Power inverter installation
Have any of you ever installed an inverter to run your TV and DVD player? Was it difficult? How many watt did you need? Where did you get the 12VDC power source for the input? What tips ...
Forum Discussion
As mods go, adding an inverter is pretty easy. Many inverters come with the proper cables, connect red to positive on inverter and battery and black to negative inverter and battery posts. Sizing an inverter requires adding up the wattage from all the devices you plan to power at the same time, for the items you want to run a 300 watt should do the job nicely. We power a 40" HDTV, HD sat receiver, Blu-ray dvd player, and sound bar with a similar wattage pure sine-wave inverter and have 150 watts to spare.
Obviously, the easiest method would be to use an available 12VDC power socket. We have one in our entertainment center but the inverter squealed mightily when we attempted to run our equipment due to the heavy voltage loss from extremely under-sized wiring the factory used for the the circuit. Pretty commonplace for most RV manufacturers, can't blame them as the circuit is not intended to power numerous items at the same time, 5-8 DC amps is about tops for those sockets.
Mounting the inverter close to the battery and running wire to dedicated outlet(s) allows you to utilize a less costly, smaller diameter wire as the voltage drop for AC voltage is less significant over longer runs. I had heavy gauge wire sitting around in the shed and decided to run this directly from the battery to the inverter that we mounted in the entertainment center. Have large whole-house inverter already installed but found having a smaller inverter just for our A/V equipment easier and more efficient.
Obviously, the easiest method would be to use an available 12VDC power socket. We have one in our entertainment center but the inverter squealed mightily when we attempted to run our equipment due to the heavy voltage loss from extremely under-sized wiring the factory used for the the circuit. Pretty commonplace for most RV manufacturers, can't blame them as the circuit is not intended to power numerous items at the same time, 5-8 DC amps is about tops for those sockets.
Mounting the inverter close to the battery and running wire to dedicated outlet(s) allows you to utilize a less costly, smaller diameter wire as the voltage drop for AC voltage is less significant over longer runs. I had heavy gauge wire sitting around in the shed and decided to run this directly from the battery to the inverter that we mounted in the entertainment center. Have large whole-house inverter already installed but found having a smaller inverter just for our A/V equipment easier and more efficient.
