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tred0956's avatar
tred0956
Explorer
May 17, 2016

What size invertor?

I need to get an inverter to power a charger for my wife's electronic bike. The e-bike uses a 37 volt Li-Ion battery. The 110 volt charger has a max DC output of 41.5 volts and a charge current of 2 amps.

What size do you suggest? Would a 1000 watt do it? Also, does it have to be pure sw or is modified sw OK? I have 2 12 volt batteries.

I have a little 300 Watt MS inverter that is fine for powering the TV and DVD player and to charge cell phones, etc, but I don't think it is big enough to power the e-bike charger.

14 Replies

  • I used to have a 24 volt scooter with a 2 amp charger, and used either a 150 or 300 watt portable inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter.

    I would suggest a 300 watt MSW inverter - Modified Sine Wave. You do not need the much more expensive pure sine wave, it will work fine with MSW.

    I have bought a 500 watt Coleman brand MSW inverter at Costco for $30, but they do not sell them there anymore. Auto parts stores, or Amazon.com have a lot to pick from at $25 - $50 range.

    I would run a dedicated cigarette lighter receptacle to the area where you will be storing the bike, or perhaps under the awning in the storage compartment like I did. I used #10 wire and a 20 amp fuse, allowing up to about 200 watts output. I ran #10 wire to both the + and - not using the steel frame as a ground, it seems to have less voltage loss that way.

    Good luck!

    Fred.
  • I would try the 300 watt inverter.
    41.5 x 2 is just 83 watts... doubt it would draw more than double.