Small 300 to 700 watt pure sine wave inverters

[bud37]

Next year I would like to power up a 32" lcd hd tv and a blue ray player with a wired in from the panel inverter. I found a Zantrex 300w in the boat and tried it, but it just alarmed and failed....so that went in the garbage. Before I loaded it the fan was running and making more noise than I would like.

My question, do all of these inverters in that range have noisy fans when not loaded up. I don't think the tv or the blue ray pulls much power, but I will calculate that later.

From the searches so far the prices are all over the place....experience and opinions would be greatly appreciated.....thanks.

[g36]

Like you said you'll need to calculate you need. I run inverter in my 405 batteries etc sized for my needs plus . I probably wouldn't go to small probably a 1000 watt .you find the harder you run it the more annoying the fan will be running more while trying to keep the unit cool . You will be fine running a modified wave inverter which I am using and have no issue with any of my tvs / dvd player etc. That will save you some money if important. Full sine waves weren't has popular when I set my system up. If you decide sometime to run microwave then this would be the better choice so you need to also consider long term.

[Midnightsun]

I have a 27" tv (Vizio), satellite receiver (Bell ExpressVu) , dvd player (Sony), Bose sound bar and a few USB outlets hooked up to my 400w pure sine wave inverter plus a dedicated electrical outlet I use for smaller items such as charging my laptop and charging the dyson vac. Never had an issue nor is it noisy. I used one of these. https://www.amazon.ca/Nature-Power-38304-Inverter-400-watt/dp/B00AZOTEDK

That being said, it is pretty amazing how energy efficient things are today. Never would I have thought a 400w inverter would do the job but it has now for 3+ years.

If you really think you need to go bigger then they have this also. https://www.amazon.ca/Nature-Power-38310-Inverter-1000-watt/dp/B00AZOTR32/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=nature+power+sine+wave+inverter&qid=1570477037&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-4

[Viper]

Go with a true sine wave unit. Ya they're more expensive but pricing has come down considerably over the years, and your loads will be happier in the end. You may not see it now but you may need to power up something else in the near future so figure out your current load requirements and consider doubling at minimum that capacity for future expansion. Remember though that the higher the output spec, the more costly the installation.

[bud37]

Thanks guys....so here is the math....looks like the tv around 50 watts max and dvd perhaps 15 to 20 watts at 120.

That I believe will translate to about .7amps total at 120vac, so inverter draw about 7-8 amps at 12vdc, and that will be flat out. I am not concerned with the price , just the bewildering number of these units on the market.I mean how does one choose wisely ?

Hans I looked at your choice......it really looks like I don't need any more than that.....if you don't mind, what drew you to pick that particular one ?

[Midnightsun]

At the time I was looking there was not much available in a smaller pure sine wave unit and happened to stumble across it. Like I said, it has been trouble free for several years, in fact now that I think about it I did remove it from my previous boat to use in the Carver so it is probably 6 years since I have been running it. They also sell this on line at home depot which is where I initially purchased it although at a much higher price.

I did the large inverter thing on previous boats but soon realized if you have large draws then you are far better off starting the generator for a short period as opposed to drawing a substantial amount of juice from the bank that needs to be replaced painfully slow in comparison to how it was removed. Making coffee and toast in the morning comes to mind. Why not start the genny consume 0 on the battery bank and replenish something back, just makes so much more sense IMHO. We tend to run the genny for meals however this is for short periods anywhere from 5 mins to 1 hr, 3 times a day.

The small inverter is located behind the TV which is a pull out. My DC panel is right there so I simply added a 50A breaker to supply/protect the inverter. As mentioned previously, it powers a bunch of stuff as I added 2 power bars behind there. Really am pleased with this setup as it gives me 110v power on demand albeit not heavy draw items like a toaster or hair dryer. Another big bonus is installation cost is minimal in comparison to large units.

The only drawback to sine wave is it consumes more juice on standby than modified sine wave however it will power anything you throw at it cleanly as opposed to modified which is a dirty signal for lack of a better word. Not sure I want to charge my $2500 laptop from a dirty signal. This little 400w unit actually consumes .8 amp on standby which is not too bad, jump up to the 1000w init and it is 1.4a. A 3000 watt unit will consume about 3+ amps 24/7 which is a heck of a lot of juice certainly more than a full size fridge which is similar but does cycle on and off 50% of the time. In general, the more you pay the less no load current draw, some of the more expensive stuff can draw almost nothing on standby. Whatever you choose, do look up "no load current" as these vary depending on efficiency/brand. Easy access to my units breaker is a good thing as it is easy to turn on/off however I am lazy and rarely do.

See breaker labeled "inverter"



Inverter along with almost everything else I listed running off the inverter is located behind the TV which I mounted as a pull out. This modification opened up a rather large area for me which was inaccessible with the original fixed TV. The AC panel is the door with the fish on it, the DC panel is the door above the stairs. To the left you can see a brown 110v standard outlet, this is also run off the inverter for plugging in all kinds of 110v stuff, mostly various chargers and my laptop.

[Viper]

Source of the post ....I did the large inverter thing on previous boats but soon realized if you have large draws then you are far better off starting the generator for a short period as opposed to drawing a substantial amount of juice from the bank that needs to be replaced painfully slow in comparison to how it was removed. Making coffee and toast in the morning comes to mind. Why not start the genny consume 0 on the battery bank and replenish something back, just makes so much more sense IMHO. We tend to run the genny for meals however this is for short periods anywhere from 5 mins to 1 hr, 3 times a day.....

+1
I do the same thing; run the genny for large lengthy loads. Turn it on in the morning and evening, and run the stove for breakfast or dinner, charger, water heater, coffee maker, etc. A coffee maker with a carafe is great as you can make a pot of coffee in the morning and it'll stay hot for half a day. Considering only the wife drinks coffee, this works great for us as it minimizes the number of times we have to fire up the genny for hot coffee.

The only time I hated running the genny for a heavy load was when we would fire up the microwave every hour just to heat up formula for 10 seconds. Installed an inverter for that with a remote panel and that solved that problem. A switched outlet allowed me to run it off the inverter or shore/genny power for lengthy cooking.

[bud37]

That is pretty much what we do, I really don't like running the gen in some close anchorages or when rafted, but a couple times a day is enough for a short period. Wife says this is our last boat, so no more 1800 rpm gens for me, I am stuck with the 3600 rpm revmaster 7300.....

Hans , why did you choose a 50amp breaker for just the 400 watts.....I was thinking that 15 to 20 might do it, with 8awg from the panel to the inverter. My tv setup is much like yours with the big space behind and the panel below.

[Midnightsun]

Remember, this is 110v supply on a 12v circuit! I believe the recommended size was 60a but I could onluy find a 50, regardless, it never has tripped. Here is a chart which only goes down to 600w and that shows an 80a breaker required. https://www.altestore.com/howto/recomme ... fuses-a62/

[bud37]

Yes, .....I guess if 400 watts was running max then at 120vac you would be at or over 33 amps at 12vdc....so with some room for the peak draw, I see the the higher breaker number. I have no intention of that level of draw, me closer to under 10amps at 12vdc.

Good chart , what size cable did you run from your panel to the inverter ??