/600 or 1000 watts as only drawing maybe 200 watts total .

Now it seems for me to be more about getting a unit with a quiet fan, not sure whether a larger unit designed for big loads would meet that criteria or the smaller units will as well.....opinions always welcome..

[bud37]

Got all my wiring parts for the install, so I will do that on the next nice day. I am still watching inverter prices on amazon as they do not seem to fluctuate quite as much as they used to.
Can't seem to leave it till next spring..

[tomschauer]

Bud, if you just want to power your tv and blue ray player a modified sine wave is fine, as both of those use either internal or external transformers for conversion to 12vdc.
If you don't need to power anything else with this inverter, keep it small and it will not have fan noise.
I use 100 watt inverters for each of my tv's (24"). I think they were less than $25 each. No fans, no noise, no issues.
I also have a 2500 watt inverter near the breaker panel incase I need to run larger loads, but I have only used it once, to make sure it worked.
I just fire up the genny for coffee, oven etc.

Just my 2 cents.

[Viper]

Has anyone checked out 12 volt TVs and DVD players recently? They used to be pretty expensive but that has changed. A lot of 12 volt stereos can also play Blue Ray too so one piece of equipment can serve two purposes if you locate it in the right place. Some TVs and other electronics used to work on 12 volt board systems with a separate power supply added for AC use. One used to be able to open these and hook up 12V direct to the DC side of the mother board. I don't know if that's still the case as I haven't done it in years and they may have gone to 5V systems now and incorporated the power supply into the mother board. In some cases the 12 volt option might be a cheaper route to go vs installing inverters but I do like having an inverter in place and the utility/option they provide.

[Midnightsun]

I looked for 110v versions that had a transformer in line, checked out the rating and if it was 12v I went for it, Simple as cutting the cord and plugging directly to 12v. The smaller TV and the 2 dvd players are exactly that.

Tend to follow suit on other items as well looking for items that work off of 5v which is USB. Cut the cord and into usb as opposed to wal wart 110 to 5v. This allows items to work off of standard 12v power. Harmony remote chargers are like this as well my projection clocks.

[bud37]

So far I was not able to find a 32" tv that has the inline transformer. The benefit of having the inverter I think for me is the fact that I can shut down all the devices attached to it with one switch/breaker. One interesting fact I did come across was one of the inverters with two plugs actually split the output, half for each plug , something to check. For now I am down to two units, although that could change at any time...

There will be three things attached for now, the dvd/blueray thing ( have three of them already, don't ask ), antenna booster, and the tv. I really need the booster where I am as there are only two stations on a good day.

As a result of all this searching I may pick up one of those watt meters as well....could be handy.

[Midnightsun]

Source of the post So far I was not able to find a 32" tv that has the inline transformer. The benefit of having the inverter I think for me is the fact that I can shut down all the devices attached to it with one switch/breaker. One interesting fact I did come across was one of the inverters with two plugs actually split the output, half for each plug , something to check. For now I am down to two units, although that could change at any time...

There will be three things attached for now, the dvd/blueray thing ( have three of them already, don't ask ), antenna booster, and the tv. I really need the booster where I am as there are only two stations on a good day.

As a result of all this searching I may pick up one of those watt meters as well....could be handy.

Same for my 27" and then I had the issue of the Bell ExpressVu sat receiver which is 110v so the small inverter worked out well for this and allowed me to also add a Bose sound bar (110v) and a few other small items. Heck, even have a small sub (110V) behind the TV. Unfortunately the MM6 Mirage is discontinued, awesome small sub. https://www.amazon.ca/Mirage-MM-6-High-Performance-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B001HRFINY

[bud37]

Here is something interesting, had a look at the 500watt inverter in the pickup , the wiring is very small unless I missed a big cable under it . Going to the boat to install wiring so I will take a pic of this thing.

Here, what do ya think....

IMG_20191019_1221099.jpg