Any ideas where to put a Power Inverter?

[dclee]

What do you guys think about this idea? Note: our inverter has alligator clips on the ends of about 4 AWG wire, so it's designed to hook up directly to the battery.

On our SL, Mercedes put the battery in the trunk for a number of reasons, but they ran heavy gauge wiring forward to the engine bay and put a couple of power take-off points up there (plus running all the accessories and getting charge, of course). What about doing the reverse in the Cruiser and running back to the cargo area with power take-off posts mounted somewhere secure, maybe cover them with rubber caps when not in use. Then you have a full power source for your inverter, or whatever else you want without have to run multiple sets of wires front to back, just the one thick run. Comments?

 

[LonghornCruiser]

hoser

I just know that when I blew my speaker in the bandpass box, the people at JL told me that is wasn't supposed to be in a bandpass box. I would harly call myself a speaker expert, but here are my thoughts. Although they could easily be completely wrong.

I think it is more of the speakers effect on itself rather that the two speakers effect on each other. If you notice, almost all of the JL boxes have no ports. The JLs were designed to work this way just as "free air" speakers were designed to not need a box. I bet if I turned the speakers around and faced them inward, the I could blow the speaker in less than 10 minutes. The amount of "air" pushed by the speaker would bounce right back at the cone causing it to push and pull at the same time. It is a similar principal for a bandpass box although the bandpass has a much bigger area in the inside. Air is allowed to escape easily from rear, but not from front. Some speakers are designed to work well with this application, while I've been told that JLs don't.


The only ported bandpass box that JL makes is a single sub bandpass that seems much larger than most bandpass boxes.

 

[hoser]

Derek, I would use a distribution block with integrated fuses (pictured) and then just have an outlet panel for high current DC plugs--and stay away from alligator clips. Cigarette lighter types would not be able to handle the current. I'm not quite sure what is out there though.

 

[hoser]

Yes, then the woofer you used wasn't designed for that enclosure. But you are correct in that a bandpass enclosure works the woofer harder, especially in a 6th order enclosure when each side of the speaker is tuned to different frequencies.

As for turning the speaker around and blowing it, I have my doubts. If the speaker was designed for the sealed box, turning it around will only increase the enclosures internal volume and that is why people do it. Speakers are only coned shaped to gain strength. The front is not much different that the back when it comes to subwoofers.

I found this website that can better explain bandpass enclosures.
http://www.diysubwoofers.org/

 

[LonghornCruiser]

hoser

That site shows all the boxes with ports on the front side of the sub. The box I had was designed with the port on the rear side. Maybe that was part of the problem.

Differently designed subs have different applications. I would tend to disagree with you about there not being much difference in the front and back of the sub. Some people do turn their sub around backward in ther box, but only if the box is ported. Otherwise it would most likely sound like crap, and in my opinion, probably hurt the speaker. Sound does resonate from both sides of the sub, but they are still directional. The sound, for the most part, goes the direction of the cone. If the box is sealed, like mine is, it will bounce right back into itself since there is nowhere else to go. Like a port. Seems like that would cause the speaker to be pushed at two different frequencies at the same time from two different sides, thus causing possible damage. I have no real science to back this up. Just a theory.

 

[DMX84]

Longhorn, I just remembered that Audio Dimensions installed my JL speakers in my fj62. Because of the awesome job they did on my car’s alarm I felt comfortable driving my cruiser down form Albuquerque to have the speakers installed. Plus I visited family.

By the way, the ported JL box that I saw somewhat resembles a folded horn design. I’ll bet that baby rocks.
Dean
I have two Rockford Fosgate pro 12’s in a ported enclosure that Tom Nusane (Stereo Review Magazine) designed. Rockford said that the box needed to be twice the size Tom made it. But he plugged all the measurements Vas, Q’s etc. and came up with this enclosure. It turned out real nice, so if the JL’s give me any trouble, I’ll throw these in.
Dean

 

[LonghornCruiser]

Hopefully, you won't have the trouble I did. Maybe they blew as a fluke. It did sound pretty good until they blew though. I had it in a different vehicle than my current sub, so it is hard to compare them.


I wouldn't have expected too many people with bigger subs in their LCs.

 

[NMuzj100]

Here's my concern, the inverter probably generates quite a bit of heat and draws a tremendous amount of current. Is placing it next to the fuel tank filler the smartest thing to do? Hmm.

I think that the jack storage box should get pretty good airflow since it acts as the rear exhaust for the HVAC system. Turn on the blower full blast and step outside with the doors closed and you can feel the air come out the rear outside vents.

 

[aedgington]

what gauge wire did you use?

 

[hoser]

I wasn't crazy about mounting the inverter in jack compartment so I didn't install it. When I get around to building my rear drawer, I'll mount the inverter on that. For now I've been using a small 400watt inverter.

But if you plan to use the Costco 1500 inverter, I'd go with 0 Gauge cable and a distribution block. I'm in the middle on installing cable for my fridge/freezer. Might as well set it up for the future inverter.

Check out this link for more info:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=97167

 

[aedgington]

I just mounted a 1000 in the long upper shelf of the rear passenger side. Fit almost perfectly. Cut a circular hole so it could vent and it's completely hidden w/ the lid closed. At some point I'll need to run some heavier gauge wire, but I'm saving that for when I put in my 2nd battery. All I need my inverter to run right now is a laptop & a CPAP.

 

[hoser]

Cool, that might be the best placement afterall. Maybe check to see how much heat is generated when the inverter is loaded. Wouldn't want to melt the plastic.

 

[aedgington]

you know, i still havent used it ever since you scared me by saying that. you filled my mind w/ visions of a plastic fire.

=/

 

[Tinkerer]

Every time I read one of these posts asking "where to put (something)", I'm reminded of a guy I used to work with.

This guy, being the coarse and blunt sort that he is, would definitely tell you where to put it.

hehe

 

[Dandon]

you know, i still havent used it ever since you scared me by saying that. you filled my mind w/ visions of a plastic fire.

=/

I know a guy who installed a 3000W (yes, 3 KW) one in a Prado. He also cut a hole to vent but added a PC fan. Looks clean. He had to shorten a little the inverter box, which was too big.
http://foro.kdjoteros.com/viewtopic.php?t=3145

 

[Dandon]

Every time I read one of these posts asking "where to put (something)", I'm reminded of a guy I used to work with.

This guy, being the coarse and blunt sort that he is, would definitely tell you where to put it.

hehe

 

[aedgington]

Those pictures look like he's running about 8# cable to a 3K inverter?

 

[Dandon]

Those pictures look like he's running about 8# cable to a 3K inverter?

I don't know, but i'll ask him. That's 10 mm², according to this table:
http://www.muellergroup.net/mm2_awg_chart.htm

Do you mean it's too thin?

 

[firetruck41]

I have a 850w inverter that I just mounted under my seat on my 80 series, I had to move the alarm "brain" a couple inches. Might be a possibility on the 100. The inverter has a fan so it shoud do all right. I ran 4 gauge wire from a megafuse I installed at the battery.