Question about a toaster oven??????

you get yours from a truckstop or some local store?? i haven't been able to find one.

i'm lookng for a one burner propane stove at the least. eventually i'd like to have a fridge with jeno's cardboard pizzas. i miss those canadian bacon pizzas. if only i could get the company to replace the batteries. i can't run the 400 invertor to recharge my laptop without the truck running. shut the truck off and batteries drop to 11V. invertor beeps and goes into overload mode at anything under 11.3V

i used to be able to run the invertor charging laptop, printer on, and 120V fan running all night with truck off.

and it's not the invertors that kill the batteries. it's the appliances. just becuase you have a high wattage doesn't mean it's actually pulling that high wattage. it only pulls enough to power what's using it. a 3000 watt invertor will only pull 700 watts if that's all the microwave is pulling.

the higher the watts. the more you can use. it doesn't use that much unless YOUR using that much.

 

Truckstop. Probably a TA, I've had it for years.

 

The biggest thing that you need to be concerned about when running high wattage appliances is whether or not your alternator can supply enough current. Say you have an alternator that can only supply 100 Amps. A 1000 Watt appliance will demand 100 Amps from the 12V system in your truck (roughly, accounting for inverter efficiency). So if you try to run a 1200 Watt appliance when your truck has a 100 Amp alternator, you will be pulling 20 Amps from the batteries. Run it long enough, and you'll drain the batteries and kill the truck even with the engine running.

Another thing to consider is the RPM required by the alternator to provide full rated output. You can bet that you won't get full alternator output at 600rpm idle. You may not even get full output at 1000rpm.

Find out what your truck's alternator is rated for, and the minimum RPM needed to get that full rated output. Also be sure that your 12V connections to the alternator, starter, grounds, inverter supply cables and battery terminals are CLEAN and TIGHT. You're loading the electrical system to its limit. Any loose or dirty connections anywhere in the system will get HOT. Sometimes RED hot. There is a real potential for fires when running a high wattage appliance using an inverter if the electrical system isn't in top shape.

 

Check your battery terminals. I had the same problem and it turned out to be loose and dirty battery terminals. If they're loose and dirty, they will never fully charge. Paradoxically, when you have loose or dirty terminals you will see higher voltage on your voltmeter with the engine running than when you have clean, tight terminals.

Loose and / or old and worn alternator belts will do the same thing. You'll get enough power to run the truck equipment, but not enough to charge the batteries.

 

I would idle, invertors like volts. Sun Tea is under rated also. Strap a bottle with your choice of tea bags. Life on the road don't have to be hard