New 2000/4000 watt inverter installed

[EricBu12]

Just got this deal on Ebay. A cobra 2000 inverter for $150. yeah, good deal!



Dont have pictures yet, This has 2 sets of power wires, about #4 gauge and 4' I put the inverter under the bed where you have storage but I don't use it for that... .



Ran the 12 vlt wires to the generator area (grnd to chassie, power to the pos of the generator cable... . but I goofed, like a bottleneck on the pos wire..... I NEED to extend both heavy wires all the way to the batteries... using #sigle ought wire (truck cable) for the line loss, will connect them to the wires for the batteries..... Gotta do that tomorrow.



Ran regular AC wire with plug ends (Replacement Wire for power tools)... to the breakers one for the Microwave, and one to a breaker for a couple of outlets. . have to remember to unplug the AC wires from the inverter and turn off the inverter whenever we are plugged into shore power.

Might get pictures tomorrow. .

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Eric, what is the no-load current draw on that inverter? I know newer ones are far more efficient than older units, but sometimes the resting current alone can be significant - and is the one you got suitable for PC, TV's and such?



Good find!

 

[Dkevdog]

Good point Gary, I know that the no-load current draw on an inexpensive 600watt coleman inverter I have is nearly 3 amps, while the no-load draw on my 2000watt Trace is only about 1/3 of an amp.



Eric- maybe a three way type switch could be used to transfer power between the inverter and the shore power??



Kev

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Great improvements have been made in newer inverters - back in the good old days, you needed to match the power capability of the inverter pretty close to the steady load you planned to use on it, otherwise, efficiency losses at low draw MIGHT be higher than the load you were actually using it for - we use a 300 watt steady, 500 watt surge inverter to power a TV/VCR combo, and occasional simialar loads when out in the boondocks - resting current under no load is also down in the milliamp range - mostly the small cooling fan and LED on the front panel. Sure nice to have out in the woods for evening entertainment when we get tired of swatting mosquitoes around the campfire...

 

[EricBu12]

this inverter has a no load draw of . 8 amp. not bad. I always turn it off anyway when I am not using it.



This inverter has a modified sine wave and it is made for micros ands stuff. For computers, if it has a converter plug in for low voltage, then it is ok.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

GEE - that would power our microwave - we only use it for a few minutes at a time to heat up smaller stuff - rarely more than 3-5 minutes, much quicker than using the stovetop, so current draw wouldn't be TOO bad... Was it a one-only deal, or does the guy have others for sale?

 

[EricBu12]

there was some others... .



just search for cobra inverters and see if there is more

 

[Groover]

E-bay deals!

Good deal Eric! Sounds like you have made a wise investment.



I have had a 3000/6000 Coleman Inverter under back seat for about a year. I picked it up on E-BAY for <$300. Run air compressor, saws, drills you name it when out in the woods. Handiest thing since underwear.



Just picked up a Cobra 2000 the other night off E-Bay for --- sorry Eric $108. 00 Plan to put it on the swamp buggy for power in the deep woods.



It really is nice to have AC power and not listen to a bellowing generator. Of course the truck running is not much better - but depending on what you are running off the inverter and for how long you may not need to run truck engine. I can run a skill saw and drill intermittantly all day without having to run the truck.



Of course if you are using inverter to full capacity the 2000 watt inverter will pull about 160 DC amps which is more than the alternator puts out. My 3000 watt can pull about 230 DC amps. Fortunately I don't need to run any high amperage items very long.



Glad your glad Eric!

 

[willy1947]

Inverter

Can you still get this deal on EBAY?



thanks,

Dave

 

[EricBu12]

heres one for 1 more day



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=35000&item=2463335444



and another one for 8 days left



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=35000&item=2464669604



heres one on a regular auction. less than 2 days left



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2385289839&category=46412



another one



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38655&item=2464854479



and one more



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=35000&item=2465014866

 

[willy1947]

Thanks for the links



How quiet is this? I've bought a 700/1400 Watt one from Wal-Mart... 3 times!!!:{ The cooling fan keeps locking up on them. Never have figured out why. I use it to power one of those small fridges in my trailer. So it gets turned on 2 times a month, for about 2 days at a time. It is mounted on the wall, in a well ventilated place. It works OK, but it is a little louder than what I like.



Thanks,

Dave

 

[Groover]

LOUD? Every inverter I have ever used has been quiet as a church mouse. I think the problem might be that you are too close to the load capacity with the 700 watt inverter. Thats only 6 amps 115v power and that rating is under "perfect" conditions (i. e. 14. 4 DC volts, cool environment etc) Also refrigeration units take as much as 4 times the normal amperage to start.



Just because the inverter is big enough to run the motor doesn't mean it is big enough to start it.



Am I making any sense?



I think you will be totally happy with a 1500-2000 watt inverter.



Keep looking the deals are there.



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