Thank you for the comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Of note, that inverter is now several years old, I use it every day, and it is still working just as good. Best wishes in the new year!
I love it! Your battery is the battery we use for our of grid cabin. All our friends have told use "special" batteries. Your video was down to earth. Thank you.
+unarammer Yes I agree, the fan barely comes on, I have 2 other inverters and their fans cycle on off constantly even with no load. Thanks for your comments!
Fan noise is my main deterrent for these harbor freight inverters. I have the non jupiter one and the fans were so noisy that they'd wake me out of a dead sleep, even with no load.
Simple and straightforward... love it, thx! And this setup could even work as an emergency backup at home, where you could also get by for awhile with just the 'basics'.
Glad to help! The more I watch the news, the more happy I am to be living off grid. But the best part, anything that works for me off grid, would work just as well for people for emergencies. Thanks for the comment!
There are now products that do a better job, but this seems to work. I only used it like that for a few months or so. There was a solenoid between the battery and the alternator, so I could choose to charge or not. If you just joined the "house" battery and the starting battery, with the truck running, the voltage regulator sees the average of the 2 batteries, and ends up over charging the "good" battery. I think that is why some of the battery in my old van didn't last too long. Victron makes a smart box that regulates and controls the whole process. Hope that helps?
good information. im planning to buy off grid land in Az soon and working on getting all my solar set up first. im setting up pannels and inverter to power a window AC to save a few $$ now but also use later.....suns is up AC works kinda thing untill i get enough batteries to power it all nite....swamp cooler work till then. i have a trailer im setting up to hold all the pannels and equipment so i can just show up on stite and be able to plug in my RV on day one
That sounds great! The price of Lithium batteries is finally at a reasonable point, where running big loads like air conditioners is actually practical. Hope you'll be posting your progress on RUclipss :)
And interesting bit about using the truck alternator to charge batteries, I've had that system half wired for about a year now, solenoid and all, but haven't finished the job yet. Now I'm reconsidering doing it at all, or maybe I'll have a switch and use it only when it's really necessary.
Something to be aware of there. If you just join the inverter battery to the starting battery and charge from the alternator, you'll end up overcharging your starting battery. I've made that mistake, and learned slowly, the hard way. Sorry, this will be long, but hope you understand. Say you run the inverter battery down to 10 volts, then join it to your good battery, and the alternator charges them both. The voltage averages out, the charge controller or voltage regulator sees the average, it dumps in 14 volts. This will shorten the life of your starting battery, it's getting over charged. I've had motorhome, 2 vans, and the truck, and I had been doing this in all of them. The better way, is to have a DC to DC charger, that can regulate the charge. One test I did was to use a solar charge controller, where the alternator was the input to the charge controller, and the output went to the inverter battery. That wasn't ideal, but from the alternator side, it just saw a load, so the voltage regulator didn't try to overcharge the starting battery. The "load" just seemed like a 20 amp load, like you turned on all the lights or something, so the alternator / voltage regulator just adjusted. But if you connect a dead battery to a good battery, the sensor circuit thinks it needs more power, and the "good" battery gets way over charged. It works, but it'll shorten the life of your starting battery, at least that was my experience. Here's a link to a pretty expensive solution I've read good things about, but haven't used myself. Anyway, hope that makes sense? www.solar-electric.com/victron-energy-orion-tr-smart-12-12-30a-dc-dc-charger.html best wishes Carlin
I just bought this model. I’m in NC and hurricane Florence is about to roll through. I plan to connect it to my truck battery and leave my truck running in order to power my TVs, router, computer, and hopefully my refrigerator. I’ve done this before with my 400 watt inverter with all of the above except the refrigerator. The 400 watt couldn’t run the frig even without all their other electronics plugged in. I’m hoping this can. My Truck will run pretty much all day without needing to refuel.
Good luck with the storm! I'm running a 5 cubic foot freezer with a smaller 1500 watt inverter, you should be ok. Post back to let us know how you are doing ok? Best wishes!
Yea I'm in Charlotte and I'm intending on doing the same thing. For extra capacity I'm going to connect all the batteries from my cars in parallel and keep my truck charging everything. Hope we all make it safely on the other side of this.
I know it's too late to suggest a pure sine wave inverter for your fridges and freezers but that would be the better way to go. I hope you all got through the hurricane okay.
Cool, glad to help, the fan only comes on when it needs to, it's not on nearly as much as my 1500 watt Windy Nation inverter. Still using this 2000 watt inverter as my main power source, still working fine.
@@CarlinComm yea, I just bought the jupiter one this afternoon and am looking forward to mounting it indoors and out of the weather! I got the fan to kick on but only after several minutes of running and air compressor, fridge, and 52" TV. The fan noise is much more reasonable than the old Centech one from harbor freight. Thanks again for the video, it was very helpful.
Hi Carlin. Thanks for the review. Just bought the same inverter and am giving it a test run this weekend. As far as charging both batteries off your truck research battery isolators and separators. If this hasn't been suggested already it will take care of your charging and eating batteries issue.
Thanks for the info! I've used those in the past, with mixed results. They are probably much better now, not so good last time! Good luck with the inverter, mine has been great for the last couple of years.
I have a camper setup in my truck and ran that exact heater and the 5000watt juniper winter camping in Colorado, fell asleep and left it on all night, woke up in the morning sweating and the heater was still going
@@CarlinComm yea I didnt know too much about the whole setup so I explained to the guys at car toys what I wanted and they did an amazing job and I haven't had any issues, I've got a circuit breaker in case of something going wrong and the battery isolator but I've never fully discharged my secondary battery so it's worked out really really well
@@brando6136 i'm glad you found someone who knew how to make all that work! Its really tough getting started when you don't know where to even start. And it gets expensive if you start buying the wrong stuff!
@@brando6136 This is finally becoming more common, all the people living in vans has helped a lot. 10 years ago it was pretty tough finding the parts, much less anyone who know how they worked.
Walmart 200 watt small square cube heaters $15 work surprising well. They are ceramic and fan forced, they come in red, blue and black. They also have a tip over safety feature but no thermostat, you can use an on/off Timer. Thanks for the videos.
Cute one, they must have a thermostats i have had two failed because I allowed my blanket to cover the rear air intake which shuts the fan and heat off. But they never come back on after cooling down and restarting. The larger unites max. 1500 watt units do come back on after shutting down but I would preferr the 250 watt units which are adequate for my needs. A box tube or wire cage around the rear intake is required to keep the unit operating the way I use them . Me and the heater underneath the same blanket
@@robertbrawley5048 too funny I use them Under the blanket too. I tape the tip sensor, so it stays on. Glad to hear they have auto shutdown if they get too hot. I was surprised how much heat the put out for being so small and just 250 watts. $15 is another plus. 🤝
@@cuteone1702 too funny? Ha ha ha. I tape the aggravating tipover switch closed as well. Well really set the heater over a bottle cap or sponge to close the tip over switch.
Get an induction burner. Mine is for rv’s & has wastage rating from 600 wats to 1500 waits. 600, 900, 1200, & 1500 waits. U also need pans for induction use. The best way to see if they are is check them with a refs. magnet.
Thanks for the tip. I've been looking at that more recently again, I like what you say about them having different power levels. I've got an electric frying pan, and its full watts till it gets to temp, then it cycles off, which isn't so good running on batteries. Do you have a brand you like for the induction burner? Thanks for the tip!
You have to realize that you need a means of charging the battery as the Inverter is running something. If that inverter is getting 14V with a good charged set of batterys it can drag on with no issues to make it's maximum out put... The bigger the Inverter the more battery's you will need. That 2000 Watt I would say no less then two 12v DC battery's (with a tending charge of like 2 to 4 Amps with 2 gauge wire unles you're running a distance more then 10 FT then I'd go with 0 Guage. To many of people are uneducated hooking these things up and then claiming they're junk. It's just like a Car Amplifier, they need 12v DC anything less then that and the Amplifier will go into protect or just not function correctly as for the inverters do as well. The more load that pulls on the inverter the more load you need to feed into it. Over all fun video man. Do you live in Tucson Arizona area? Looks like AZ Desert.
I'm out in West Texas near El Paso this video is just a test to see if it would work at all I didn't expect very much out of it I was looking for set up and I can run into truck camper temporarily I live off-grid in a school bus and I have solar power charging for deep cycle batteries I'm able to run quite a bit I can brew coffee run a deep freeze run a microwave run a coffee maker but not electric heaters cuz you need them to run longer than a few minutes at a time but I just wanted to see if it would work thanks for the comments and the support.
You don't need more batteries just because it's a bigger inverter, you need more batteries to power larger loads! I can easily run my 5K inverter from one battery such as he his using in this video, Walmart 12v deepcycle, when I am using smaller loads like making pot of coffee , or a weed trimmer, small electric chainsaw etc. and no problems. Of course we get into how long things run depends how much power they suck up. But 1 Battery will run any of those items fine with 5k inverter for awhile. Now of course if I want to put a heavy load on that inverter like my motorhome airconditionaire then of course I need more batteries for that big load. Point is size of inverter has nothing to do really with how many batteries needed, it's all the size of the load! I could run 1 100Watt light bulb on my 5k inverter with only 1 battery for about 50hrs and still only drop to about 50% of the battery capacity.
Neat idea with the solar controller for a trickle charger on Aux cattery- might try this in my ‘72 Dodge R/V Aux battery… just trying to figure out where to mount the inverter lol
@@CarlinComm so update- added the HF solar controller but it will not operate under 15v because solar panels run at 23ish volts. Alternators run at 14.7 and very rarely go about 15 volts which is the min to operate controller. Thought of adding a voltage doubling circuit, but I’m going to try a different controller from ebay 12v 30 amp. How’d you accomplish this?
@@mattboyer7812 I don't have that truck anymore, but at some point I did switch to some ebay pwm controllers. If you can afford a better set up, Victron makes a nice looking charger that goes between the alternator, starter battery, and "house" battery, can send power from alternator, solar, etc, and bridges everything together intelligently. Those blue boxes are expensive, but I think probably worth it. They also usually have Bluetooth to your phone so you can see what's happening.
@@mattboyer7812 Also, at this point, Lithium (LiFePO4) is very cost effective, so even if you don't plan on buying lithium batteries, make sure your charge controller etc are lithium compatible.
When you run the heater with the battery you have there, it will drain the battery in just a couple of hours. The inverter (other than it being a modified sine wave rather than a pure sine wave) is not the problem, the battery is. It is WAY too small for what you are doing. Goose the system up to 1 or 2 105ah AGM batteries with a charging system (generator or solar) and you might have better luck.
Thanks for the comment! I probably could have shot that differently, I knew it wouldn't work very well, I was just trying to get an idea if it would work at all, and if it would be worth scaling it up. Best wishes!
@@apocolypse11 When i shot this video, 6 years ago, lithium *( LiFePO4) wasn't really an option. Now it is. A 100 Ah battery is about $250 now last time I looked. 100 Ah * 12V is about 1200 watts. In theory that could run a 1000 watt heater about an hour from fully charged. Since I planned to drive the truck most days, I just needed a few minutes of heat to take the chill out of the air before I crawled in bed. The idea was the alternator would top off the batteries while driving, and I'd get "free" heat. Lead deep cycle batteries didn't have anywhere near the performance. If I were to do that again, with what I have and what I know, 4x of the LiFePO4 batteries would be just about right. Sure, $1000. But not needing to run a propane heater in the back of a tiny truck camper would have been really nice. I was more worried about the propane heater starting the camper on fire, I didn't really have enough room in there to safely run the heater. I don't remember worrying about starting an electrical fire, I've since been using that same inverter in my off grid house and no fires so far, 6 years later :) Figured I'd try to spell it out, most of the comments are out of context. Thanks for asking!
With 122ah you have between 600 to 700 watts per hour to use until the battery is at 50% discharged. It will depend on how many watts your converter uses to take DC to AC.
Yeah in theory, but that is why I was testing. Lead battery don't typically pull full capacity very well. Lithium is much better, as I am able I'm moving over to lithium now. Also I don't have that truck, or the job I needed that for. Anyway, thanks for the comments, numbers and theory are an important place to start, I don't spend enough time there.
Yeah I've noticed the microwave doesn't work as well on either of my modified sinewave inverters, compared to running on my generator. But it does get things hot, just takes longer. I don't have a pure sinewave inverter big enough to run the microwave, but thanks for the info that it would work. My "900 watt" walmart microwave uses about 1450 watts!
You can always run Cables from the battery In the bed to the Battery under the hood then your alternator would be charging both batteries while driving
Thanks! I've never taken the time to check if they were accurate or not. My other inverter, the Windy Nation 1500, has numerical LED readout for battery voltage or load in watts, which is nice to have. But I like that this has at least something!
That's why I'll burn wood to heat and cook. And mainly run power for hot and cold 12v waterpumps, charging flashlight batteries, and possibly electric fence for the critter's.
FYI, I would put your inverter away from the battery if possible, let's say the battery gasses and your inverter fan starts it could cause a little spark and boom...I know it sounds not likely but that's a scenario I would probably go through.. I have that same inverter hooked to 3 105 amp hour batteries.. works really good
Yeah I've thought of that before. The box the batteries is vented, but I do have the inverter pretty close to the batteries. On the other hand, you need to keep the cable as short as possible!
I use a 4.2A 50W DC heated blanket that runs in 45 minute increments. I've never noticed a decrease in my batteries starting capability after using my heated blanket over night. Heating the air in a camper is super inefficient. I hardly turn on the blanket more than twice in a night when temperatures drop to around 0°F. Using a heated blanket over night and the propane heater in the morning to heat your camper is the way too go.
@@CarlinComm I recommend it to so many people that camp or live in vehicles and struggle with heat. Most methods are not only super costly and inefficient but dangerous. My electronic blanket cost $25(automotive section at Walmart), it directly heats my body(in less than 1 min.), uses a D.C. outlet with a low power draw(no need for inverters or gas), and its probably the safest option as it turns off after 45 min.(no red hot coils, flames, 0 risk of suffocation from gas or carbon monoxide). Best wishes too you as well.
I was thinking of just buying a car battery and this inverter. I figure it can work during a blackout. It wouldn't be in a car so I was wondering how I would charge it once the battery drained.
Ok sure. Just buy a battery charger when you get the battery. If power is off, you need either solar or generator. I'm uploading a video right now that goes into the options for this, should be live tonight. Be sure to subscribe ;)
arnita canas I'ma cash type ,so harbor freight is good for me. But you can find better deal on line. solar, mppt charger,and converter. But the HF solar pack is amorphous,wich produce in low light,cloud coverage. the inverter at HF are modified sine wave which will not produce as good as pure sine wave. Im just learning but would like to pass on what I have learned. Also seems to have four batteries on any build . Lithium is only a dream so far . Deep cycle acid seem to produce hydrogen. If vented good could be a option. But now I'm back to HF 12 volt 35 AMP hour. Much love and God Bless you and your build
@@aaaricmondroofing1703 Install batteries in a vented area and get Wall Mart 12v deep cycle for $95 or the better one for just over $100, trust me on this. You never want to run below 50% of battery's capacity, not really that low even for best battery life. Big Wallmart battery is about 115amphrs so 55amps usable, Hf is 35amphrs so 17amps usable which is not much at all! The sealed batteries may sound decent but can be harmed far more easily than normal flooded batteries if discharged too far or over charged or charged to fast. Flooded types are more forgiving to errors and mistakes, though you do need to check them to add water occasionally.
This may be a simple question but why are you not cooking using a outdoor stove/ bbq/ campfire? My dad has an espresso maker that sits on the bbq grill grate or over campfire and he loves to use it. Electricity is pretty valuable and while it is finite older tech(wood fire) seems to be the better choice.
Great question. This was for truck camping in the parking lot at work, I lived pretty far from the job, so wasn't out camping where I could have a camp fire. Thanks for the comment and best wishes. I agree, camp fires are awesome.
Yeah turns out electric heat from the battery isn't the best idea I've had, but it was worth a try! Propane is just so much easier. My next trick will be electric heat from wind power. Eventually. When its cold here, usually the wind is blowing, that seems like a no brainer!
I would recommend using small propane heat so that you don't stress the inverter with space heaters. Space heaters burn out Kill A Watt meters. Look at the reviews on the Kill A Watt. Many pissed off people. Kill A Watt is to test low power items.
Dude, you have no idea how many people envy what you have. You did an awesome job with those solar panels. That is WAY better than having to haul gasoline back and forth all the time. Plus all the miles you keep off your truck. If I were there in person, I would high five you big time on what such a great job you did.
I'm thrilled that you shared with us. Do you have internet out on the bus using one of those Verizon things that I've seen people use giving them unlimited Internet for $5/mo?
GMoney I don't have cell coverage or internet on the property, but some of my neighbors have other carriers that do. I upload videos etc when I get into town.
Just got one of these for my bugout van but theres virtually no documentation about what the real numbers are for it. It looks like it uses something like 0.5a or 6 watts at idle and is .85 efficient. I managed to run my laptop for a bit just browsing on the net and the inverter fans didn't even come on. Though I'd recommend on your setup maybe stick a 200a fuse between the inverter and battery bank incase you want to go nuts running stuff nice klr
NBGAF yeah a big fuse is a great idea, just in case. The inverter will fault out is you go over its limit, but a fuse is a nice safe guard. Thanks for the comments!
For the truck camper, I was only using a battery and the inverter, and was charging the battery from the alternator. At the ranch, I'm using a mix of Harbor Freight solar panel kits, and some MPPT controllers I got from Amazon, kind of a mix of parts I could get at the time, nothing too specialized. If you subscribe, I'll be uploading a new video about my current solar system, it will show the updates I've made more recently, it should be up in a day or two. Thanks for the comment.
I just blew my 450watt inverter using my weed whacker....15 minute use. Batteries are still good. I guess I need a bigger inverter. No power at the house and a lot of weeds.
Well I hate to hear that! Sometimes when they cool down the inverter will reset, I had one start working the next day, still works 2s years later. If not, sorry to hear it died. Maybe run short sessions so it doesn't get so hot, and yeah get a bigger one next time. Best wishes!
Thanks for this! Just bought this inverter. Was thinking of a simular battery but after seeing thst voltage drop im not sure. Also wondering why the cables for the inverters never come with aligator clips? Seams like the simplist way to connect to battery.
An inverter needs a lot of amps, the alligator clips are not really up to it. The rest really depends on what you are using it for. A $500+ lithium battery is totally worth buying if you intend on using it often.
I would not use this often. Use it for emergency only like outage. Rethinking my setup lithium is they way to go for sure for higher watts items especially. Maybe spend $1000 on all in one like Eco power station can be recharged in 2 hours. Then also use a set-up similar to this one for small watt items like TV and modem. Was without power 4.5 days during Irma and so unprepared. Never again! Nothing could last that long on battery but I'd find a way to recharge it.
@@tylermack954 I live off grid, these are my main source of power, I'm running solar into batteries to run the inverter. Old system was 4 RV style deep cycle battery, now I have some lithium iron phosphate battery. 5 years, every day. My experience...
@@CarlinComm nice setup! The reason I was asking about alligator clips Iis I want to use this inverter hooked up to my car battery and plug in a battery charger for other battery. My car battery has just the standard terminals so I don't know how to hook up inverter cable to it without alligator clips. Also what is the best battery (besides lithium)? I just want that one for TV and modem.
@@tylermack954 what is recommended is a Deep Cycle battery, sometimes called Marine RV battery, they have the correct terminal for the best battery cable. Deep Cycle battery has thicker plates inside, are made for long term use at steady load level like trolling motor or inverter. Walmart has them all ready to go.
Interesting. That is combining units of power and time. So, it might be said, you might be correct, if you defined how long you wanted to run the load. Or possibly a smaller load, could run for a long enough time, on a smaller battery, perhaps a 100 amp hour battery? Just a thought. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
I have the same one. The unit says use 1 awg wire but the book says use 2 awg. I'm using the 2 awg wires exactly like you have.. not sure how it performs yet. Just getting it hooked up
It depends on the length of the wires, and the load. When I bought it, the bigger wire kit wasn't available. One I used to have came with a 0 or 00 size, if I remember correctly.
Just to be clear, positive and negative to the battery, the ground is for protection like the ground on a wall plug, you can ground that to chassis. Be sure to use battery cable big enough for the inverter. 2000 watts needs some wire that looks like a garden hose. Also a fuse between the battery and the inverter is recommended, although I don't use it. Last thing, a car battery isn't made for long term loads, a deep cycle battery is better for use with the inverter. Hope that helps, best wishes.
Thank you for the response i really appreciate it, i have 0 gauge 3 feet cables to run to it, i know it wont last long but i really need it to power speakers for maybe 2 hrs per use then put the battery to recharge in the garage after every use , i jist wasnt sure on the ground wire and when i called several stores and asked for techs they didnt know the answer to my question. Thanks again!
Hi, Carlin Comm, what kill-a-watt P3 meter is that? or what meter would you recommend for someone trying to figure out the usage of stuff (appliance) in the house? I'm trying to help my dad Outage-proof the house. one of his big concerns is the pump on the wood-burner /radiator system on the house. So I've seen folks like you use a meter like that to check appliance usage. Any thing you can suggest would be a help. I like personal experience verses advertisement or commercials for any equipment like this.
Hi, yes, that is the P3 Kill a Watt meter, P3 is the model, there are different versions, I don't know much about the differences, this is just what I happened to get, probably from Amazon. It can show instant readings of watts or amps used by the load, and also over time, so if you wanted to try to size a battery to run the pump, you could run it for 24 hours, and then look at the meter and it would total up amp hours or watt hours since you started it. I think these were made more for people to see how much money the appliance was costing them, but work great for off grid too. Some of my things, like microwave and coffee maker, I have hand written notes on the, 650 watts for coffee for example. Specs on this one, the P3, are 15 amps and 1800 watts. I think there is one rated at 20 amps, probably? Hope that helps? Heres a link to Amazon for a selection of the meters, no affiliate link on that www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=kill+a+watt also I'm actually uploading a new video right now about off grid power and surviving storms, might be live by tonight, slow connection out here! Best wishes, thanks for the comment, be sure to subscribe :)
Please don't use a MSW (Modified Sine Wave) inverter with an appliance that has a power transformer or an induction motor in it and that includes shaded pole motors, as used in fan heaters. Square waves tend to cause the windings in a motor or transformer to heat up causing power loss. Microwave ovens have a big power transformer in them to step the voltage up for the magnetron and down for the clock, if fitted. The platter drive motor usually runs at the mains voltage. Don't use appliances and power tools with variable speed controls because the voltage is stepped and you do not get good speed regulation like you do with a PSW (Pure Sine Wave) supply. The steps in the voltage tend to generate high voltage spikes which can puncture the insulation between adjacent turns of wire in motors and transformers. There is nothing wrong with using the MSW inverter with the following devices... old fashioned non-speed controlled drills, vacuum cleaners and universal motors; ones with brushes and of course heating appliances... toasters, hot plates etc. Most devices with switch-mode power supplies like PCs and modern monitors as well as those very light weight wall warts and LED lights with a SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supply) in it work fine. The first active component in an SMPS is a rectifier which turns the AC in to DC. The DC is filtered and supplies the switch mode part of the power supply which will step the input up or down as required by the rest of the circuitry. You will hear people say that they are not as efficient as a PSW inverter. They both have a converter to step the voltage from the battery up to a higher level and this voltsge is chopped and filtered in the case of a PSW inverter or just chopped in the case of the MSW inverter. Their efficiencies are much the same. People like to plug in their microwave ovens and say, "See it's not as fast or efficient!" Of course not, you are feeding a big transformer with a stepped square wave which the transformer does not like as explained earlier. Get as many AHs (Amp Hours) of battery storage as you can afford, the bigger, the better and find a 12 volt, at least 40 amp, DC input battery charger. It senses when the engine is running and only when the SLI (Starting, Lighting & Ignition) battery is full, will it charge the domestic batteries. You may have to upgrade the alternator to handle the extra current as the battery charger will draw 50 amps to charge your domestic batteries. It adds or steps-up the supply voltage to charge the extra batteries. The reason for the extra AHs is that to get as many cycles out of your batteries as possible, you try not to discharge it below 50% DoD (Depth of Discharge), however if you use golf cart batteries as your domestic batteries, you can take them down as far as 80% DoD providing you recharge them fully ASAP and don't do it too often. At 50% DoD, a 100AH battery will supply 600 watts for 1 hour, at 80% DoD, it will supply 960 watts for 1 hour. Two 100 AH batteries will supply double those figures... and then you've got to recharge them. A 100 AH battery will need nearly 2 hours plus of charging time at 40 amps if discharged to 80% DoD. Two 100 AH batteries will need double that at 80% DoD but those batteries discharged to 50% DoD will take nearly 3 hours plus a bit for equalization to reduce the chance of sulfation. If you are going to park up for a while and don't mind a bit of noise, I suggest that you buy a small generator... say 1kVA or so and a battery charger to suit. Yes, extra money but to get a decent life time from your batteries, it will cost you... portable solar panels and charge controller, generator and battery charger, a 12 volt generator to charge the batteries directly or your vehicle engine and a DC to DC battery charger... plus fuel. Energy costs and mobile energy costs more but if you look after the source, it will supply your needs for quite a while.
Thanks for the info. I researched price vs capacity, and for the price of the pure sinewave units, I can replace a lot of gear. I do understand the risks.
@Casanova Frankenstein Hi. It sounds like you need a generator rather than an inverter. One of the first things I bought when I started using big power tools was an AC/DC clamp meter that has a peak hold function to measure the in-rush current. Things like chop saws have a fairly high starting or in-rush current, 5 or 6 times the running current. Most inverters seem to handle twice their rated power for a second or two while starting motors. MIG welders are another story. If it has a power transformer (heavy weight), you will need a sinusoidal power input. If it is an inverter type (light weight) you may be able to get away with a MSW (Modified Sine Wave) but you'll need a big one and you'll need to confirm it with the manufacturer first. . I have a fairly cheap MIG/Arc welder (inverter type) that the manufacturer specifies a 7,500 watt generator for. Our generator is 7,000 peak watts and 6,500 watts continuous and so far I haven't overloaded the generator as most of my welding has been with 0.8mm welding wire and I limit the rod size for stick welding to 1/8" and current to 135 amps. The problem with generators is that when there is no load on it and it's running, it's using petrol. If you can utilize that time to charge batteries or heat your water, so much better... or turn it off. . As far as heating your truck, I'm assuming an RV, so go with a PSW (Pure Sine Wave) inverter because of the likelihood of you having inductive loads. As far as the Chinese made ones are concerned, I've heard that they don't like being continuously run at their full output but they are okay at 80%. I can't confirm it but it does make sense to me, knowing how well they are made. In other words, Chinese needs to be 2,400 watt if you need to run it at 2,000 watts for any extended period of time. I'm not familiar with American made inverters, so I daren't make a comment. . I live in New Zealand (230 Volts, 50 Hz) and have a 1 kW and a 2 kW 12 Volt Chinese inverter that I try not to overload. 1 kW = NZ$325 and 2 kW = NZ$600, bought on special, normally NZ$650. Generator was NZ$1250 with discount... daughter works for retailer. Solar panels (NZ$1.50 to $2.00 per watt) are okay for Chinese and our batteries are Crown CR220s... American and cost NZ$300 each. It'll give you a rough idea how expensive it is to get off grid over here. . Now I must apologize to Carlin for taking over his channel and thank you for reading my input.
To get a 1500 watt heater to run 10 hours, you need a battery out of an older generation Nissan Leaf. By the way, thanks for the video. I'm considering buying one of these inverters. I really want to know if an air conditioner starts up ok with it. Also electric motors, like an air compressor. I need power on the job sites and I really don't have room for a generator. I don't care if I have to leave the van running.
Starting motors with the inverter is kind of hit and miss. First problem is the inexpensive inverter are modified sinewave, so some motors won't run right, and they also may not have enough power to start up. Some air conditioning have a soft start, which makes them start with less of a surge. Some air compressor also have compression release so the compressor starts easier. Not perfect,. But if it works, so much nicer than running generator all the time.
@JPG23 It's you-tube videos that shows how you can use a car as a generator.Can a 1000cc car battery with a 1,000w power inverter power a electric oven that's 800w or even a 800cc car battery ?
Technically yes, but that's not a great way to do it. The car's starting battery is good at delivering high amps for short time. The Inverter needs power for a longer period of time, so its better to use a Deep Cycle battery, they are made with thicker plates inside, so they don't warp under heavy use. Then its a matter of the alternator in the car, how many amps can it deliver, again, for long time? You'd need to run the car to keep the battery charged to run something big. In my use, I was driving the truck a couple hours each day so that gave the battery time to recharge. I had both the starting battery and a deep cycle in the truck. A car battery can run a small inverter, like to power a laptop, but probably not for running a microwave. Hope that helps!
Here's a pro tip that I found out the hard way and was about to kick myself in the ass when I did. Make sure you have very good solid cable connections. If they are not damn near perfect, you will be cussing and screaming wondering why your brand new 2000 watt inverter won't even power your coffee pot.
Oh that's a great tip! I heard it said once, that a thin layer of corrosion on the battery terminals works like an insulator, so the cables can be connected, but not really touching, or worse, you get voltage but no amps! Yeah that'll drive you bonkers!
my 900 watt microwave uses about 1400 watts, so that kind of messes the math up! haha Yeah, 1 battery wasn't enough 2 is better. Thanks for the comment!
I am curious. Can I run my laptop safely? It will power a coffeemaker, and say, my dirt devil vacuum,right? What if I plug in a power tower, then hook up from that, which has USB plugs, Z s well as 120v plugs x12, would it work ok? Not to plug in 12 things, but to e tend capability from under my hood of my Chevy silverado. My plan would be to connect the converter to my battery while setting converter in a stationary position. I am not going to 'install the converter. Thank you for the very interesting video. Just had some questions you might be able to answer.
Short answer, I might recommend a generator, depending on how much you'd use it. Northern Tools, Harbor Freight both have inverter generators that I hear work well, are pretty quiet, and don't use much fuel. Inverters can require more commitment to get to work as well as you'd expect. They can put a big load on your battery, especially your main "starting battery" in your truck. I use 4 deep cycle batteries and can run computers, laptops, coffee maker, microwave, etc, but I wouldn't expect a single battery to work as well. In this video I did it with one battery, and it did kind of work, but you don't get much run time. Maybe brew a small cup of coffee. If the truck is running, that helps, but you need to have some big battery cables to make the connections. Anyway, when you think of a inverter generator (gas powered) is $400-$500 and up, and the inverter (battery) is about $150, plus deep cycle batteries at $100 each, plus wiring, etc, the generator is a pretty simple way to go. Very much depends on your needs thought. For me, I live off grid, and I don't want to have to go get gas for the generator, but I have a good investment in solar panels now, too. Hope that helps!
I don't have the truck anymore. The inverter is still working fine, and I am moving from lead to lithium batteries on the off grid ranch. At the moment, I am solar electric biking around the country, check out the newest videos in the 22 States playlist.
nice video sir. but i don't have any knowledge about modified inverter can you tell me 300w modified sine wave inverter is suitable for table fan when i take power from my bike. thanks
Yes, a 300 watt inverter should be fine to power a fan, the speed may be a little slower, but in my experience, most things run just fine. Also, almost all electrical devices have label showing how much power it will use.
take volts X amps = watts so 120v X 5 amps = 600 watts Depending on the fan it may not like modified sine-wave known as dirty power. i also recommend if you buy from harbor freight get the 750/1500 as it is thermal controlled fan so less power loss.
I don't have any experience with adding the capacitor, but I have heard of it. I have been using 4 large deep cycle batteries, in parallel, and a smaller inverter, to run a small deep freeze, think its 5 cubic feet, and that works, but just barely. More solar would help. Sorry I don't have a better answer. Try it and see? Keep me posted, ok?
I use a 750 watt power inverter and it runs a 2amp 12 v charger slower in my truck to charge battery's so I dont burn up my altinater brushes because an altinater is really only a battery maintainer. You really don't Wana pull a full load on it at all times. And the armiture will burn from the brush heat. Be carful .
Great points! I don't have this setup anymore, I think it was Victron that makes a DC to DC charger that was programmed to only pull a safe amp level. It's definitely more complicated than just hooking wires up!
Great points! I don't have this setup anymore, I think it was Victron that makes a DC to DC charger that was programmed to only pull a safe amp level. It's definitely more complicated than just hooking wires up!
Double check that you have the connections on the right ports, + Red Positive and - Black Negative first. Make sure they are firmly tight, don't need to kill them, but they should be snug. Also be sure your terminals on the battery and the inverter are clean, no corrosion etc. I use a small wire brush for that. Next, check the battery voltage. If the battery is low, the inverter will fault out, that's the red light. Lastly, if you have too big of a load on the inverter it will fault out. One example is something like a deep freeze or an air conditioner, when they first start up, the compressor pulls a LOT of amps to get going, that will often be more than what the inverter can handle. Hope that helps, let me know ok? Thanks for the comment, and hopefully you are subscribed!
Wow has it been 4 years already? Yeah its still working great. I also have a Windy Nation 1500 inverter that is about a year older, they're both working fine. Sometimes the cooling fan gets noisy, but not too bad. I've had computer fans not last that long.
That was a temporary situation, I'm not using that in the truck anymore. But the issues to understand, with lead acid batteries, are the hydrogen off gassing that can happen. The quantities are pretty low, and that only really happens when you're charging the battery, as far as I know. Also, hydrogen is very hard to contain, so it would literally flow right through the wood of the camper, plus I didn't seal it very well, so there is very low risk of that building up to the point of being a problem. Motorhomes use the same type of batteries, althought they usually have the batteries in a vented compartment. Hope that helps, and thanks for the comment. Please subscribe and Like the video :)
@@CarlinComm Would you happen to know if there are any incompatibility issues with using the Jupiter Converter and a Lithium Battery Bank (300AH)? Seems like current draw is current draw as long as the voltage is within spec.
Question: Have you had any issues with that inverter? Like do LED lights flicker or have an electronics acted strange? That is a modified sine wave and not a pure sine wave, correct? Also, where you are now, do you get any cell phone signal? If not, you should be able to use a cell phone repeater antenna. When I was outside my house, I was so far out, I had 0 bars standing in front my of house. As soon as I bought a repeater, I was able to get phone service and internet. That would be better than going into town for Internet all the time.
GMoney I'm using a different inverter at the moment, but I haven't had any problems with either of those, everything works so far, within the limits of the power rating. As for the cell phone, don't think a repeater would help, I'm in a shadow behind a big hill.
The repeater has to be mounted in a pole put like 20 feet in the air and you aim it to the closest tower. I paid nearly $500 for mine about 11 years ago. I bought the poles at Radio Shack back then. This is similar to what I was using for 1/5th the cost: amzn.to/2LDY4NC You just need to mount it high up. Or find one on Amazon that is compatible with the phone that you are using. That little blue item on the right is the repeater that is wired to the antenna. It should give you many bars inside your dwelling. So you have phone signal inside the bus or do you have to drive far off until you get signal? At my place, I had to drive 16 miles until I could barely get 1 bar. This antenna fixed it all and for the first time in years I was able to make cell phone calls from in my living room.
Yeah that could be right. Car batteries are so dependent on temperature and how many amps the load actually is, they're not very uniform in rating at all. At least a trolling motor battery or RV battery is labeled for amp hours. Sort of.
House AC power, or generator, has alternating current, in a natural sign wave, that's a smooth transition from "positive" to "negative" in a sine wave. Since that is the most common, in the "real" world, most appliances are made to take advantage of that. A "modified" sine wave inverter, is kind of an electronic hack, it approximates the sinewave, but it causes ripples in the wave. Think of it like Digital vs Analog, most people think of digital as better, but analog can represent any signal number between 0 and 1, where Digital represents it like 0. 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 etc, which leaves a square edge between the increments. To me, for most cases, the "modified" inverters work just fine, and are typically much less expensive. Some people say that a modified sine wave will damage "electronics" like computers, microwaves, etc. I've been out here for 3 years now, and all my stuff still works fine. For the cost of a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter, I can replace my microwave and my laptop twice. If you can afford it, buy the pure sine wave though, things will tend to work better. My microwave works better on the generator, food gets hot faster. That kind of thing. Hope that helps? Oh, and be sure to Subscribe if you haven't already!
You are back to running propane heaters again. That comment interest me because little buddy heaters are totally worthless with their new. New to me " low oxygen sensor. Totally unreliable two brand new unites failed to light after only 9 one lb. Cylinders. What propane heater actually works ?
Oh I haven't looked at the new heaters. I have 2 of the little Buddy heaters, and am really happy with them. Didn't know they had a low oxygen sensor now. Interesting. Just to be sure, when you light it, are you holding the button down, until the thermocouple warms up right? The second heater I bought had a problem with that, they had assembled it wrong, the pilot light wouldn't quite reach the thermocouple so it wouldn't stay lit, so I took it back to WalMart, swapped for a new one, which works just fine. My next idea for heat are the little Diesel heaters coming out of China, I see some good reviews for those. Diesel would be easier to store and easier for me to get locally. Apparently they don't burn much per hour etc. But they're not portable, you'd have to install them.
@@CarlinComm I used little buddy heaters for nine years . I think nine years without any problems with one l and 20 lb cylinders without problems. I mostly used them with the pilot light only ignited. Then I bought 3 units various models not realizing about the government mandated low oxygen sensor in 2017 . I used two of them . One on a 20 lb. Cylinder and one with the one lb cylinders and both the failed to ignite shortly after purchase I like the concept of the Chinese disel heaters that only run on gasoline. That's what all the RUclips videos say gasoline not diesel. I have shore power but fear of an outage keeps me looking for an alternative. Its inconceivable that RV manufacturers would continue to install propane heaters with low oxygen sensors if the little buddy design sensor is all that is available which appears to be a visible port in the brass tubing in the gas line Alls I need to survive is a 250 watts of electrical heat so I'm considering solar or gasoline powder or preferable propane power generator back up. I don't trust ethanol gasoline in any small engine.. oh. I'm a lously do it your self mechanic
@@robertbrawley5048 There are so many options, which I guess is good, but it gets expensive trying them all. Its frustrating when I have something that works for me, so I recommend it, and then it doesn't work for someone else. I've not heard of running gas in a Diesel heater, that seems scary. Not sure I'd be brave enough to try that. I really like my sleeping bag, I made it for the motorcycle alaska trip, it keeps me alive on cold nights with out running the heat. Well, cold here isn't so bad, but below freezing anyway.
curious, I just picked up same converter at estate sale for 50 and a marine batter which appears fully charged. To test the converter can I just use some basic jumper cable on both ends r to r b to b and if so what order befror eturning on inverter. TIA
Yes jumpers would be fine for testing. Expect a spark when you connect the last connection, it's a big draw to change the capacitors in the inverter, so best to connect battery first, then inverter last, so the spark isn't at the battery. Otherwise good to go!
I've got a 6 gallon Dewalt compressor, one of the pancake ones, and this inverter will run that, just fine, if you have enough batteries. I never tried it on a single battery, I currently have 4 in parallel and it works just fine. 2 batteries would probably do it.
@@V22D Thanks! Glad you liked the video. Its been a good inverter, I run it 24x7 out here on the ranch now. I had bought it just for using in the truck camper, but it worked better than the one I used in my house (built a house since making this video) Anyway, still works!
@@CarlinComm yes its has good reviews for the price, here in texas we just had a power outage that lasted for me 3 days and i wasn't prepared for it ,now i will buy one for emergencies
@@V22D Yeah that was a mess from what I hear. I live off grid, so I'm kind of used to that kind of thing all the time :) The problem for me though, was it was very cold, and also cloudy, so solar wasn't so good for a while there. I'm out in west Texas, closer to El Paso.
@@JJ-wk5wh i think LVD is low voltage disconnect. i just got an inverter and a deep cycle battery. what i have learned is 50% battery charge is over 12 volts. if you go below 50% that shortens battery life a lot. his battery isn't deep cycle .walmart sells two types marine and rv batteries. the deep cycle will have removeable caps for the cells so distilled water can be added the plates in deep cycle are supposed to be thicker for longer life.i don't know if the maintainance free use those same heavier plates. this is just my 2 cents and that may be all it is worth
I have a personal question. Maybe I missed it on another video. If you're a nomad, how can you afford the property, the property taxes, that nice truck, a motorcycle and all the money for the solar panels and living expenses? Do you have a job in town?
GMoney yes, I have a job with the postal service, have worked for them for about 4 years, but in 3 different locations ;) After 9 years in the Navy, I have a tough time staying in one place for more than a couple years.
Not sure I understand that ? Maybe they mean run an inverter from the solar panel? Works better with a battery! Thanks for the comment, sorry was slow to get back to you!
There is no parallel cable option for these, if you need more than 2000 watts, I'd recommend just buying a bigger inverter. Hope that helps? There would be no practical way to lock the AC cycles between 2 of these, which would probably be the important bit. For what its worth, I shot this video several years ago, and this same unit is working just fine.
Also, they have a 3000 and 5000 watt inverter available here www.harborfreight.com/search?q=inverter You'd need a lot of batteries to support that kind of a load!
@@Max-kn9yi Yeah the difference is significant. What I was doing for a while, I had 2 inverters, on 2 different batteries / systems, and was running half of my house on each inverter. The breaker box has the red and the black inputs, 2 hots. I didn't have anything that used 220, so didn't have to worry about if the 2 inverters were in sync with each other. Then I'd try to load balance so I'd have about 1000 watt loads on each system. I did that for quite a while, didn't see any problems, as long as you don't do anything 220 that hits both inverters on one load, it would probably be fine.
Hello hello I was wondering is it normal for the cooling fans to come on when charging a cell phone ......I'm currently Running the inverter of a Rv battery.
It really depends on air temperature where the inverter is installed. I'm in Texas, its about 90 degrees inside the house I have my inverter installed, and the fan runs off and on all day, but not constantly. It might cycle 10 to 30 seconds on, then turn off for a minute or two. In the winter the fan never comes on. I just realized this video was from 5 years ago, so I guess its still working! I'm running my house with this one now. Thanks for the comment.
I'm currently in a sprinter van ....mine kicks on after 40 minutes use.....and every minute afterwards......even when it's not on a load it keeps kicking after charging my phone or any electrical item.
@@GotGameOTR I've heard of people running a separate fan to blow through the inverter, I guess if you found a quieter fan that would make a difference. When I'd be concerned if the fan stops working!
@@CarlinComm Thanks for all the helpful info....Th is fan is driving me crazy lol........I think I'll try blowing a separate fan through it & let's see how that pans out thank you so much.
@@GotGameOTR Glad to help, some of this kind of information is hard to find. Just make sure there is enough air flow around the inverter. Like, if you decide to put some sound dampening around it so you don't hear it, make sure to vent enough air. I also used to work on computers a lot, and learned that a larger fan can move more air with less noise. You can use a PWM fan speed controller to slow down a fan, that cuts the noise a lot. So you might look for a big computer case fan and a speed controller. Then make a duct or something with cardboard and tape to direct the air into the inverter (or pull the air through the inverter) which ever way works better. I might do that on mine too! Thanks for the reminder!
Maurice Craft it will work, depends on the load. Deep Cycle batteries are recommended for regular use, as you would discharge it and then fully charge again. A starting battery is made for a short burst of power, not long continuous loads. Also deep cycle batteries have connections for hooking the cables you would typically use with the inverter. Hope that helps :)
Some of the whining comments used to bother me, but I'm getting used to it ;) Here's how I look at the inverter, it cost 1/5 the cost, I can blow up the microwave pretty often before I break even. More than 2 years, I am money ahead. Thanks for the comments :)
Mine is pretty quiet unless its under load, but if its hot it might come on right away. I'm not currently using this inverter, but as its been in the 100 degree range, the fan might come on more often. Thanks for the comment, sorry was slow to get back to you!
Terri Lynch +, every Fan is different, & they might have different speeds too, just shine a FLASH LIGHT in the port, but also, it depends on how much load is put on the inverter, it is very important that fan kicks in so it can cool itself down to protect itself, if not then use an external fan otherwise it will shut down!
Yeah no kidding! I was just thinking wow I've come a long way in the last 4 years since I made this video. Thankfully the cost of lithium batteries is almost reasonable now. That said, for the cost of propane, it would take running the heater for a very long time to break even buying a lithium battery. And that inverter is still working great, I'm using it even now at the moment. While a lot of people aren't fans of Harbor Freight, some of their stuff is pretty solid. Thanks for the comment!
@@richardthibeault7796 Glad to help. Be sure to get the proper cables while you're there, I know copper is expensive, but its important :) best wishes!
Cars that are in one term parking restart the engine when the battery starts getting low away for a month for car is in long-term parking is a feature that you can get an alarm system aftermarket
If you mean the ground on the chassis of the inverter, no, I hadn't hooked that up. Probably a good idea, thought. Have thought about setting up a lightning rod and ground rod at the ranch, which is where I am using this now, but haven't done it yet...
@@CarlinComm yes sir the ground chassis. I'd say it's like a generator then not a 100% required but added safety. I appreciate the response as all of the 750watt inverters or less i have used had no extra grounds.
Right, added safety. I'm currently using this at my house, not in the truck anymore. The battery box is outside, its just a wood box, so I don't have anything else to ground it to. I already have grounds tied at the breaker box. Later on, I probably will get a grounding rod into the ground, and a lightning rod, then tie all those together would be extra safe. Thanks for the comments and for watching the video!
@@CarlinComm thank you for the response, I plan to use mine for many cooking activities on the back of my tailgate. My 12v fridge has changed my eating habits for the better. This is a neccessary back up when the generator runs out of gas lol.
Yeah I hear that! I'm living totally off grid, have the generator but it goes weeks sometimes without getting used, everything is solar, and these inverters are really doing well. I just got done doing 2 loads of laundry with this inverter this morning. Fuel for the generator is getting stale! Stay safe!
pretty big load on the batteries though, I have recently gotten an electric skillet, and can't run it unless I have maxed out batteries. Thanks for the comments :)
bought one but will not power a coffee pot as advertised, tried it on 3 yellow top Optimas and my car running supplying 14.4 volts, 1300 is probably its peak rather than its continuous.
Hi ! I’ve got a problem within this kind of inverter! It’s a green/red signal every few seconds and after few minutes it’s only a long red signal! Can someone tell me what can be ?
Can you check your battery voltage? I dont have this inverter connected at the moment but it sounds like your battery voltage might be dropping too low. Post back if you can, ok? Best wishes.
t can spin the altimeter and charg ur altimeter whith ur batter power u charg and spin ur altimeter ehith the inverter poer up from battery u neeed wood to put the to thing on moter and altimeter
This is still today the most straightforward review. Thanks
Thank you for the comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Of note, that inverter is now several years old, I use it every day, and it is still working just as good. Best wishes in the new year!
I love it! Your battery is the battery we use for our of grid cabin. All our friends have told use "special" batteries. Your video was down to earth. Thank you.
Thank you! There are many ways to do things!
I bought one about 6months ago and it has performed excellent for the price...cooling fans barely come on and never gets hot..definitely recommend.
+unarammer Yes I agree, the fan barely comes on, I have 2 other inverters and their fans cycle on off constantly even with no load. Thanks for your comments!
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Fan noise is my main deterrent for these harbor freight inverters. I have the non jupiter one and the fans were so noisy that they'd wake me out of a dead sleep, even with no load.
Simple and straightforward... love it, thx! And this setup could even work as an emergency backup at home, where you could also get by for awhile with just the 'basics'.
Glad to help! The more I watch the news, the more happy I am to be living off grid. But the best part, anything that works for me off grid, would work just as well for people for emergencies. Thanks for the comment!
@@CarlinComm great video thanks for sharing.
It certainly would
You are welcome!
Very smart on how you setup the batteries at the end of the video with the charge controller
There are now products that do a better job, but this seems to work. I only used it like that for a few months or so. There was a solenoid between the battery and the alternator, so I could choose to charge or not. If you just joined the "house" battery and the starting battery, with the truck running, the voltage regulator sees the average of the 2 batteries, and ends up over charging the "good" battery. I think that is why some of the battery in my old van didn't last too long. Victron makes a smart box that regulates and controls the whole process. Hope that helps?
@@CarlinComm makes sense
Thank you for a great review and explanation of the inverter for those of us who are new to the whole process.
darlene schieren dittmar glad you liked it :)
Ive been looking for a video review on this exact set up. Glad I found it cause I've only seen the older model inverter so thanks for the video
juan ortiz glad to help ;)
good information. im planning to buy off grid land in Az soon and working on getting all my solar set up first. im setting up pannels and inverter to power a window AC to save a few $$ now but also use later.....suns is up AC works kinda thing untill i get enough batteries to power it all nite....swamp cooler work till then. i have a trailer im setting up to hold all the pannels and equipment so i can just show up on stite and be able to plug in my RV on day one
That sounds great! The price of Lithium batteries is finally at a reasonable point, where running big loads like air conditioners is actually practical. Hope you'll be posting your progress on RUclipss :)
And interesting bit about using the truck alternator to charge batteries, I've had that system half wired for about a year now, solenoid and all, but haven't finished the job yet. Now I'm reconsidering doing it at all, or maybe I'll have a switch and use it only when it's really necessary.
Something to be aware of there. If you just join the inverter battery to the starting battery and charge from the alternator, you'll end up overcharging your starting battery. I've made that mistake, and learned slowly, the hard way. Sorry, this will be long, but hope you understand. Say you run the inverter battery down to 10 volts, then join it to your good battery, and the alternator charges them both. The voltage averages out, the charge controller or voltage regulator sees the average, it dumps in 14 volts. This will shorten the life of your starting battery, it's getting over charged. I've had motorhome, 2 vans, and the truck, and I had been doing this in all of them. The better way, is to have a DC to DC charger, that can regulate the charge. One test I did was to use a solar charge controller, where the alternator was the input to the charge controller, and the output went to the inverter battery. That wasn't ideal, but from the alternator side, it just saw a load, so the voltage regulator didn't try to overcharge the starting battery. The "load" just seemed like a 20 amp load, like you turned on all the lights or something, so the alternator / voltage regulator just adjusted. But if you connect a dead battery to a good battery, the sensor circuit thinks it needs more power, and the "good" battery gets way over charged. It works, but it'll shorten the life of your starting battery, at least that was my experience. Here's a link to a pretty expensive solution I've read good things about, but haven't used myself. Anyway, hope that makes sense? www.solar-electric.com/victron-energy-orion-tr-smart-12-12-30a-dc-dc-charger.html
best wishes Carlin
I just bought this model. I’m in NC and hurricane Florence is about to roll through. I plan to connect it to my truck battery and leave my truck running in order to power my TVs, router, computer, and hopefully my refrigerator. I’ve done this before with my 400 watt inverter with all of the above except the refrigerator. The 400 watt couldn’t run the frig even without all their other electronics plugged in. I’m hoping this can. My Truck will run pretty much all day without needing to refuel.
Good luck with the storm! I'm running a 5 cubic foot freezer with a smaller 1500 watt inverter, you should be ok. Post back to let us know how you are doing ok? Best wishes!
Hah! Me too. Columbia, SC. I have a Chevy Volt so the first 10 Kwh come out of the Volt battery. Hope we don't need it. Good luck.
Yea I'm in Charlotte and I'm intending on doing the same thing. For extra capacity I'm going to connect all the batteries from my cars in parallel and keep my truck charging everything. Hope we all make it safely on the other side of this.
That's awesome using the electric cars for power source! Genius :)
I know it's too late to suggest a pure sine wave inverter for your fridges and freezers but that would be the better way to go. I hope you all got through the hurricane okay.
Great video, I think this answers my question about the fan noise
Cool, glad to help, the fan only comes on when it needs to, it's not on nearly as much as my 1500 watt Windy Nation inverter. Still using this 2000 watt inverter as my main power source, still working fine.
@@CarlinComm yea, I just bought the jupiter one this afternoon and am looking forward to mounting it indoors and out of the weather! I got the fan to kick on but only after several minutes of running and air compressor, fridge, and 52" TV. The fan noise is much more reasonable than the old Centech one from harbor freight. Thanks again for the video, it was very helpful.
@@yonmoore Cool, glad to help!
Hi Carlin. Thanks for the review. Just bought the same inverter and am giving it a test run this weekend. As far as charging both batteries off your truck research battery isolators and separators. If this hasn't been suggested already it will take care of your charging and eating batteries issue.
Thanks for the info! I've used those in the past, with mixed results. They are probably much better now, not so good last time! Good luck with the inverter, mine has been great for the last couple of years.
I have a camper setup in my truck and ran that exact heater and the 5000watt juniper winter camping in Colorado, fell asleep and left it on all night, woke up in the morning sweating and the heater was still going
We've definitely come a long way in the last few years! Thanks for the comment!
@@CarlinComm yea I didnt know too much about the whole setup so I explained to the guys at car toys what I wanted and they did an amazing job and I haven't had any issues, I've got a circuit breaker in case of something going wrong and the battery isolator but I've never fully discharged my secondary battery so it's worked out really really well
@@brando6136 i'm glad you found someone who knew how to make all that work! Its really tough getting started when you don't know where to even start. And it gets expensive if you start buying the wrong stuff!
@@CarlinComm yea luckily Car Toys knew exactly what I was going for since I'm in Colorado I'm not the only one to come in with the idea
@@brando6136 This is finally becoming more common, all the people living in vans has helped a lot. 10 years ago it was pretty tough finding the parts, much less anyone who know how they worked.
Still like watching the older videos
I think it will be hard to compare the old and the new videos, so much happened in the first year or two!
Walmart 200 watt small square cube heaters $15 work surprising well. They are ceramic and fan forced, they come in red, blue and black. They also have a tip over safety feature but no thermostat, you can use an on/off Timer. Thanks for the videos.
Thanks for the tip! I've not found any small heaters that worked very well, I'll have to check that out!
Cute one, they must have a thermostats i have had two failed because I allowed my blanket to cover the rear air intake which shuts the fan and heat off. But they never come back on after cooling down and restarting. The larger unites max. 1500 watt units do come back on after shutting down but I would preferr the 250 watt units which are adequate for my needs. A box tube or wire cage around the rear intake is required to keep the unit operating the way I use them . Me and the heater underneath the same blanket
@@robertbrawley5048 Wonder how well a heated blanket would work?
@@robertbrawley5048 too funny I use them
Under the blanket too. I tape the tip sensor, so it stays on. Glad to hear they have auto shutdown if they get too hot. I was surprised how much heat the put out for being so small and just 250 watts. $15 is another plus. 🤝
@@cuteone1702 too funny? Ha ha ha. I tape the aggravating tipover switch closed as well. Well really set the heater over a bottle cap or sponge to close the tip over switch.
Get an induction burner. Mine is for rv’s & has wastage rating from 600 wats to 1500 waits. 600, 900, 1200, & 1500 waits. U also need pans for induction use. The best way to see if they are is check them with a refs. magnet.
Thanks for the tip. I've been looking at that more recently again, I like what you say about them having different power levels. I've got an electric frying pan, and its full watts till it gets to temp, then it cycles off, which isn't so good running on batteries. Do you have a brand you like for the induction burner? Thanks for the tip!
You have to realize that you need a means of charging the battery as the Inverter is running something. If that inverter is getting 14V with a good charged set of batterys it can drag on with no issues to make it's maximum out put... The bigger the Inverter the more battery's you will need. That 2000 Watt I would say no less then two 12v DC battery's (with a tending charge of like 2 to 4 Amps with 2 gauge wire unles you're running a distance more then 10 FT then I'd go with 0 Guage. To many of people are uneducated hooking these things up and then claiming they're junk. It's just like a Car Amplifier, they need 12v DC anything less then that and the Amplifier will go into protect or just not function correctly as for the inverters do as well. The more load that pulls on the inverter the more load you need to feed into it.
Over all fun video man. Do you live in Tucson Arizona area? Looks like AZ Desert.
I'm out in West Texas near El Paso this video is just a test to see if it would work at all I didn't expect very much out of it I was looking for set up and I can run into truck camper temporarily I live off-grid in a school bus and I have solar power charging for deep cycle batteries I'm able to run quite a bit I can brew coffee run a deep freeze run a microwave run a coffee maker but not electric heaters cuz you need them to run longer than a few minutes at a time but I just wanted to see if it would work thanks for the comments and the support.
You don't need more batteries just because it's a bigger inverter, you need more batteries to power larger loads! I can easily run my 5K inverter from one battery such as he his using in this video, Walmart 12v deepcycle, when I am using smaller loads like making pot of coffee , or a weed trimmer, small electric chainsaw etc. and no problems. Of course we get into how long things run depends how much power they suck up. But 1 Battery will run any of those items fine with 5k inverter for awhile. Now of course if I want to put a heavy load on that inverter like my motorhome airconditionaire then of course I need more batteries for that big load. Point is size of inverter has nothing to do really with how many batteries needed, it's all the size of the load! I could run 1 100Watt light bulb on my 5k inverter with only 1 battery for about 50hrs and still only drop to about 50% of the battery capacity.
Neat idea with the solar controller for a trickle charger on Aux cattery- might try this in my ‘72 Dodge R/V Aux battery… just trying to figure out where to mount the inverter lol
Thanks! I think anything we do is about 100 little decisions. Just start with one!
@@CarlinComm so update- added the HF solar controller but it will not operate under 15v because solar panels run at 23ish volts. Alternators run at 14.7 and very rarely go about 15 volts which is the min to operate controller. Thought of adding a voltage doubling circuit, but I’m going to try a different controller from ebay 12v 30 amp. How’d you accomplish this?
@@mattboyer7812 I don't have that truck anymore, but at some point I did switch to some ebay pwm controllers. If you can afford a better set up, Victron makes a nice looking charger that goes between the alternator, starter battery, and "house" battery, can send power from alternator, solar, etc, and bridges everything together intelligently. Those blue boxes are expensive, but I think probably worth it. They also usually have Bluetooth to your phone so you can see what's happening.
@@mattboyer7812 Also, at this point, Lithium (LiFePO4) is very cost effective, so even if you don't plan on buying lithium batteries, make sure your charge controller etc are lithium compatible.
When you run the heater with the battery you have there, it will drain the battery in just a couple of hours. The inverter (other than it being a modified sine wave rather than a pure sine wave) is not the problem, the battery is. It is WAY too small for what you are doing. Goose the system up to 1 or 2 105ah AGM batteries with a charging system (generator or solar) and you might have better luck.
Thanks for the comment! I probably could have shot that differently, I knew it wouldn't work very well, I was just trying to get an idea if it would work at all, and if it would be worth scaling it up. Best wishes!
Yeah with this guys advice you'll go from minutes to a couple more minutes. Lol stay with propage.
Yeah many years later it would have been nice to avoid flame in a very small camper. I'm still using the same inverter at least...
@@CarlinComm propane or electrical fire?
@@apocolypse11 When i shot this video, 6 years ago, lithium *( LiFePO4) wasn't really an option. Now it is. A 100 Ah battery is about $250 now last time I looked. 100 Ah * 12V is about 1200 watts. In theory that could run a 1000 watt heater about an hour from fully charged. Since I planned to drive the truck most days, I just needed a few minutes of heat to take the chill out of the air before I crawled in bed. The idea was the alternator would top off the batteries while driving, and I'd get "free" heat. Lead deep cycle batteries didn't have anywhere near the performance. If I were to do that again, with what I have and what I know, 4x of the LiFePO4 batteries would be just about right. Sure, $1000. But not needing to run a propane heater in the back of a tiny truck camper would have been really nice. I was more worried about the propane heater starting the camper on fire, I didn't really have enough room in there to safely run the heater. I don't remember worrying about starting an electrical fire, I've since been using that same inverter in my off grid house and no fires so far, 6 years later :) Figured I'd try to spell it out, most of the comments are out of context. Thanks for asking!
Enjoyed the vid, I've been searching for one. Sweet very nice indeed
Thanks for the comment, glad you liked the video! Best wishes :)
@@CarlinComm Thank you likewise
With 122ah you have between 600 to 700 watts per hour to use until the battery is at 50% discharged. It will depend on how many watts your converter uses to take DC to AC.
Yeah in theory, but that is why I was testing. Lead battery don't typically pull full capacity very well. Lithium is much better, as I am able I'm moving over to lithium now. Also I don't have that truck, or the job I needed that for. Anyway, thanks for the comments, numbers and theory are an important place to start, I don't spend enough time there.
@@CarlinComm Not a theory that is how it works. I have installed many systems and that is where the numbers fall.
@@MikePowlas ok thanks
My microwave will act like it's running but nothing gets hot using mine. Pure sine wave inverter works good though. Even a 1500watt model.
Yeah I've noticed the microwave doesn't work as well on either of my modified sinewave inverters, compared to running on my generator. But it does get things hot, just takes longer. I don't have a pure sinewave inverter big enough to run the microwave, but thanks for the info that it would work. My "900 watt" walmart microwave uses about 1450 watts!
You can always run Cables from the battery In the bed to the Battery under the hood then your alternator would be charging both batteries while driving
I think I added that all later.
@@CarlinComm got ya
Such a great review and demonstration and Informative video
Thanks for the comments, glad you like it! This was from a few years ago, I am still using it, works great.
@@CarlinComm I know was 4 years ago Glad to hear your still using it very helpful information
Modified sign wave takes a microwave twice as long as a pure sign wave would to heat up anything.bigger is better so they say.
Yeah I have noticed microwave works better on the generator vs the inverter. Thanks for the comments :)
The power level meter on your invertor is approximately 200 watts per segment 👍🏻
Thanks! I've never taken the time to check if they were accurate or not. My other inverter, the Windy Nation 1500, has numerical LED readout for battery voltage or load in watts, which is nice to have. But I like that this has at least something!
@@CarlinComm I have the same inverter in my homemade cargo trailer “camper” it works well
@@gregoutdoors7 Yeah I've been using mine for a couple of years now full time, the fan is getting noisy, but otherwise is working fine.
Thank you for the video .
You are welcome!
You are welcome!
That's why I'll burn wood to heat and cook. And mainly run power for hot and cold 12v waterpumps, charging flashlight batteries, and possibly electric fence for the critter's.
Yeah its hard to beat buring wood or fuels for heating and cooking!
FYI, I would put your inverter away from the battery if possible, let's say the battery gasses and your inverter fan starts it could cause a little spark and boom...I know it sounds not likely but that's a scenario I would probably go through.. I have that same inverter hooked to 3 105 amp hour batteries.. works really good
Yeah I've thought of that before. The box the batteries is vented, but I do have the inverter pretty close to the batteries. On the other hand, you need to keep the cable as short as possible!
I use a 4.2A 50W DC heated blanket that runs in 45 minute increments. I've never noticed a decrease in my batteries starting capability after using my heated blanket over night. Heating the air in a camper is super inefficient. I hardly turn on the blanket more than twice in a night when temperatures drop to around 0°F. Using a heated blanket over night and the propane heater in the morning to heat your camper is the way too go.
Thanks for the idea, I haven't thought about an electric blanket. Best wishes!
@@CarlinComm I recommend it to so many people that camp or live in vehicles and struggle with heat. Most methods are not only super costly and inefficient but dangerous. My electronic blanket cost $25(automotive section at Walmart), it directly heats my body(in less than 1 min.), uses a D.C. outlet with a low power draw(no need for inverters or gas), and its probably the safest option as it turns off after 45 min.(no red hot coils, flames, 0 risk of suffocation from gas or carbon monoxide). Best wishes too you as well.
I will definitely check it out :)
I was thinking of just buying a car battery and this inverter. I figure it can work during a blackout. It wouldn't be in a car so I was wondering how I would charge it once the battery drained.
Ok sure. Just buy a battery charger when you get the battery. If power is off, you need either solar or generator. I'm uploading a video right now that goes into the options for this, should be live tonight. Be sure to subscribe ;)
Ps get a Deep Cycle battery, they work better.
Thank you for information. We are working on van build with little money so Habor Freight is good place for us. Thanks again.
Glad to help! Have fun with the van!
arnita canas I'ma cash type ,so harbor freight is good for me. But you can find better deal on line. solar, mppt charger,and converter. But the HF solar pack is amorphous,wich produce in low light,cloud coverage. the inverter at HF are modified sine wave which will not produce as good as pure sine wave.
Im just learning but would like to pass on what I have learned. Also seems to have four batteries on any build . Lithium is only a dream so far . Deep cycle acid seem to produce hydrogen. If vented good could be a option. But now I'm back to HF 12 volt 35 AMP hour.
Much love and God Bless you and your build
@@aaaricmondroofing1703 Install batteries in a vented area and get Wall Mart 12v deep cycle for $95 or the better one for just over $100, trust me on this. You never want to run below 50% of battery's capacity, not really that low even for best battery life. Big Wallmart battery is about 115amphrs so 55amps usable, Hf is 35amphrs so 17amps usable which is not much at all! The sealed batteries may sound decent but can be harmed far more easily than normal flooded batteries if discharged too far or over charged or charged to fast. Flooded types are more forgiving to errors and mistakes, though you do need to check them to add water occasionally.
This may be a simple question but why are you not cooking using a outdoor stove/ bbq/ campfire? My dad has an espresso maker that sits on the bbq grill grate or over campfire and he loves to use it. Electricity is pretty valuable and while it is finite older tech(wood fire) seems to be the better choice.
Great question. This was for truck camping in the parking lot at work, I lived pretty far from the job, so wasn't out camping where I could have a camp fire. Thanks for the comment and best wishes. I agree, camp fires are awesome.
I love the video
Thanks for the comment!
Awesome set up
Thanks! It worked out well enough at the time, I'm not using it in the truck anymore, but am using that inverter now at home all the time.
The conundrum. Wishing I could run my electric heater more than an hour off my battery. This morning up at 5am to start Mr Heater
Yeah turns out electric heat from the battery isn't the best idea I've had, but it was worth a try! Propane is just so much easier. My next trick will be electric heat from wind power. Eventually. When its cold here, usually the wind is blowing, that seems like a no brainer!
Just found your video on your inverter not getting notifications have to look for you. Very busy as well.
6 years later! Sorry, I missed a lot of comments! Thanks!
I would recommend using small propane heat so that you don't stress the inverter with space heaters. Space heaters burn out Kill A Watt meters. Look at the reviews on the Kill A Watt. Many pissed off people. Kill A Watt is to test low power items.
Great tips, thanks! Mostly i am using propane heat, unless I am already using the generator.
Dude, you have no idea how many people envy what you have. You did an awesome job with those solar panels. That is WAY better than having to haul gasoline back and forth all the time. Plus all the miles you keep off your truck. If I were there in person, I would high five you big time on what such a great job you did.
Thanks! Its still a work in progress, but making progress always feels good :)
I'm thrilled that you shared with us. Do you have internet out on the bus using one of those Verizon things that I've seen people use giving them unlimited Internet for $5/mo?
GMoney I don't have cell coverage or internet on the property, but some of my neighbors have other carriers that do. I upload videos etc when I get into town.
I found the USB outlet on my Jupiter 2000.
Oh good, I was just thinking they'd discontinued that version.
Just got one of these for my bugout van but theres virtually no documentation about what the real numbers are for it. It looks like it uses something like 0.5a or 6 watts at idle and is .85 efficient. I managed to run my laptop for a bit just browsing on the net and the inverter fans didn't even come on. Though I'd recommend on your setup maybe stick a 200a fuse between the inverter and battery bank incase you want to go nuts running stuff
nice klr
NBGAF yeah a big fuse is a great idea, just in case. The inverter will fault out is you go over its limit, but a fuse is a nice safe guard. Thanks for the comments!
Useful video. May I know the model of your solar panel and charge controller you've used?
For the truck camper, I was only using a battery and the inverter, and was charging the battery from the alternator. At the ranch, I'm using a mix of Harbor Freight solar panel kits, and some MPPT controllers I got from Amazon, kind of a mix of parts I could get at the time, nothing too specialized. If you subscribe, I'll be uploading a new video about my current solar system, it will show the updates I've made more recently, it should be up in a day or two. Thanks for the comment.
I just blew my 450watt inverter using my weed whacker....15 minute use. Batteries are still good. I guess I need a bigger inverter. No power at the house and a lot of weeds.
Well I hate to hear that! Sometimes when they cool down the inverter will reset, I had one start working the next day, still works 2s years later. If not, sorry to hear it died. Maybe run short sessions so it doesn't get so hot, and yeah get a bigger one next time. Best wishes!
have fuses in inverter check or bad conection or invertet
Thanks for this! Just bought this inverter. Was thinking of a simular battery but after seeing thst voltage drop im not sure. Also wondering why the cables for the inverters never come with aligator clips? Seams like the simplist way to connect to battery.
An inverter needs a lot of amps, the alligator clips are not really up to it. The rest really depends on what you are using it for. A $500+ lithium battery is totally worth buying if you intend on using it often.
I would not use this often. Use it for emergency only like outage. Rethinking my setup lithium is they way to go for sure for higher watts items especially. Maybe spend $1000 on all in one like Eco power station can be recharged in 2 hours. Then also use a set-up similar to this one for small watt items like TV and modem. Was without power 4.5 days during Irma and so unprepared. Never again! Nothing could last that long on battery but I'd find a way to recharge it.
@@tylermack954 I live off grid, these are my main source of power, I'm running solar into batteries to run the inverter. Old system was 4 RV style deep cycle battery, now I have some lithium iron phosphate battery. 5 years, every day. My experience...
@@CarlinComm nice setup! The reason I was asking about alligator clips Iis I want to use this inverter hooked up to my car battery and plug in a battery charger for other battery. My car battery has just the standard terminals so I don't know how to hook up inverter cable to it without alligator clips. Also what is the best battery (besides lithium)? I just want that one for TV and modem.
@@tylermack954 what is recommended is a Deep Cycle battery, sometimes called Marine RV battery, they have the correct terminal for the best battery cable. Deep Cycle battery has thicker plates inside, are made for long term use at steady load level like trolling motor or inverter. Walmart has them all ready to go.
2000w converters need 200 amp hours of battery bank. No matter who makes them.
Interesting. That is combining units of power and time. So, it might be said, you might be correct, if you defined how long you wanted to run the load. Or possibly a smaller load, could run for a long enough time, on a smaller battery, perhaps a 100 amp hour battery? Just a thought. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
I have the same one. The unit says use 1 awg wire but the book says use 2 awg. I'm using the 2 awg wires exactly like you have.. not sure how it performs yet. Just getting it hooked up
It depends on the length of the wires, and the load. When I bought it, the bigger wire kit wasn't available. One I used to have came with a 0 or 00 size, if I remember correctly.
I have one im installing now to a car battery now quick question can i run it straight to the battery or do i have to connect a ground cable as well?
Just to be clear, positive and negative to the battery, the ground is for protection like the ground on a wall plug, you can ground that to chassis. Be sure to use battery cable big enough for the inverter. 2000 watts needs some wire that looks like a garden hose. Also a fuse between the battery and the inverter is recommended, although I don't use it. Last thing, a car battery isn't made for long term loads, a deep cycle battery is better for use with the inverter. Hope that helps, best wishes.
Thank you for the response i really appreciate it, i have 0 gauge 3 feet cables to run to it, i know it wont last long but i really need it to power speakers for maybe 2 hrs per use then put the battery to recharge in the garage after every use , i jist wasnt sure on the ground wire and when i called several stores and asked for techs they didnt know the answer to my question. Thanks again!
Glad to help, I know how hard it is to find good info on the internet.
That magnetron does not sound happy on the modified sine wave output. You are also getting some nasty harmonics on that microwave transformer.
Yeah its amazing anything works as well as it does, still, almost 3 years later, nothing on fire yet!
Hi, Carlin Comm, what kill-a-watt P3 meter is that? or what meter would you recommend for someone trying to figure out the usage of stuff (appliance) in the house? I'm trying to help my dad Outage-proof the house. one of his big concerns is the pump on the wood-burner /radiator system on the house. So I've seen folks like you use a meter like that to check appliance usage. Any thing you can suggest would be a help. I like personal experience verses advertisement or commercials for any equipment like this.
Hi, yes, that is the P3 Kill a Watt meter, P3 is the model, there are different versions, I don't know much about the differences, this is just what I happened to get, probably from Amazon. It can show instant readings of watts or amps used by the load, and also over time, so if you wanted to try to size a battery to run the pump, you could run it for 24 hours, and then look at the meter and it would total up amp hours or watt hours since you started it. I think these were made more for people to see how much money the appliance was costing them, but work great for off grid too. Some of my things, like microwave and coffee maker, I have hand written notes on the, 650 watts for coffee for example. Specs on this one, the P3, are 15 amps and 1800 watts. I think there is one rated at 20 amps, probably? Hope that helps? Heres a link to Amazon for a selection of the meters, no affiliate link on that www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=kill+a+watt also I'm actually uploading a new video right now about off grid power and surviving storms, might be live by tonight, slow connection out here! Best wishes, thanks for the comment, be sure to subscribe :)
Such a great Vid! So my question here is that harbor freight inverter a good buy?
It's been working well so far. Not a pure signwave inverter, but most things work ok.
Try an isolator if you want alternator to charge both batteries at the same pace.
They are probably a lot better now, the ones I tested about 15 or 20 years ago were not very efficient, lost a lot of power.
Please don't use a MSW (Modified Sine Wave) inverter with an appliance that has a power transformer or an induction motor in it and that includes shaded pole motors, as used in fan heaters. Square waves tend to cause the windings in a motor or transformer to heat up causing power loss. Microwave ovens have a big power transformer in them to step the voltage up for the magnetron and down for the clock, if fitted. The platter drive motor usually runs at the mains voltage. Don't use appliances and power tools with variable speed controls because the voltage is stepped and you do not get good speed regulation like you do with a PSW (Pure Sine Wave) supply. The steps in the voltage tend to generate high voltage spikes which can puncture the insulation between adjacent turns of wire in motors and transformers. There is nothing wrong with using the MSW inverter with the following devices... old fashioned non-speed controlled drills, vacuum cleaners and universal motors; ones with brushes and of course heating appliances... toasters, hot plates etc. Most devices with switch-mode power supplies like PCs and modern monitors as well as those very light weight wall warts and LED lights with a SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supply) in it work fine. The first active component in an SMPS is a rectifier which turns the AC in to DC. The DC is filtered and supplies the switch mode part of the power supply which will step the input up or down as required by the rest of the circuitry. You will hear people say that they are not as efficient as a PSW inverter. They both have a converter to step the voltage from the battery up to a higher level and this voltsge is chopped and filtered in the case of a PSW inverter or just chopped in the case of the MSW inverter. Their efficiencies are much the same. People like to plug in their microwave ovens and say, "See it's not as fast or efficient!" Of course not, you are feeding a big transformer with a stepped square wave which the transformer does not like as explained earlier.
Get as many AHs (Amp Hours) of battery storage as you can afford, the bigger, the better and find a 12 volt, at least 40 amp, DC input battery charger. It senses when the engine is running and only when the SLI (Starting, Lighting & Ignition) battery is full, will it charge the domestic batteries. You may have to upgrade the alternator to handle the extra current as the battery charger will draw 50 amps to charge your domestic batteries. It adds or steps-up the supply voltage to charge the extra batteries. The reason for the extra AHs is that to get as many cycles out of your batteries as possible, you try not to discharge it below 50% DoD (Depth of Discharge), however if you use golf cart batteries as your domestic batteries, you can take them down as far as 80% DoD providing you recharge them fully ASAP and don't do it too often. At 50% DoD, a 100AH battery will supply 600 watts for 1 hour, at 80% DoD, it will supply 960 watts for 1 hour. Two 100 AH batteries will supply double those figures... and then you've got to recharge them. A 100 AH battery will need nearly 2 hours plus of charging time at 40 amps if discharged to 80% DoD. Two 100 AH batteries will need double that at 80% DoD but those batteries discharged to 50% DoD will take nearly 3 hours plus a bit for equalization to reduce the chance of sulfation. If you are going to park up for a while and don't mind a bit of noise, I suggest that you buy a small generator... say 1kVA or so and a battery charger to suit. Yes, extra money but to get a decent life time from your batteries, it will cost you... portable solar panels and charge controller, generator and battery charger, a 12 volt generator to charge the batteries directly or your vehicle engine and a DC to DC battery charger... plus fuel.
Energy costs and mobile energy costs more but if you look after the source, it will supply your needs for quite a while.
Thanks for the info. I researched price vs capacity, and for the price of the pure sinewave units, I can replace a lot of gear. I do understand the risks.
@Casanova Frankenstein Hi. It sounds like you need a generator rather than an inverter. One of the first things I bought when I started using big power tools was an AC/DC clamp meter that has a peak hold function to measure the in-rush current. Things like chop saws have a fairly high starting or in-rush current, 5 or 6 times the running current. Most inverters seem to handle twice their rated power for a second or two while starting motors. MIG welders are another story. If it has a power transformer (heavy weight), you will need a sinusoidal power input. If it is an inverter type (light weight) you may be able to get away with a MSW (Modified Sine Wave) but you'll need a big one and you'll need to confirm it with the manufacturer first.
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I have a fairly cheap MIG/Arc welder (inverter type) that the manufacturer specifies a 7,500 watt generator for. Our generator is 7,000 peak watts and 6,500 watts continuous and so far I haven't overloaded the generator as most of my welding has been with 0.8mm welding wire and I limit the rod size for stick welding to 1/8" and current to 135 amps. The problem with generators is that when there is no load on it and it's running, it's using petrol. If you can utilize that time to charge batteries or heat your water, so much better... or turn it off.
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As far as heating your truck, I'm assuming an RV, so go with a PSW (Pure Sine Wave) inverter because of the likelihood of you having inductive loads. As far as the Chinese made ones are concerned, I've heard that they don't like being continuously run at their full output but they are okay at 80%. I can't confirm it but it does make sense to me, knowing how well they are made. In other words, Chinese needs to be 2,400 watt if you need to run it at 2,000 watts for any extended period of time. I'm not familiar with American made inverters, so I daren't make a comment.
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I live in New Zealand (230 Volts, 50 Hz) and have a 1 kW and a 2 kW 12 Volt Chinese inverter that I try not to overload. 1 kW = NZ$325 and 2 kW = NZ$600, bought on special, normally NZ$650. Generator was NZ$1250 with discount... daughter works for retailer. Solar panels (NZ$1.50 to $2.00 per watt) are okay for Chinese and our batteries are Crown CR220s... American and cost NZ$300 each. It'll give you a rough idea how expensive it is to get off grid over here.
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Now I must apologize to Carlin for taking over his channel and thank you for reading my input.
Wow...that covers it all, bro. You could write a book/manual or 2! Nice
To get a 1500 watt heater to run 10 hours, you need a battery out of an older generation Nissan Leaf. By the way, thanks for the video. I'm considering buying one of these inverters. I really want to know if an air conditioner starts up ok with it. Also electric motors, like an air compressor. I need power on the job sites and I really don't have room for a generator. I don't care if I have to leave the van running.
Starting motors with the inverter is kind of hit and miss. First problem is the inexpensive inverter are modified sinewave, so some motors won't run right, and they also may not have enough power to start up. Some air conditioning have a soft start, which makes them start with less of a surge. Some air compressor also have compression release so the compressor starts easier. Not perfect,. But if it works, so much nicer than running generator all the time.
@JPG23 It's you-tube videos that shows how you can use a car as a generator.Can a 1000cc car battery with a 1,000w power inverter power a electric oven that's 800w or even a 800cc car battery ?
Technically yes, but that's not a great way to do it. The car's starting battery is good at delivering high amps for short time. The Inverter needs power for a longer period of time, so its better to use a Deep Cycle battery, they are made with thicker plates inside, so they don't warp under heavy use. Then its a matter of the alternator in the car, how many amps can it deliver, again, for long time? You'd need to run the car to keep the battery charged to run something big. In my use, I was driving the truck a couple hours each day so that gave the battery time to recharge. I had both the starting battery and a deep cycle in the truck. A car battery can run a small inverter, like to power a laptop, but probably not for running a microwave. Hope that helps!
Here's a pro tip that I found out the hard way and was about to kick myself in the ass when I did. Make sure you have very good solid cable connections. If they are not damn near perfect, you will be cussing and screaming wondering why your brand new 2000 watt inverter won't even power your coffee pot.
Oh that's a great tip! I heard it said once, that a thin layer of corrosion on the battery terminals works like an insulator, so the cables can be connected, but not really touching, or worse, you get voltage but no amps! Yeah that'll drive you bonkers!
Hey Carlin, I need help on charging my battery. My 2000 watt converter is low with the red light and alarm coming on.
OK, how are you charging the battery? Do you have solar? Or a Generator and a battery charger? Or jumper cables and your truck?
I saw your video on the HF site. What if you installed the HF 100 watt panel on the top of the vanbuild? 🐈
I wish I still had a van. I might put some panels on my truck camper. Torn, because I don't have enough room to make it worth doing.
ive don this test you shoud be able to run 800 mic for 20min and ma backet potatoe with 2 bateries took it to 12.10 on loade
my 900 watt microwave uses about 1400 watts, so that kind of messes the math up! haha Yeah, 1 battery wasn't enough 2 is better. Thanks for the comment!
Try the other plug my other two plugs don't work on mine every video I see everybody is using the same plug
That's interesting, I don't have this one connected, but would be interested in seeing if it makes a difference. Thanks for the comments 👍
Perfect video. A lot information!!!!!!
Ron Key Thanks! Glad you liked it :)
Thanks for the comments.
I am curious. Can I run my laptop safely? It will power a coffeemaker, and say, my dirt devil vacuum,right? What if I plug in a power tower, then hook up from that, which has USB plugs, Z s well as 120v plugs x12, would it work ok? Not to plug in 12 things, but to e tend capability from under my hood of my Chevy silverado. My plan would be to connect the converter to my battery while setting converter in a stationary position. I am not going to 'install the converter. Thank you for the very interesting video. Just had some questions you might be able to answer.
Short answer, I might recommend a generator, depending on how much you'd use it. Northern Tools, Harbor Freight both have inverter generators that I hear work well, are pretty quiet, and don't use much fuel. Inverters can require more commitment to get to work as well as you'd expect. They can put a big load on your battery, especially your main "starting battery" in your truck. I use 4 deep cycle batteries and can run computers, laptops, coffee maker, microwave, etc, but I wouldn't expect a single battery to work as well. In this video I did it with one battery, and it did kind of work, but you don't get much run time. Maybe brew a small cup of coffee. If the truck is running, that helps, but you need to have some big battery cables to make the connections. Anyway, when you think of a inverter generator (gas powered) is $400-$500 and up, and the inverter (battery) is about $150, plus deep cycle batteries at $100 each, plus wiring, etc, the generator is a pretty simple way to go. Very much depends on your needs thought. For me, I live off grid, and I don't want to have to go get gas for the generator, but I have a good investment in solar panels now, too. Hope that helps!
How has it held up in the last 4 years or have you replaced it in your setup
I don't have the truck anymore. The inverter is still working fine, and I am moving from lead to lithium batteries on the off grid ranch. At the moment, I am solar electric biking around the country, check out the newest videos in the 22 States playlist.
@@CarlinComm oh cool I will go check them out
nice video sir. but i don't have any knowledge about modified inverter can you tell me 300w modified sine wave inverter is suitable for table fan when i take power from my bike. thanks
Yes, a 300 watt inverter should be fine to power a fan, the speed may be a little slower, but in my experience, most things run just fine. Also, almost all electrical devices have label showing how much power it will use.
take volts X amps = watts so 120v X 5 amps = 600 watts
Depending on the fan it may not like modified sine-wave known as dirty power. i also recommend if you buy from harbor freight get the 750/1500 as it is thermal controlled fan so less power loss.
Should I add a capacitor to aid in starting up a small refrigerator? I'm concerned about running my battery down too quickly.
I don't have any experience with adding the capacitor, but I have heard of it. I have been using 4 large deep cycle batteries, in parallel, and a smaller inverter, to run a small deep freeze, think its 5 cubic feet, and that works, but just barely. More solar would help. Sorry I don't have a better answer. Try it and see? Keep me posted, ok?
Thanks for responding so quickly. I'll let you know if I try it out.
A capacitor would make no difference. You have x amount of energy stored in your battery you won't be able to increase longevity with a capacitor
Why didn't you get a Pure Sine Wave Inverter?
They are much more expensive, and most of my gear works fine with the modified sine wave inverters. Thanks for asking!
They are much more expensive, and most of my gear works fine with the modified sine wave inverters. Thanks for asking!
I use a 750 watt power inverter and it runs a 2amp 12 v charger slower in my truck to charge battery's so I dont burn up my altinater brushes because an altinater is really only a battery maintainer. You really don't Wana pull a full load on it at all times. And the armiture will burn from the brush heat. Be carful .
Great points! I don't have this setup anymore, I think it was Victron that makes a DC to DC charger that was programmed to only pull a safe amp level. It's definitely more complicated than just hooking wires up!
Great points! I don't have this setup anymore, I think it was Victron that makes a DC to DC charger that was programmed to only pull a safe amp level. It's definitely more complicated than just hooking wires up!
QUESTION 💥💥💥My inverter shows a red light with alarm when I connected a 12 volt Duracell golf cart battery 💥💥💥Any ideas?
Double check that you have the connections on the right ports, + Red Positive and - Black Negative first. Make sure they are firmly tight, don't need to kill them, but they should be snug. Also be sure your terminals on the battery and the inverter are clean, no corrosion etc. I use a small wire brush for that. Next, check the battery voltage. If the battery is low, the inverter will fault out, that's the red light. Lastly, if you have too big of a load on the inverter it will fault out. One example is something like a deep freeze or an air conditioner, when they first start up, the compressor pulls a LOT of amps to get going, that will often be more than what the inverter can handle. Hope that helps, let me know ok? Thanks for the comment, and hopefully you are subscribed!
Yeah it's an 8 volt battery...not 12...
After 4 years, how is the inverter working out?
Wow has it been 4 years already? Yeah its still working great. I also have a Windy Nation 1500 inverter that is about a year older, they're both working fine. Sometimes the cooling fan gets noisy, but not too bad. I've had computer fans not last that long.
Are you concerned at all about off-gasing from your Lead Acid batteries in your living area?
That was a temporary situation, I'm not using that in the truck anymore. But the issues to understand, with lead acid batteries, are the hydrogen off gassing that can happen. The quantities are pretty low, and that only really happens when you're charging the battery, as far as I know. Also, hydrogen is very hard to contain, so it would literally flow right through the wood of the camper, plus I didn't seal it very well, so there is very low risk of that building up to the point of being a problem. Motorhomes use the same type of batteries, althought they usually have the batteries in a vented compartment. Hope that helps, and thanks for the comment. Please subscribe and Like the video :)
@@CarlinComm Would you happen to know if there are any incompatibility issues with using the Jupiter Converter and a Lithium Battery Bank (300AH)? Seems like current draw is current draw as long as the voltage is within spec.
Yeah lithium is better if you can get it.
Funny mine says " Connect input polarity properly using 2 awg cable up to 6' long or voids warranty.
Yeah the correct cable kit wasn't available when I did this one.
Mine said use 1 awg up to 3' long???
Bigger is better right? I wasn't running full load on mine, but I really should get the right cables.
Question: Have you had any issues with that inverter? Like do LED lights flicker or have an electronics acted strange? That is a modified sine wave and not a pure sine wave, correct? Also, where you are now, do you get any cell phone signal? If not, you should be able to use a cell phone repeater antenna. When I was outside my house, I was so far out, I had 0 bars standing in front my of house. As soon as I bought a repeater, I was able to get phone service and internet. That would be better than going into town for Internet all the time.
GMoney I'm using a different inverter at the moment, but I haven't had any problems with either of those, everything works so far, within the limits of the power rating. As for the cell phone, don't think a repeater would help, I'm in a shadow behind a big hill.
The repeater has to be mounted in a pole put like 20 feet in the air and you aim it to the closest tower. I paid nearly $500 for mine about 11 years ago. I bought the poles at Radio Shack back then. This is similar to what I was using for 1/5th the cost: amzn.to/2LDY4NC You just need to mount it high up. Or find one on Amazon that is compatible with the phone that you are using. That little blue item on the right is the repeater that is wired to the antenna. It should give you many bars inside your dwelling. So you have phone signal inside the bus or do you have to drive far off until you get signal? At my place, I had to drive 16 miles until I could barely get 1 bar. This antenna fixed it all and for the first time in years I was able to make cell phone calls from in my living room.
Most car batteries are about 240 watt hours. I can't remember if that's maximum or usable
Yeah that could be right. Car batteries are so dependent on temperature and how many amps the load actually is, they're not very uniform in rating at all. At least a trolling motor battery or RV battery is labeled for amp hours. Sort of.
Why is pure sine wave inverter better than modified?
House AC power, or generator, has alternating current, in a natural sign wave, that's a smooth transition from "positive" to "negative" in a sine wave. Since that is the most common, in the "real" world, most appliances are made to take advantage of that. A "modified" sine wave inverter, is kind of an electronic hack, it approximates the sinewave, but it causes ripples in the wave. Think of it like Digital vs Analog, most people think of digital as better, but analog can represent any signal number between 0 and 1, where Digital represents it like 0. 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 etc, which leaves a square edge between the increments. To me, for most cases, the "modified" inverters work just fine, and are typically much less expensive. Some people say that a modified sine wave will damage "electronics" like computers, microwaves, etc. I've been out here for 3 years now, and all my stuff still works fine. For the cost of a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter, I can replace my microwave and my laptop twice. If you can afford it, buy the pure sine wave though, things will tend to work better. My microwave works better on the generator, food gets hot faster. That kind of thing. Hope that helps? Oh, and be sure to Subscribe if you haven't already!
@@CarlinComm Thanx a lot.
@@tremunique6149 Sure, glad to help.
im colorblind.. is the indicator same color cause i couldnt see it go up or down or anything. thnx. ---wish it had a digital reader too.
Jay Kess yes, its a green bar graph display, it does indicate increase in load, but no numbers. Hope that helps?
yes, it does. now I know :) thank you Carlin for your reply!!
You are back to running propane heaters again. That comment interest me because little buddy heaters are totally worthless with their new. New to me " low oxygen sensor. Totally unreliable two brand new unites failed to light after only 9 one lb. Cylinders. What propane heater actually works ?
Oh I haven't looked at the new heaters. I have 2 of the little Buddy heaters, and am really happy with them. Didn't know they had a low oxygen sensor now. Interesting. Just to be sure, when you light it, are you holding the button down, until the thermocouple warms up right? The second heater I bought had a problem with that, they had assembled it wrong, the pilot light wouldn't quite reach the thermocouple so it wouldn't stay lit, so I took it back to WalMart, swapped for a new one, which works just fine. My next idea for heat are the little Diesel heaters coming out of China, I see some good reviews for those. Diesel would be easier to store and easier for me to get locally. Apparently they don't burn much per hour etc. But they're not portable, you'd have to install them.
@@CarlinComm I used little buddy heaters for nine years . I think nine years without any problems with one l and 20 lb cylinders without problems. I mostly used them with the pilot light only ignited. Then I bought 3 units various models not realizing about the government mandated low oxygen sensor in 2017 . I used two of them . One on a 20 lb. Cylinder and one with the one lb cylinders and both the failed to ignite shortly after purchase
I like the concept of the Chinese disel heaters that only run on gasoline. That's what all the RUclips videos say gasoline not diesel. I have shore power but fear of an outage keeps me looking for an alternative. Its inconceivable that RV manufacturers would continue to install propane heaters with low oxygen sensors if the little buddy design sensor is all that is available which appears to be a visible port in the brass tubing in the gas line
Alls I need to survive is a 250 watts of electrical heat so I'm considering solar or gasoline powder or preferable propane power generator back up. I don't trust ethanol gasoline in any small engine.. oh. I'm a lously do it your self mechanic
@@robertbrawley5048 There are so many options, which I guess is good, but it gets expensive trying them all. Its frustrating when I have something that works for me, so I recommend it, and then it doesn't work for someone else. I've not heard of running gas in a Diesel heater, that seems scary. Not sure I'd be brave enough to try that. I really like my sleeping bag, I made it for the motorcycle alaska trip, it keeps me alive on cold nights with out running the heat. Well, cold here isn't so bad, but below freezing anyway.
curious, I just picked up same converter at estate sale for 50 and a marine batter which appears fully charged. To test the converter can I just use some basic jumper cable on both ends r to r b to b and if so what order befror eturning on inverter. TIA
Yes jumpers would be fine for testing. Expect a spark when you connect the last connection, it's a big draw to change the capacitors in the inverter, so best to connect battery first, then inverter last, so the spark isn't at the battery. Otherwise good to go!
Microwave run at 1200watt look at the back label , it cooks at 700 wats
I will check it out, I have 2, and I remember checking one with a KiloWatt meter... Thanks for the comments :)
Will that battery work with solar panel charging
Yes it works fine.
@@CarlinComm
Where to buy that battery and what is the model number
Walmart, any deep cycle rv or marine battery would be fine, bigger runs longer.
Good review!
Glad to help :)
Will it run a portal cable air compressor small 6 gallon?
I've got a 6 gallon Dewalt compressor, one of the pancake ones, and this inverter will run that, just fine, if you have enough batteries. I never tried it on a single battery, I currently have 4 in parallel and it works just fine. 2 batteries would probably do it.
@@CarlinComm thank you i will buy one and give it a try ,i like ur video by the way great job
@@V22D Thanks! Glad you liked the video. Its been a good inverter, I run it 24x7 out here on the ranch now. I had bought it just for using in the truck camper, but it worked better than the one I used in my house (built a house since making this video) Anyway, still works!
@@CarlinComm yes its has good reviews for the price, here in texas we just had a power outage that lasted for me 3 days and i wasn't prepared for it ,now i will buy one for emergencies
@@V22D Yeah that was a mess from what I hear. I live off grid, so I'm kind of used to that kind of thing all the time :) The problem for me though, was it was very cold, and also cloudy, so solar wasn't so good for a while there. I'm out in west Texas, closer to El Paso.
installing a LVD would have saved from boiling your front battery,
Thanks, I'll have to look into that.
randomsanwhich can you explain that better for me please? If I get this power inverter, what else should I be buying?
@@JJ-wk5wh i think LVD is low voltage disconnect. i just got an inverter and a deep cycle battery. what i have learned is 50% battery charge is over 12 volts. if you go below 50% that shortens battery life a lot. his battery isn't deep cycle .walmart sells two types marine and rv batteries. the deep cycle will have removeable caps for the cells so distilled water can be added the plates in deep cycle are supposed to be thicker for longer life.i don't know if the maintainance free use those same heavier plates. this is just my 2 cents and that may be all it is worth
thanks for the video
You're welcome! Sorry I didn't see this old comment until just now.
I have a personal question. Maybe I missed it on another video. If you're a nomad, how can you afford the property, the property taxes, that nice truck, a motorcycle and all the money for the solar panels and living expenses? Do you have a job in town?
GMoney yes, I have a job with the postal service, have worked for them for about 4 years, but in 3 different locations ;) After 9 years in the Navy, I have a tough time staying in one place for more than a couple years.
You are one of the backbones of this country. Thank you for your service. It is an honor to have communicated with you.
Thanks!
GMoney
Wtf. Foo you. Don't care
Don't be chismoso get a life go work jotillo....🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿
Thx for the wishes
God give to you everything u wish to me god give u back 100 times bro for u inf I'm American
I want to run a solar panel off one..... theories of what the heck they mean?
Not sure I understand that ? Maybe they mean run an inverter from the solar panel? Works better with a battery! Thanks for the comment, sorry was slow to get back to you!
Can I connect 2 of these in parallel?
There is no parallel cable option for these, if you need more than 2000 watts, I'd recommend just buying a bigger inverter. Hope that helps? There would be no practical way to lock the AC cycles between 2 of these, which would probably be the important bit. For what its worth, I shot this video several years ago, and this same unit is working just fine.
Also, they have a 3000 and 5000 watt inverter available here www.harborfreight.com/search?q=inverter You'd need a lot of batteries to support that kind of a load!
@@CarlinComm 2000watt real cheap now at harbor freight
@@Max-kn9yi Yeah the difference is significant. What I was doing for a while, I had 2 inverters, on 2 different batteries / systems, and was running half of my house on each inverter. The breaker box has the red and the black inputs, 2 hots. I didn't have anything that used 220, so didn't have to worry about if the 2 inverters were in sync with each other. Then I'd try to load balance so I'd have about 1000 watt loads on each system. I did that for quite a while, didn't see any problems, as long as you don't do anything 220 that hits both inverters on one load, it would probably be fine.
Harbor freight doesn't carry pure sine wave ones..only modified ones
Right. Would be nice! So far almost all of my stuff works well enough on the cheap inverter.
Hello hello I was wondering is it normal for the cooling fans to come on when charging a cell phone ......I'm currently Running the inverter of a Rv battery.
It really depends on air temperature where the inverter is installed. I'm in Texas, its about 90 degrees inside the house I have my inverter installed, and the fan runs off and on all day, but not constantly. It might cycle 10 to 30 seconds on, then turn off for a minute or two. In the winter the fan never comes on. I just realized this video was from 5 years ago, so I guess its still working! I'm running my house with this one now. Thanks for the comment.
I'm currently in a sprinter van ....mine kicks on after 40 minutes use.....and every minute afterwards......even when it's not on a load it keeps kicking after charging my phone or any electrical item.
@@GotGameOTR I've heard of people running a separate fan to blow through the inverter, I guess if you found a quieter fan that would make a difference. When I'd be concerned if the fan stops working!
@@CarlinComm Thanks for all the helpful info....Th is fan is driving me crazy lol........I think I'll try blowing a separate fan through it & let's see how that pans out thank you so much.
@@GotGameOTR Glad to help, some of this kind of information is hard to find. Just make sure there is enough air flow around the inverter. Like, if you decide to put some sound dampening around it so you don't hear it, make sure to vent enough air. I also used to work on computers a lot, and learned that a larger fan can move more air with less noise. You can use a PWM fan speed controller to slow down a fan, that cuts the noise a lot. So you might look for a big computer case fan and a speed controller. Then make a duct or something with cardboard and tape to direct the air into the inverter (or pull the air through the inverter) which ever way works better. I might do that on mine too! Thanks for the reminder!
Will a 12 Volt 20 Amp 20 Hour Sealed Lead Acid Battery work with this inverter? Or will I have to get a deep cycle marine battery?
Maurice Craft it will work, depends on the load. Deep Cycle batteries are recommended for regular use, as you would discharge it and then fully charge again. A starting battery is made for a short burst of power, not long continuous loads. Also deep cycle batteries have connections for hooking the cables you would typically use with the inverter. Hope that helps :)
I would use golf cart batteries you can run them down without damaging the batteries. You will need 2 batteries connected in series to get 12 volts.
the MSW whining from the microwave makes me cringe. haha. Burn out the microwave with the MSW?
Some of the whining comments used to bother me, but I'm getting used to it ;) Here's how I look at the inverter, it cost 1/5 the cost, I can blow up the microwave pretty often before I break even. More than 2 years, I am money ahead. Thanks for the comments :)
Are you supposed to hear the fan when you first turn it on?
Mine is pretty quiet unless its under load, but if its hot it might come on right away. I'm not currently using this inverter, but as its been in the 100 degree range, the fan might come on more often. Thanks for the comment, sorry was slow to get back to you!
Terri Lynch +, every Fan is different, & they might have different speeds too, just shine a FLASH LIGHT in the port, but also, it depends on how much load is put on the inverter, it is very important that fan kicks in so it can cool itself down to protect itself, if not then use an external fan otherwise it will shut down!
I just got a Jupiter 2000 inverter it doesn't have a USB port.
Wow that's weird, everything seems to have one!
@@CarlinComm:
Very strange.
Is this pure sine power??
No, this one is not pure sine wave. I've not seen any of the pure sine wave for this low of a price.
use a lithium battery to do this test and see a big difference just sayin
Yeah no kidding! I was just thinking wow I've come a long way in the last 4 years since I made this video. Thankfully the cost of lithium batteries is almost reasonable now. That said, for the cost of propane, it would take running the heater for a very long time to break even buying a lithium battery. And that inverter is still working great, I'm using it even now at the moment. While a lot of people aren't fans of Harbor Freight, some of their stuff is pretty solid. Thanks for the comment!
i love harbor freight and thankyou i was going to buy the inverter there also
@@richardthibeault7796 Glad to help. Be sure to get the proper cables while you're there, I know copper is expensive, but its important :) best wishes!
Yea
Yip!
You know some car security systems will restart your engine to recharge your battery.
That's interesting. I liked the power units, APU on the newer trucks, so they can run heat or air conditioning when parked.
Cars that are in one term parking restart the engine when the battery starts getting low away for a month for car is in long-term parking is a feature that you can get an alarm system aftermarket
No one wired a second ground?
If you mean the ground on the chassis of the inverter, no, I hadn't hooked that up. Probably a good idea, thought. Have thought about setting up a lightning rod and ground rod at the ranch, which is where I am using this now, but haven't done it yet...
@@CarlinComm yes sir the ground chassis. I'd say it's like a generator then not a 100% required but added safety. I appreciate the response as all of the 750watt inverters or less i have used had no extra grounds.
Right, added safety. I'm currently using this at my house, not in the truck anymore. The battery box is outside, its just a wood box, so I don't have anything else to ground it to. I already have grounds tied at the breaker box. Later on, I probably will get a grounding rod into the ground, and a lightning rod, then tie all those together would be extra safe. Thanks for the comments and for watching the video!
@@CarlinComm thank you for the response, I plan to use mine for many cooking activities on the back of my tailgate. My 12v fridge has changed my eating habits for the better. This is a neccessary back up when the generator runs out of gas lol.
Yeah I hear that! I'm living totally off grid, have the generator but it goes weeks sometimes without getting used, everything is solar, and these inverters are really doing well. I just got done doing 2 loads of laundry with this inverter this morning. Fuel for the generator is getting stale! Stay safe!
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the comment! Sorry I didn't see this old comment until just now.
you can just get an electric kettle. it will boil water in 20 seconds.
pretty big load on the batteries though, I have recently gotten an electric skillet, and can't run it unless I have maxed out batteries. Thanks for the comments :)
bought one but will not power a coffee pot as advertised, tried it on 3 yellow top Optimas and my car running supplying 14.4 volts, 1300 is probably its peak rather than its continuous.
It's definitely not a perfect science it's kind of Hit and Miss how many watts does your coffee maker need.?
Hi ! I’ve got a problem within this kind of inverter! It’s a green/red signal every few seconds and after few minutes it’s only a long red signal! Can someone tell me what can be ?
Can you check your battery voltage? I dont have this inverter connected at the moment but it sounds like your battery voltage might be dropping too low. Post back if you can, ok? Best wishes.
t can spin the altimeter and charg ur altimeter whith ur batter power u charg and spin ur altimeter ehith the inverter poer up from battery u neeed wood to put the to thing on moter and altimeter
Yeah as long as you're able to run the motor you're all set.