Inverters

So me being a n00b who hasn't even seen the inside of his first truck yet (that comes this weekend), I have a question about inverters.

I see on Amazon and elsewhere that there are some inverters you can plug in to the cigarette lighter. Do these things work worth a ####? The impression I get from reading your conversations is that a real inverter is hooked up directly to the battery.

 

A cigarette lighter inverter will work but you're limited to what you can do with it. 150 watts max. Good for a CPAP (without heated humidifier, laptop charger, etc)

Bigger inverters need to be hard wired because the load will exceed the circuit rating for the auxiliary outlets and you'll either blow a fuse or melt things.

 

Pack rat is exactly right. Many companies have them in already. If not, you can usually get one from the shop or on your own and the shop will install it for you, usually, . Ask before you but one to make sure the company approves. What are you driving with?

 

I have used a 12 volt inverter for several months without issue. All I run on mine is my phone charger my tv and DVD player. Never had an issue as it shuts down if it hits a certain load. Paid 30 bucks or so for it at wal mart.

 

An inverter is an important piece of equipment, cd, and a good place to spend wisely. Don't be cheap here. It depends on your usage patterns, and what you see coming in the future. The plugin is like these drivers said, charge a phone, run a small wattage appliance. If you want to run more than one at a time, or get a refrigerator/microwave/TV/crock pot or any of the others, you'll want more capacity. I use a 1,500w 12v inverter, and it's just barely enough to run my reefer, charge my devices, and I'm not a heavy user. I took a 110v 4.5a angle grinder with me on my last trip to do some work on my quarter fenders, and the 1,500w inverter just barely got it done before it shut down overloaded.

Look at what you might be planning on doing in the next 2 years, buy a good quality inverter to fit those goals. Also, look into the differences between a "True Sine Wave" inverter, and a "Modified Sine Wave" inverter. It's important.

Last, you can buy a small one now and upgrade later. The plugin inverters make great gift items.

 

What do you want to do with the inverter? Are you trying to run something small like a basic laptop? Or do you want something major? If you want anything major like a microwave you'll need wired into batteries. I'm glad my company paid the money for a quality 1800w true sine inverter with wired 120v sockets. No reaching under the bunk trying to find the plugs.

 

Was thinking mainly about coffee makers, crock pots, electric fans, and eventually a laptop. (Not all at once, mind.)

 

You'd want a heavy duty one if you want to use a crock pot.

The factory inverter that Volvo uses is made by Xantrex. HF Freedom 1800 I think. 1800 watt max. It costs about $500 but it doubles as a battery charger if connected to shore power.

 

Laptop runs just fine off of plugin inverter. Mine handles my laptop and a cell phone charger, tablet as well.

I'm looking for a better one because I want to be able to power things like a vacuum, hotplate, whatever. Those would never run on my plugin inverter.

 

I got my last 2 inverters at PFJ, Road King, (I can't really remember their make right now, the yellow ones) I had about 10,000 points, then waited for them to go on sale, and got a $199 inverter for about $50. I had to buy an install kit, but inverters are easy to install, you can do it yourself even with minimal mechanical aptitude.

One note. If you do the install, don't forget to disconnect the negative battery cable (black one) before doing the work. Don't worry about your ECM, it knows what to do since any battery service will require disconnecting the power source.