Why won't my inverter put out?
I feel there should be a 'That's what she said' joke in here somewhere... I booked a camping site that I thought had hookups, but when I got here: no hookups. I needed more juice than my house ...
Forum Discussion
Man, some folks is cranky.
So, am I correct in understanding that the only danger to the alternator is if I run it for hours with a load it cannot keep up with, this draining the starting battery?
I just want to be sure, after reading y'all's vague but alarming warnings last night, that I am not doing anything wrong.
I have a multimeter (duh). I would have to borrow some extra hands to keep it on those odd battery terminals while plugging and unplugging the freezer, but I could do that.
The laptop has had no charging problems before. The list of what I had plugged in simultaneously with it is on the preceding page. All tiny loads.
I plugged the same stuff into the inverter + house battery (no alternator), like last night, and no alarm. My working theory is that the inverter got overheated last night and its fan didn't come on when it should have. Its case was slightly warm to the touch. Other suggestions for interpretation of these data ate welcome!
My food stayed frozen overnight (Yay! Two nights!). Today I have it plugged into the next campsite's genny for an hour and that should do me.
In a couple weeks, though, I will be 4 nights in a park with no elec (and no frozen food :). Folks in another thread suggested the alternator hookup for that trip. I want to make sure I know, before I go, what is and is not safe for my van with that method. So I'd be grateful for any corrections of stuff I've misunderstood.
So, am I correct in understanding that the only danger to the alternator is if I run it for hours with a load it cannot keep up with, this draining the starting battery?
I just want to be sure, after reading y'all's vague but alarming warnings last night, that I am not doing anything wrong.
I have a multimeter (duh). I would have to borrow some extra hands to keep it on those odd battery terminals while plugging and unplugging the freezer, but I could do that.
The laptop has had no charging problems before. The list of what I had plugged in simultaneously with it is on the preceding page. All tiny loads.
I plugged the same stuff into the inverter + house battery (no alternator), like last night, and no alarm. My working theory is that the inverter got overheated last night and its fan didn't come on when it should have. Its case was slightly warm to the touch. Other suggestions for interpretation of these data ate welcome!
My food stayed frozen overnight (Yay! Two nights!). Today I have it plugged into the next campsite's genny for an hour and that should do me.
In a couple weeks, though, I will be 4 nights in a park with no elec (and no frozen food :). Folks in another thread suggested the alternator hookup for that trip. I want to make sure I know, before I go, what is and is not safe for my van with that method. So I'd be grateful for any corrections of stuff I've misunderstood.
