Computer power while boondocking?

our Go Power 300w continious 600w surge has been in use 24/7 for about 4 years maybe more , it is not turned off unless the rv is in the shop

right now 3 small desk fans, the 32" TV and the 17" laptop and the dining room 120v lights 18w LED, are ALL being powered by that inverter
i would have to check with a kill-a-watt meter but i doubt it much exceeds 200w if it exceeds it at all

the fridge is on a dedicated circuit powered by a separate inverter

When boondocking, we typically run our generator about 2 hours at a time, once in the morning and once in the evening. Our three Jetpacks/hotspots (two unlimited, one 20GB limited) will run 4-5 hours each on their internal batteries, so we just switch connections during the day between generator runs when needed. Our two Dell 17" laptops each run 3-4 hours on a charge, and we have spare batteries for both that we swap as needed, recharging everything during the next regular gen run. The only Internet related device we normally run directly off the coach batteries is our MaxAmp RV cell signal booster/repeater when needed for reliable service. The amplifier draws a bit under 2 amps, so it doesn't load the batteries very much. We do have a 400 watt PSW inverter on board, but rarely need to use it.

Mr Wiz, inverters generate heat. Heat is bad, energy is wasted and inverter guts are struggling, just like you or me when it's too hot in the room. Closer to the limit - more heat.

Besides, manufacturers are crafty with fine print. Get 200W inverter for 200W load, it will croak after a week, then you read that it says "280W surge, 200W continuous up to 4 hours".

They have no solar. Running 5,000W generator all day for 200W electronics... There is something inherently wrong to this solution.

For day time working power use, get solar panels, or run the generator
Really no sense to run the batteries down then recharge
Night time is quiet time, no sun, and no generator use

We have a decent size bank of 5 agm batteries 600+ amp hrs capacity
TV Olympic watching until midnight, 120v residential fridge, fans , lights, device chargers
116 AmpHrs overnight use,
70 amp PD converter on generator, plus solar, 6 hours time to get to 99 percent SOC
I would not run the generator that long just for charging, but need it anyway for the A/C

Recharge time is amp hrs to be replaced versus size of converter
Generator size only had to be big enough for the load involved
Bigger generator doesnot charge faster, bigger converter Does charge faster , as long as the batteries will take the amps
What is the power rating use of the laptops?
the hot spots etc.. Are almost a non issue
I doubt the two laptops together use more that 200w
Probably closer to 130 watts together avg use
The numbers on the power supplies will be the max use, worst case
Use a kill-a-watt meter to measure the power use when your wife is working, let that guide you
50 percent of more over is not needed, you are not starting motors, you are running electronics
If you want to run the MW or coffee maker, power tools etc..
The requirements change
Caution is good, over zealous is not

Teeshot1939 wrote:
Now its a matter of deciding what size.

...and for that, you would need to know total amps draw of the devices. Somehow I thought this detail was crucial, but since moderator has decided otherwise, let the guessing game begin :)

Teeshot1939 wrote:

Looks like I should err on the side of bigger rather than smaller.

TAD.
Inverter rating = max load + 50% margin. Provided the inverter rating in specs says "continuous power". If you err more than that, you will incur unnecessary losses.

Teeshot1939 wrote:

Lastly, can anyone make a guess as to how long I need to run my 5500w genset to recharge the batteries?

If you want an estimate rather than a guess, you need to tell the battery SOC or, as CJ put it - "how low they are". Off the top of my head, - ALL DAY LONG. Because "recharge" in my books means to bring to it back to Full, not to 80-something %. Genset power is largely irrelevant in this case.

Teeshot1939 wrote:
Thanks for all the input! My wife will be working in the RV during the day---running two computers and a Verizon jetpack for 8+ hours/day while I do the important stuff like operate, maintain and test the barbeque, golf clubs and fishing poles. She may also use the cell phone as a hotspot but needs phone access for her job so more likely will use the Jetpack (no unlimited data unfortunately). After reading the replies I will go with PSW inverter. Now its a matter of deciding what size. Looks like I should err on the side of bigger rather than smaller. I will look at solar panels to recharge my 2 6-v house batteries-thanks for the recommendation. Lastly, can anyone make a guess as to how long I need to run my 5500w genset to recharge the batteries?

Perhaps this needs a new thread. It isn't a matter of the size of your generator. It is how many batteries you have, how low they are and what kind of converter charger you have.

Not without an energy audit.

If we assume the bank is brought down to 50% then 4 hours may get it to between 85 and 90%. But to get from 85% to 100% may take an additional 4 hours. The reason is the acceptance rate drops to 12.5 amps per 100 amp-hours of capacity at about 85% state of charge. Acceptance rate lowers more and more the closer you get to 100% state of charge.

That is why solar is such a good idea.

Teeshot1939 wrote:
Lastly, can anyone make a guess as to how long I need to run my 5500w genset to recharge the batteries?

Brand new Dell 17" "Gaming" laptop. Battery lasted 33 minutes until unit auto-shutdown. A 250 mph Lamborghini with a 6 gallon gas tank.

I am not sure about this but I had two of 25 72 watt 12 volt bricks fail on square wave within 3 months of use. The remainder on sinusoidal wave have now endured what (?) eight years. Two out of two failed pseudo-sine wave failures is sorta indicative. I use the bricks for LED lighting power supplies.

Teeshot1939 wrote:
make a guess as to how long I need to run my 5500w genset to recharge the batteries?

4 hours

MrWizard wrote:
Tight fit? God what are you using desk towers?

I have a core i5 17" HP, 4 external hard drives, 32" TV , DVD, PVR, etc., all the portable device charges and 5 small 120v fans running from 300w

And yes most of this stuff is running at the same time

Really? You have to look at the laptops' power "brick" and determine how much power they require. Smaller laptops with Core i5 or smaller CPUs may only require 1 - 1.5 Amps, my 17" gaming laptop with a quad-core Core i7 requires 2.5 Amps (output is 9.2 Amps). Most small MSW inverters only put out a couple amps at most. I have a 800 Watt MSW inverter that only puts out 7 amps.

If you plan to watch videos or listen to music, you will want a PSW inverter. MSW inverters produce a buzzing sound out of speakers at higher volumes that can be really annoying.

-Michael