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Old 03-17-2017, 09:45 PM   #1
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Looking for a inverter

Hey everyone,
Im either looking for a place to buy a cheap inverter for my 1993 sunline solaris or if any of you guys have one i could buy would be just as much as helpful.
Also i would like to add that i Believe we need a 3000watt inverter to be able to run the AC with the battery while out and about and not plugged in. Also the AC i think says its a 13000btus (old print rubbed off kinda cant see full thing) so not sure exactly what size inverter would be able to run that no problem. I've heard and looked that a 300owatt one would be good so opinions would be lovely.
Thanks so much
Sam



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Old 03-18-2017, 09:00 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by mamadrama96 View Post
Hey everyone,
Im either looking for a place to buy a cheap inverter for my 1993 sunline solaris or if any of you guys have one i could buy would be just as much as helpful.
Also i would like to add that i Believe we need a 3000watt inverter to be able to run the AC with the battery while out and about and not plugged in. Also the AC i think says its a 13000btus (old print rubbed off kinda cant see full thing) so not sure exactly what size inverter would be able to run that no problem. I've heard and looked that a 300owatt one would be good so opinions would be lovely.
Let's be realistic here. It takes a big inverter coupled to a large battery bank to do this. And, running AC like this depletes the batteries rapidly. If you're off the grid, you'll need a solar bank to recharge the batteries.

I invite you to study carefully what our friends Pat & Cindy Bonish did to accomplish this: Every_Miles_A_Memory and click on the Our Trailer button. Basically he installed a bank of 4 large 6vdc golf car batteries and a relatively huge solar bank on the roof of the trailer. This added a lot of weight to the trailer but he tows with a 3/4 ton diesel Ford F-250.

Or you can just get a 3kw generator and skip the inverter all together.
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Old 03-18-2017, 05:59 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mamadrama96 View Post
Hey everyone,
Im either looking for a place to buy a cheap inverter for my 1993 sunline solaris or if any of you guys have one i could buy would be just as much as helpful.
Hi Sam,

Just checking in case of a typo, do you mean a "converter"? Meaning starting with 120 volts AC and creating 12 volts DC. Like the kind in your camper that creates the 12 volts DC to charge the battery and run the 12 volts items.

Assuming the converter is what you are after, are you looking for a complete new system with a fuse panel for the individual circuits, or the controls board part of the converter to add to your old existing fuse panel in the camper?

You also mentioned "cheap". Not knowing the context of that, I'll ask. What are your short and long term needs for the converter? Reason for asking, there are many different sizes of converters and the more power it creates the more it costs. And then there are special battery features so "some" of them to maintain your batteries to the best they can be. So sizing it to what you need, is a way to control the cost.

The next area so you get the most from your money, do you want a good quality converter to last a long time, or bare bones minimum inexpensive one that you will only use for a very short time period and the throw it away?

There are many brands of power converters to pick from, and pending your needs, how long you want/need it to work we can help you sort out the one that is sized for your needs, has very good features to treat your batteries the best they can be, and has good quality with a good warranty at a fair price.

This site has many power converters as a place to start. But we can help you navigate through all of this if we know some more about what you want it to do. All converters are not created equal. BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics

Next you asked about an "inverter" sized to run your roof top AC unit. That is a tall task for an inverter and battery bank which you may not of realized. The AC unit is a power hog which is why they are setup to run on 120 volt shore power. Many of us who camp off the grid use power vent fans that run on 12 Volts DC. These are installed in a roof vent and some have many speeds with a thermostat and if you just crack open a few select windows at night with the fan running on exhaust, it draws in the cool air from the night through the camper to cool the camper down. Sort of like a whole house fan setup from years ago. We do it this way with a TurboMax fan. Works well and fits our battery bank and recharge system.

If you really want to run and AC unit from a battery bank, that is an undertaking to sort out the high power needs. You need a battery bank large enough to create the high power for the inverter to run the AC, then how long do you want to run it this way? Then how long can you deal without the AC running to allow a recharge of the battery bank? That power converter to recharge that mega battery needs to be a very good one. Most folks who want to run the AC unit during the day use a low noise generator to handle this high power draw. Sooner or later you have to recharge that mega battery bank and that takes a good qty of time and power.

You may not have realized all this, we are here to help and ask some questions of you to help you get what you need at a price you can afford to invest in.

The system Steve linked you to from Pat Bonish was one of our members with a very high end power setup but I do not know it they really ever ran the AC unit off of it for long periods. They used too use generators for extreme power draws. I think 2, Honda E2000I genny's linked together to create 4,000 watts. This 2 genny option allows large and small genny's for different uses. And to be able to lug them in and out of the truck.

Hope this helps

John
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Old 03-19-2017, 06:59 PM   #4
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They have tried batteries and AC on really big MH's and gave it up as a bad ideal even with massive solar. it's not for nothing the AC units have 20 amp breakers that's 2400 watts so on start up you would need 200% or a 4800 watt inverter just to get it running. Fantastic fan or the likes is your best bet if you can't plug in.
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