I installed a 1000w inverter....now what?

[Geel]

So I had this inverter sitting around and decided to install it under the passenger seat of my 2001. I always thought that having one would be cool, but now I really don't know what to plug into it besides my cell phone charger and that already runs from the cigarette outlet. People with inverters, what do you use them for?!

 

[spressomon]

I have a 3000w sine wave Xantrex in our little Escape trailer and use it for: Induction stove, 6 gallon water heater, espresso bean grinder (yep), microwave et al. It also serves as 120v source for plug in tools when working on same.

I have a 2000w Xantrex in my LBZ and use it for job site 120v needs (charging all the battery packs for tools, 120v for non-battery pack tools, etc.).

But I don't really have need for one on the spressoWAGON. Be sure, assuming its hardwired, even when it is "off", it doesn't still have micro-draw.

 

[Dr Gil]

I have a 1500 watt Xantrex. I try to keep my accessories around 1000 watts or less. I use if for a rice cooker 300 watts, toaster oven for fresh baked hot cookies 1100 watts, single cup coffee maker 800 watts, recharge my laptop.

 

[Dharma Dude]

These big inverters would be pulling some serious current. What gauge wire are you using? And how long a run? Of wire.

 

[Dr Gil]

I use a chart like this. I run a 4 awg of 9 feet, pulling 85 amps for 1000 watts

 

[Shoredreamer]

I have used my 1000w inverter to run a hair clipper and to charge an UBCO ebike lithium ion battery. Doesn’t get a lot of use, but good to have it there when it may be needed.

 

[spressomon]

4/0 and appropriate fuse for the 3000w inverter (5' each way from battery to inverter).

 

[thegadgetguy]

I have found my inverter much less useful than I thought I would. I've pretty much only used it for charging laptops/tablets, and anything else I don't have a 12v adapter for. I have an Xantrex 1000 watt pure sine wave, and though it's a nice inverter, I will say that it's not a great size. It's overkill for running little things like laptops, but it's just barely too small to run most 1000w appliances, of which there are many. In retrospect I would have just gone for a smaller ~500watt capacity to save space, or upgraded to at least 1500 watt to be able to run power tools, kitchen appliances etc. 1000watt is kind of ackwardly stuck in the middle for most appliances.

 

[Dr Gil]

I have found my inverter much less useful than I thought I would. I've pretty much only used it for charging laptops/tablets, and anything else I don't have a 12v adapter for. I have an Xantrex 1000 watt pure sine wave, and though it's a nice inverter, I will say that it's not a great size. It's overkill for running little things like laptops, but it's just barely too small to run most 1000w appliances, of which there are many. In retrospect I would have just gone for a smaller ~500watt capacity to save space, or upgraded to at least 1500 watt to be able to run power tools, kitchen appliances etc. 1000watt is kind of ackwardly stuck in the middle for most appliances.

You are totally right about that 1000 watt being "little too much for most things, and not enough for things you want". That is exactly the reason chose my inverter power around what I would actually use for first.

 

[Dharma Dude]

I have always wondered why folks don't run a 110v air compressor with a big inverter instead of a 12v compressor to inflate. It would seem the inverter and compressor setup would be more flexible: you can use the inverter for other things besides the compressor. And you also get a more powerful and cost effective compressor.

 

[Dr Gil]

A 110v air compressor using a converter is highly power inefficient. Better to use a 12v air compressor with a 12 volt source. Like the Viair.
I use a small 12v Viair air compressor hard wired to my aux battery.

 

[Dharma Dude]

A 110v air compressor using a converter is highly power inefficient. Better to use a 12v air compressor with a 12 volt source. Like the Viair.
I use a small 12v Viair air compressor hard wired to my aux battery.

Sure, it's less efficient in terms of energy but will it matter, when you're done in 10 minutes?

 

[Dr Gil]

Sure, it's less efficient in terms of energy but will it matter, when you're done in 10 minutes?

It may over time with multiple uses.

 

[Dharma Dude]

I may over time with multiple uses.

And I wonder how inverter losses compare to driving my 4.7L V8 500 miles. Probably negligible. If I cared I would drive a Subaru 4-banger for my camping trips, or a RAV-4 hybrid.

 

[e9999]

^ if you have plenty of gas to run the engine to charge the batteries then it's not a problem. If you are paying attention to range, long term camping etc then it might. Another issue would be that your typical 110V air compressor has a non-trivially small tank and would take a bunch of room in the truck compared to a tiny 12V one without a tank?

 

[yeos]

Maybe I am a bit more minimalistic than I think I am, but I have never found any use for an inverter in any of my vehicles. The only time I used the bed outlet in my Tacoma was to vacuum out the bed and it was fairly ineffective at that.