Larry, Thanks for the tip. I only plan to use these things is on fairly long trips. The next trip that I plan is to take Christian to the natural bridge in Virginia. I will need an inverter for that trip. I think that I will put a cube tap in the inverter at the back of the van. and run an extension cord to the front.Christian can then hook up his DS or DVD player and I can hook up Trekker in the front. I wonder if this unit for $15 regular price of $70 has the automatic shutoff. Looks like I have more research. Thanks for all of the advice and tips. Lenny ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Stansifer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 9:26 PM Subject: RE: [BlindHandyMan] power inverters
Lenny, All of the ones that are worth having have a failsafe shut off switch that kills the inverter when the battery voltage reaches the 10.5 range so that you will still have enough battery to start the motor. Keep in mind these are all perfect world numbers and the damn thing can still break your heart if the battery, starter, battery cables or charging system are not up to snuff. If you are intent upon using an inverter regularly I would highly recommend a duel battery set up with a current control relay that only allows the second battery to charge when it's voltage drops below a certain level. The entire installation kit can be purchased for less than a hundred bucks and the piece of mind a second battery provides. *priceless* -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lenny McHugh Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 4:31 PM To: handyman-blind Subject: [BlindHandyMan] power inverters Sorry but this is going to be a very long post. Some time ago I purchased a 90w inverter on sale for about $13. On our way to Canada I used it to power my Trekker. About halfway there my grandson's game system ran out of power so I hooked it up to the inverter. The way I had it wired there was only one plug. I know he would like it for his mom's car. Where I purchased they now have a 160w with a 300w peak for $15. Since my van has a much heavier battery, 850 cca, and charging system I thought about giving the 90w to Christian and getting the 160w for me. If we ever go on another long trip that one would have no problem with his games, trekker and Karen's camera. My question is how can I figure out how long to let it run with the motor shut off? Another question is will the 160w always require the same input power regardless of the output requirements? I am not sure how these new inverters work, I suspect that they increase the battery draw depending upon the demand but am not sure. The van has several 12v outlets, two are controlled via the key and the 3rd is always hot. Please visit my home page; it is motivational, inspirational and humorous with many resources. http://www.geocities.com/lenny_mchugh/ Lenny ------------------------------------ Send any questions regarding list management to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To listen to the show archives go to link http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_p age&PAGE_id=33&MMN_position=47:29 Or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/ Visit the archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following address for more information: http://www.jaws-users.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Groups Links -- BEGIN-ANTISPAM-VOTING-LINKS ------------------------------------------------------ Teach InfoWest Spam Trap if this mail (ID 204882780) is spam: Spam: https://spamtrap.infowest.com/canit/b.php?i=204882780&m=20babdc52c9e&c=s Not spam: https://spamtrap.infowest.com/canit/b.php?i=204882780&m=20babdc52c9e&c=n Forget vote: https://spamtrap.infowest.com/canit/b.php?i=204882780&m=20babdc52c9e&c=f REMEMBER: Never give out your account information, password, or other personal information over e-mail. ------------------------------------------------------ END-ANTISPAM-VOTING-LINKS ------------------------------------ Send any questions regarding list management to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To listen to the show archives go to link http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=33&MMN_position=47:29 Or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/ Visit the archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following address for more information: http://www.jaws-users.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Groups Links __________ NOD32 3409 (20080902) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com
