who knows anything about inverters?

[cfroadwaydriver]

I don't know a thing about inverters. Can anyone tell me more about them. I know there are some u install and some u plug into lighter. Do you know any name brands, sizes and what can be plugged in? How many things that can be plugged in at a time? ie: fridge, laptop, tv, cell, micro?
How many watts u need to run these items?

Sure appreciate any info. Thanks

[JLKKLJ777]

A basic inverter will plug into the cigarette lighter (power outlet) and will be fine for charging your cell phone, lap top, or running a c-pap machine. 400 watts will not be enough for a microwave or fridge though.

To get enough power to run a refrigerator, crock pot, or microwave you will have to go up to a hard wired (direct to the battery) 1500 watt (minimum) inverter.

A 1500 watt Road Pro is the brand that I use and it was bought from a Pilot fuel stop over 2 years ago and i have not had any problems with it thus far. The inverter is strong enough to power a refrigerator as well as a 600 watt microwave.

When ever you install an inverter be sure to connect the positive lead to the positive terminal and the negative lead to the negative terminal.

As a rule of thumb you want to buy an inverter that has double the capacity of any load that you plan on putting on it. For example if you want to run a 1000 watt microwave as well as a refrigerator you should probably go with a 2500 watt inverter.

Today's truck drivers are technologically advanced and carry many electrical appliances with them including crock pots, electric skillets, toaster ovens, sandwich makers, microwaves, George Foreman Grills, refrigerators, televisions, satellite dishes, laptop computers, cell phones, hair dryers, electric blankets, heating pads, even Gaming systems such as Nintendo and Play Station.

My advice? Buy the largest inverter you can afford and be sure to follow the instructions when hooking it up. Wrap the electrical lines with a piece of rubber hose to help protect the lines from chafing and grounding out on the body. Use plactic zip ties to keep the lines from dangling.

One last tid bit. When you decide to park the truck for the weekend be sure to turn the inverter OFF and clean out your fridge before you leave. You do not need to come back in a day or two and find a truck that will not start.

[slimer]

how long does the batterry last when the truck is off using a 1500w inverter that is accomodating 1000w appliances?

[cfroadwaydriver]

wow, thanks so much for the info. It is really helpful.

[medic92]

I don't care for testing my battery when running an appliance or anything. If I can, I'll start the truck while I'm running the microwave.

I also carry a little 475 watt inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. I use it to run my laptop and my cell phone charger so I don't run the big inverter all the timed. I've run the laptop as well as a small cooler that plugs into the cigarette lighter for a 34 hour restart without killing my battery.

Most of the bigger inverters have a warning light/beep that lets you know when your battery is getting low. Personally I wouldn't have an inverter that doesn't include that feature.

[Guardrail]

If you are going to use the inverter a lot, you're better off getting a 2nd bank of 4 deep cycle marine batteries installed with an isolator. The isolator keeps the 2nd set of batteries from pulling juice from the main batteries when they wear down.

For the occasional use, I used to use a 300 watt to run my laptop or my TV/DVD player.

To get the wattage of something, you multiply amps by voltage.