Cutting Big Scary Holes (Inverter Success :) (1 Viewer)

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Markuson

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So I finally took the plunge and hacked a pretty ugly hole in my driver door panel...

Been wanting to find a practical mounting spot for the control/monitoring board in connection with my fairly-high-powered 1500 Watt sine wave Inverter...

Starts out pretty dang ugly--

IMG_0305.JPG


But the ugly cleaned up nicely...

-The foam in the door is interesting. Super easy to scrape out--sort of like watching a guy shape a surf-board. Example: I used a drill bit for the wire holes...but I turned the drill bit *by hand* rather than with a drill--it's that soft.

IMG_0299.JPG


IMPORTANT STEP!!!

-Explain to dog that even though *I* get to "chew" big holes in things...
...*SHE* still ain't allowed!! :hillbilly:

IMG_0300.JPG


Took forever shaving the rectangle bigger and bigger so it was just barely big enough--so the fasteners wouldn't have to work hard to keep it in place...

(Yes, I know the copper is showing below... I re-crimped the plug) :doh:
IMG_0301.JPG


The above controller lets me monitor THIS...which is tucked away in the left storage compartment next to my ARB drawers...

IMG_0033.JPG


(Post continued below...)
 
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A somewhat tricky part is routing wires through the door tube...under the dash...

down the driver's entry...

IMG_0272 2.JPG


Through the pillar and past the passenger door...

IMG_0303.JPG


But when it FINALLY cleans up?

IMG_0304.JPG


Finished and cleaned up: It was exactly how I hoped it would turn out: :hillbilly:<woo!

IMG_0298.JPG


So why in the door? Because it enables several things I couldn't do if it was mounted in back, and helps to avoid a couple pitfalls:

-I can run it on demand while driving (I can easily reach the power button next to me

-Avoid forgettting to Turn it off!: Because it can be powered even with the engine not running, the fact that it's right in front of me when I open my door where lights shine if on means I'm less likely to forget to turn it off...

-easy monitoring: If I'm running high-draw stuff like tools or appliances at a campsite, I can simply leave my door open to monitor voltage drop and max capacity % so there are no surprises, and again...be sure I don't forget shut-off!

The GoPower 1500 Watt Sine Wave Inverter + dual battery + 4-gauge wires went in with my battery management in hopes of running this kind of power. When I asked some gurus about it, it was one of those, "Try it and see" things...mainly because it was higher power than they'd tried before that pushes some limits of voltage drop due to distance, etc. It's turned out great though & I'm very happy with it. No major problems after extensive testing under load.

I did return the first inverter I tried because it couldn't handle a microwave or heat gun and other high draw stuff...but this one handles those well. Highest power like Microwaves mean the engine is on, but that's fine since those only tend to be run for a few minutes at a time.

It's amazing how quickly you can boil water, etc. on command...with no messy, bulky gasoline generator required. Yay!

That is all... Thanks for lookin!

M
 
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Biggest balls of the day award:banana::cheers:
 
The worst part is routing wires through the door tube...under the dash...

down the driver's entry...

View attachment 1427525

Through the pillar and past the passenger door...

View attachment 1427526

But when it FINALLY cleans up?

View attachment 1427527

It's exactly how I hoped it would turn out:

View attachment 1427528

So the reasoning behind putting it in the door is because it enables several things I couldn't do if it was mounted in back, and helps avoid problems:

-I can run it on demand while driving (I can easily reach the power button next to me

-Not forgettting to Turn it off!: Because it can be powered even with the engine not running, the fact that it's right in front of me when I open my door where lights shine if on means I'm less likely to forget to turn it off...

-If I'm running high-draw equipment, I can simply leave my door open to monitor voltage drop and percentage of inverter capacity so there are no surprises, and again...be sure I don't forget to shut it off when finished.

The GoPower 1500 Watt Sine Wave Inverter...together with dual battery, and 4 gauge wires run back there when my battery management went in have led to a super successful install that I'm really happy with. When I asked some gurus about it, it was one of those, "Try it and see" things...and it's been great.
I did return the first inverter I tried because it couldn't handle a microwave or heat gun and other high draw stuff...but this one is perfect.

It's amazing how quickly you can boil water, etc. on command...with no messy, bulky gasoline generator required.

That is all... Thanks for lookin!

M

Looks awesome!
 
Brother, you never cease to amaze me. Excellent work. Clean and well thought out.

Well thank you. :) I didn't bring any special skills to the project... but it's fun to try new stuff. It looks super intimidating, but it's sort of like a big puzzle that's a mess when its apart--that all goes back together again even if you're not an expert (and I'm not!!).
 
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Nice work Mark!
 
Great work and I like your supervisor.
 
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That is a very nice inverter! Great install job too! Where did you mount the inverter and is the microwave in a location that allows for Hot Pocket heating while driving? :D
 
This from the guy that says he's an electrical idiot? That's pioneering work, bud.

And cutting the door...definitely some huge balls. Maybe that's why you're having such a hard time walking. :flipoff2:
 
This from the guy that says he's an electrical idiot? That's pioneering work, bud.

And cutting the door...definitely some huge balls. Maybe that's why you're having such a hard time walking. :flipoff2:

Well thank you for the compliment to my balls! :hillbilly: I just meant that while I can figure out spacial things sometimes...if you show me a circuit diagram--I'll show you a blank stare... It confuses me. -I had Slee install my dual battery management system mainly because I would have royally screwed it up. But this other stuff has been an adventure for me. It's fun when things work!
 
Pretty impressive !! about like doing the Dorkel.......get it right the first time...!
Nice work man.
 
Pretty impressive !! about like doing the Dorkel.......get it right the first time...!
Nice work man.

Did you cut your own snorkel hole? If so, I shall award YOU the big balls award. :)
 
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I love your dog! More pics please.

Also...super cool I didn't even know what a power inverter was before I read this thread :D
 
I love your dog! More pics please.

Also...super cool I didn't even know what a power inverter was before I read this thread :D

Thanks! -My new pal, Bindi. -About 6 months old...

I posted a couple pictures of her in this thread a couple days ago... :)

200 series picture thread
 
So I finally took the plunge and hacked a pretty ugly hole in my driver door panel...

Been wanting to find a practical mounting spot for the control/monitoring board in connection with my fairly-high-powered 1500 Watt sine wave Inverter...

Starts out pretty dang ugly--

View attachment 1427515

But the ugly cleaned up nicely...

-The foam in the door is interesting. Super easy to scrape out--sort of like watching a guy shape a surf-board. Example: I used a drill bit for the wire holes...but I turned the drill bit *by hand* rather than with a drill--it's that soft.

View attachment 1427516

IMPORTANT STEP!!!

-Explain to dog that even though *I* get to "chew" big holes in things...
...*SHE* still ain't allowed!! :hillbilly:

View attachment 1427518

Took forever shaving the rectangle bigger and bigger so it was just barely big enough--so the fasteners wouldn't have to work hard to keep it in place...

(Yes, I know the copper is showing below... I re-crimped the plug) :doh:
View attachment 1427519

The above controller lets me monitor THIS...which is tucked away in the left storage compartment next to my ARB drawers...

View attachment 1427524

(Post continued below...)
Hey Mark,

Nice work. I need more information. I too am considering an inverter and was starting to learn how to spec the right size, location and so forth. I would like to run small vac or coffee maker or die grinder. Do you have another thread with more info, like why you selected Go Power, placement of the inverter, how you tied into dual battery Slee installed and the rest of it.

Thanks for posting. Very valuable!
 

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