Suggestions for Convertor??

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Natty

Natty

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Sep 17, 2006
Threads
79
Messages
417
Location
Calgary, AB.
Can anyone lend some friendly advice as to where is the best ( cheapest ) place to get a 24v - 12v stepdown convertor in Calgary? I think 30 amp should do, going to run a stereo, amp, CB and a couple off road lights... does 30 amp sound okay? Any suggestions would be appreciated! :)
 
Try www.powerstream.com
They come in 5 amp to 50 amp continuous duty sizes.
Thecompany is in Utah and the products are made in Hong Kong. At least my 10 amp version was.
I just bought the 10 amp continuous duty version (15 amp peak) and they are designed to install a 12 vdc stereo in a 24 vdc system, including a 12 vdc live output for stereo memory.
I paid US$65 including shipping. A lot cheaper than the alternatives. We'll see in a few years if it's as good as the Solar Converter though!
Cheers,
Roman
 
Natty said:
Can anyone lend some friendly advice as to where is the best ( cheapest ) place to get a 24v - 12v stepdown convertor in Calgary? I think 30 amp should do, going to run a stereo, amp, CB and a couple off road lights... does 30 amp sound okay? Any suggestions would be appreciated! :)
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I agree with roman. The solar ones are expensive and 30A is alot. 10 or 20 would be plenty if you are not putting in an amplifier. The cost goes up quickly as the amprages do. Check out the net, I have found numerous sites for these things with varying costs. 4wheel auto wholesale dose sell them here in edmonton and you can view them on their site but I suggest shopping around for price. I will do a little searching tonight too and get back to ya. You could easily get 24v offroad lights and save yourself a little wiring.
 
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Natty said:
Can anyone lend some friendly advice as to where is the best ( cheapest ) place to get a 24v - 12v stepdown convertor in Calgary? I think 30 amp should do, going to run a stereo, amp, CB and a couple off road lights... does 30 amp sound okay? Any suggestions would be appreciated! :)
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I just picked up one of these to run my methanol injection pump:
http://mpja.com/directview.asp?product=14335+PS

The instructions with this one say its made for "heavy duty vehicle applications" and it looks nicely made. For off road lights I just 24v ones from these guys:
http://www.rallylights.com/hella/4000Compact.asp

I use a Solar Converter for my radio and dash accessories and for battery balancing which works great as well.
 
Natty said:
Can anyone lend some friendly advice as to where is the best ( cheapest ) place to get a 24v - 12v stepdown convertor in Calgary? I think 30 amp should do, going to run a stereo, amp, CB and a couple off road lights... does 30 amp sound okay? Any suggestions would be appreciated! :)
Click to expand...

http://www.4wheelauto.com/

They are in Edmonton.

i'd say 15-20 would be more then enough.
 
Yes, I have seen them on the 4 Wheel Auto site, but I know they can be had for cheaper. Like I said, I need to run a stereo, amp, CB radio, and off road lights I already have ( 12v ). 30 or 40 amp is what I need. Lasi night I did some searching on the net and sent some e-mails as most sites do not list pricing :confused: . I will let everyone know when I do find one for a good price. Thanks for the input...
 
powerstream.com has converters, even the 80 amp is under $200 american. would anyone happen to know what the quality is of these powerstream units? I might as well get a high amperage one for overkill, then the power is there if I do need it. Plus, I presume the unit should run cooler and more efficiently if you have reserve power instead of maxing one out. Quite a price difference from local suppliers... :rolleyes:
 
Natty said:
Yes, I have seen them on the 4 Wheel Auto site, but I know they can be had for cheaper. Like I said, I need to run a stereo, amp, CB radio, and off road lights I already have ( 12v ). 30 or 40 amp is what I need. Lasi night I did some searching on the net and sent some e-mails as most sites do not list pricing :confused: . I will let everyone know when I do find one for a good price. Thanks for the input...
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Well I agree 4wheelauto sell them way to high.

30-40 amp seems high, but i bought a 40 amp and it cost me well over 300$. I had bad experience with cheap china made converters.

FYI, i run a 30 amp viair 12V compressor, radio, fog lights, many lights, CB radio, solenoid valve for air lockers and some other stuff i'm sure am missing and the 40 amp is doing fine. Running so many thing the last thing i wish to happen is a convertor failure in the trail. I even carry a 16 amp has a spare.
 
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Natty said:
powerstream.com has converters, even the 80 amp is under $200 american. would anyone happen to know what the quality is of these powerstream units? I might as well get a high amperage one for overkill, then the power is there if I do need it. Plus, I presume the unit should run cooler and more efficiently if you have reserve power instead of maxing one out. Quite a price difference from local suppliers... :rolleyes:
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Beware that the 80amp is peak, this specific model is only rate 40 amp continuous.
 
The presence, amount and size of heat sink fins will give a clue as to the level of efficiency (or lack thereof) of any converter. Each person will decide what level of efficiency and quality of power they can live with. Typically, you do get what you pay for.

I've used IPC in the past with good results.

Remember, take the total load you need for your area (middle winter, middle of night, black and raining hard--means heater on high, and headlights on, and wipers on..maybe AC on for fog), then add any accessories you are running (extra lights, gauges, accessory plugs for IPODs, computers, GPS's, inverters) then do a total. Chances are you will never have the energy available without stressing your charing system to use one of the higher amperage converters.

Also remember, all our 24V cruisers are 30 typically amp. So, double that for 12V speak.

EG: say you need 20 amps @24V for your basic worst case scario for your set-up. This leaves 10 amps @24V (20amp @12V) in those moments for your accessories.

This is one reason 10 amp or 20 amp converters are such the norm for our trucks. Any more, and you stand a good chance of stressing your charging system.

This is one reasons my system is wired in load balance mode when running-I can take more off one battery as I want/need.

If you have consistent need for higher power, run a 3rd deep cycle battery off a charge controller. This is where I will end up with my BJ74. I have a charge controller by Solar Converter I will be testing at some point soon.

For most people staying below 20 amps is realistic, by keeping your needs moderate. However; to each their own.

hth's

gb
 
It's been mentioned, and I agree that there's no reason why you can't swap out the bulbs in your off road lights and make them into 24V. You won't have to run them through your converter this way, and the bulbs (as long as they are the good quality ones like Hella or IPF) will last you a lot longer. You can easily buy a 24V relay (do a search here), and as long as your switch doesn't have any lighting built in, it doesn't care what voltage it switches.
 
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