How many of you have purchased inverters(I guess I'm talking about the kind that plug into your cig. lighter; maybe 300 to 800 watts)to run your TV or some lamps, etc. when you are dry camping and it's past generator hours? What size do you use, how much money and how long do you dare to run a TV or TV and VCR without running down the battery for the MH motor? Also, I thought some of them had their own storage batteries that you could recharge but I'm not seeing any so must be wrong. Info appreciated.

Less is the concern over the inverter than how much battery capacity you have. You can run stuff "forever" if you have lots of batteries and only for a few minutes if you have little. What is your current battery setup? How many and what type of batteries? What is the AH rating (not sure, post the info on the batteries and someone will tell you)?Do will you recharge the batteries after being drained by the inverter? Solar, Generator, both?

The typical 12v connector is good for 100 watts max.I got bored with the gaggle of multiple items charging in one spot and wired my inverter in with a transfer switch. Now any outlet gives 120v power with the push of a button.

Hi,You can do a 300 watt which will nicely power many small items one at a time. The other approach is to go much larger.But, be aware that a 300 watt inverter going "flat out" represents a 30 amp load on the battery bank.

smkettner wrote:The typical 12v connector is good for 100 watts max.I got bored with the gaggle of multiple items charging in one spot and wired my inverter in with a transfer switch. Now any outlet gives 120v power with the push of a button.Similar to this I have a hard wired 600watt PSW inverter powering 2 115volt auto transfer switches that power up the circuits for entertainment center and bedroom TV anytime normal AC power is not available. Have a remote switch to turn off the inverter when not needed. Only use it for a couple HDTVs and charge phones/computers. As long as I have a few hours of good sun each day I can go forever with twin 6volt Trojans and 265watts solar.

Power Inverters for dry camping- MH | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

hmknightnc
Explorer
Jun 03, 2014
smkettner wrote:
The typical 12v connector is good for 100 watts max.

I got bored with the gaggle of multiple items charging in one spot and wired my inverter in with a transfer switch. Now any outlet gives 120v power with the push of a button.

Similar to this I have a hard wired 600watt PSW inverter powering 2 115volt auto transfer switches that power up the circuits for entertainment center and bedroom TV anytime normal AC power is not available. Have a remote switch to turn off the inverter when not needed. Only use it for a couple HDTVs and charge phones/computers. As long as I have a few hours of good sun each day I can go forever with twin 6volt Trojans and 265watts solar.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jun 03, 2014
Hi,

You can do a 300 watt which will nicely power many small items one at a time. The other approach is to go much larger.

But, be aware that a 300 watt inverter going "flat out" represents a 30 amp load on the battery bank.
time2roll
Nomad
Jun 03, 2014
The typical 12v connector is good for 100 watts max.

I got bored with the gaggle of multiple items charging in one spot and wired my inverter in with a transfer switch. Now any outlet gives 120v power with the push of a button.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Jun 03, 2014
Less is the concern over the inverter than how much battery capacity you have. You can run stuff "forever" if you have lots of batteries and only for a few minutes if you have little. What is your current battery setup? How many and what type of batteries? What is the AH rating (not sure, post the info on the batteries and someone will tell you)?
Do will you recharge the batteries after being drained by the inverter? Solar, Generator, both?

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Power Inverters for dry camping- MH

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