Mounting a 110V inverter in the 80

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97 FZJ80

97 FZJ80

Joined
Jun 3, 2003
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Location
Plano Texas
I think Junk mentioned before that he has a 1.1kW unit in his 80. I am currently using a 70 watt all-in-one unit to power the laptops and battery charger. I noticed with the Optima battery, the battery tray has a lot of empty space left. I am contemplating mounting a high power inverter (1kW+) in there to power a small microwave oven. Has anyone try putting an inverter in the engine bay? Does it have to be a weather-resistant inverter such as the Vector Marine model? Has anyone mounted a high power inverter inside of their 80?


John
 
97 - I have a second inverter I'm installing late next week, also behind the rear 1/4 panel. Great hiding place.

Mounting one in the engine bay? Not sure about that. Call their tech guys and ask them about the heat etc. I'd expect it to be an issue. FYI, my inverter now runs a microwave, (during football season a toaster oven) and the regular GFCI outlets. I get so much use out of that bugger I don't know how I got along without it.
 
I think putting it in the engine compartment might be a problem, I think it'd get to hot. they are designed to dispurse quite a bit of heat (they get pretty warm when you use them)..if it was already in a hot environment...not sure how that'd fare. It might do ok I guess because of the airflow, it's hot air in there but atleast it's blowing around, so the invertor could get rid of heat if it got rather hot.

One bonus in the engine bay however would be that the connection to the battery is short. So you'd get a higher voltage to the invertor, which would be less losses and usually they can operate more efficiently with they get a higher voltage.

I've thought about putting a 1000watt one in mine (Costco has them for $79 IIRC), but then decided I really don't use much 110volt stuff...I have a 400watt one (Costco for $24.99), which I use for the laptop and camera charger.

Good Luck...
 
I run one in the engine room in my boat, 3kw Trace inverter. Typical temps are between 100 and 120 F. The big concern on the boat is keeping the wire as short as possible while staying away from the corrosive fumes. I don't know if this crosses over to the automotive application but this inverter is 15 years old with no issues. HTH, Greg.
 
Greg raises a good point.

I've also seen marine applications in engine rooms - BUT the marine inverters are probably much better quality than what you would find at Costco for $70 bucks. To have one that would work in a hot, high vibration environment, expect to pay some $$$ for a good quality, non-modified sine wave marine model.

Cheers, Hugh
 
I have measured summertime under-hood temperatures in excess of 180 degrees F.

I would not install an inverter in that environment.
 
What about the battery tray. It is somewhat isolated from the engine, right?
 
Not enough to make a tempreature difference. I have inserted the probe of my Bluepoint thermometer into just about everyplace you can imagine :D and the battery tray offers no protection from engine generated heat.
 
Junk said:
97 - I have a second inverter I'm installing late next week, also behind the rear 1/4 panel. Great hiding place.

Mounting one in the engine bay? Not sure about that. Call their tech guys and ask them about the heat etc. I'd expect it to be an issue. FYI, my inverter now runs a microwave, (during football season a toaster oven) and the regular GFCI outlets. I get so much use out of that bugger I don't know how I got along without it.
Click to expand...

Junk - please take a few pics of the install if you don't mind. Actually the 80s moderator is doing a FAQ thing and this might qualify. :D

I'd be interested in:

- how the inverter is mounted.
- the 12 volt wire routing
- where you located the 110V outlet ect...
 
Checked up on the major brands of 1kW+ inverters. Most have operating temperature <120F, so I guess engine bay mounting is out of the questions.

Junk, what size wire are you using between the battery and inverter?


John
 
will post pics. regarding the wiring, you may not know this, but I already have several runs of heavy welding wire run to the rear of the truck. Some goes to the winch, I also have a remote rear jump start terminal back there, aux fuse blocks etc. Will let you know. Bracket is already built and mounted inside. Now it's just a matter of mounting the inverter to the bracket and run the wires.

No time now though..... I gotta wheel :D :flipoff2: :D
 
Riley said:
Junk - please take a few pics of the install if you don't mind. Actually the 80s moderator is doing a FAQ thing and this might qualify. :D
Click to expand...

80's mod is a jerk. Don't believe anything he types. :flipoff2: :popcorn:
 
Mount

I originally mounted mine on the driver's side rear quarter panel as there is quite a bit of room behind the quarter panel for a fuse box and wiring.

I just bought an Cobra CPI-800 and need to figure out where on the outbackdrawers to mount it. Any ideas
 
Costco has some killer deals on inverters..... I just got a 400 watt for $25 and they have a hard wire version for $80--I think it is 1500 watts. One thought on the inverter is they get warm under heavy use--could you mount it on your seat back like a stereo amp?
 
I got my inverter from Costco a while back -- either a 400W or 800W...I forget which. Right now, I'm plugging it into one of the 12V outlet I have back there, but would install a larger inverter if I could see a clean way of installing 110V outlets.

Hey :princess: (aka Junk) -- once your done fawking up your rig on the trail, post a pic or two of the outlet.
 
Riley and NorCal:princess: - if I remember tomorrow, I'll snap a pic or two of the 110V - it's just behind the 2nd row seats about 1/2 way up the panel. It's a brown GFCI so it matches my interior :D - went form over function :flipoff2: I'm going to mount a 2nd one snagged out of another Toy car that will fit the blanks of the dash. I need something something more convenient sometimes.

FWIW, I'd avoid those cheap Costco things and pony up for a decent one.
 
Junk said:
I'm going to mount a 2nd one snagged out of another Toy car that will fit the blanks of the dash. I need something something more convenient sometimes.
Click to expand...


Junk,
Please give us some details on this 110v outlet from another Toyota.

-B-
 
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