Power Inverters

I agree with last poster I too use a Cobra Inverter and found also that one of the leads was not connected securely.

 

5000W would be effective to light someone up like a christmas tree. Now I'd like to know how to get them to complete the circuit when they seem troublesome, any ideas?

 

Personally I like to use the Cobra series inverters CPI-1000 is a pretty usable 1000W inverter. They are very sturdy and go up to a wattage of CPI-2575 which I think is 2575 W. Also, if you go for these hefty inverters, you'll most likely want to keep the inverter close to the batteries, and use the 120V 15A standard outlet extension cord because once stepped up in voltage there is much less amperage for the same wattage delivered and hence less loss over the extension cord versus the low voltage battery where the conductors have to be thick 6AWG wires to keep losses low. Since I drive other people's rigs I can easily leave the inverter at the battery and then bring in the really light extension cord to the cab. Yes you have to fasten the inverter down so it won't go jumping around when you accelerate and decelerate but this way I can have pretty large power on the road even without bosses approval. If you do that you want to remotely be able to shut off the inverter which is why Cobra is the best. You can buy one of these to remotely shut down the inverter even while driving:
http://www.wi-phy.com/

I bought the wireless one for my CPI-1000 and it worked great. Basically I'm advocating that when you change trucks regularly it pays to have your own inverter that you can quickly swap out, and bring into the cab ample power to drive your creature comforts. The remote control thing to turn on/off the power at the inverter source are also really awesome.

Happy Trucking.

 

Get them wet. And then fry to your liking. ; ). .

 

Don't need an inverter. Just use an old coil.

 

Ok im old, Remember the old hand crank phones. I . . . ah some of the folks in school found one in storage. Got the not to science oriented kids to hang onto the wires and than cranked. You could see the permanent magnets and coil. One crank and they never ever forgot the principle of, when a wire cuts through a magnetic field, an electrical currant will be induced.

 

A magneto would be much more effective for that!

 

I go threw inverters about every two years. I even use a large box fan ontop constantly blowing air on it to help keep it cool. Otherwise it would probly burn up in less then a year. Exspecialy since I find the internal fans burn out quickly under the load I put them threw (mainly my computer, I run a gaming desktop with a 600watt powersupply), Plus the use of a surround sound system and 23" widescreen, I have a 700 watt microwave (been meaning to update to a 500 watt) athough when I run the microwave I usualy turn everything else off. I also tend to never shut my inverter off. I leave it running 24/7. Unless I am at home and the truck will be off for a few days.

For connection I use both ground and both power connections with #4 AWG cables. and 2 inline fuses on the power lines. Plus the small green ground cable. which is connected to a bolt in the side box by the inverter. I stutter the connections on the battery to maximize load over all 4. So on battery 1, pos is power to the starter, ground is ground to inverter. Battery 2, power to inverter, ground to ECM, Battery 3 is power to ECM, ground to inverter, Battery 4 is power to inverter, ground to starter. Although even with this setup my battery life on the two with power to inverter only last a little over a year.

So the other day I notice a weird smell coming from the inverter. Looked it over and did not see any obvious damage, It had been sitting for a couple weeks off while I had the engine rebuilt. Then last night when I was on my comp geting some nice BF3 action going on I loose total power. Go out and check the inverter and everything appears fine. Its showing positive incoming voltage but no output. Ok so I fried it.

So tonight I went in and bought a new one (I swear thats what I save up my roadmile points for) I am in disconecting the old one when I notice the small green ground connection. It had completly melted around the fitting. I found it kind of odd it would melt here. I never really thought of that ground being very important (I do use it thow) on a truck that is completly insulated on itself.

Heres a pic of the spot it melted

 

The fan on my cobra had been making noise for a while and recently it got a lot worse. I took it apart, hit it with some WD40 from the back side, and it's been smooth and quiet since. I did notice when I had it apart that they used 3 regular 30 amp automotive fuses on the circuit board. You might check those the next time one dies on you.

 

Burn baby burn