Inverter/Battery Question

christopherglenn wrote:
A small inverter to charge phones and tablets + watch tv and a Costco inverter generator will do what you need to do for less then the cost of a 2kw PSW inverter and 200+AH of batteries (and all the 0 to 2/0 interconnects.

Daughters rock, but all the hair appliances (driers, curlers, straighteners) are going to require a lot of batteries. If you aren't there yet, wait for it. I have 255 AH of batteries, and a 3KW PSW inverter. I get a few minutes out of the microwave, I can reheat - not cook off the batteries. The low voltage alarm on the inverter is beeping long before the hair is dry.

Costco 2800 watt inverter generator.

This one is $700, and already has a 30 amp rv plug. If you are a 50 amp trailer the dogbone to plug into this is cheap.

For comparison a Honda EU3000iS operates at 49 to 58 dBA @ 9 feet, the Costco is 58 Dba @ 23 ft. The Costco is louder then the Honda, but for less then half the cost.

As I mentioned in my post above, tablets AND cellphones you USE a 12V TO USB charger..

Like this..



Which has TWO 2.4A 5V USB charging ports for $7 HERE

It is absolutely silly stupid to install or use a inverter to charge a cellphone or tablet.. Doing so introduces a huge amount of conversion LOSSES into the mix..

12V to 120V (inverter) then 120V to 5V (120V charger)????

In other words, you take 12V and convert it to 120V the inverter will only be 80%-90% efficient using 10%-20% more battery than if you used a direct cig plug charger..

Then you use a 120V to 5V USB charger introducing some losses there..

Buying a 12V cig charger for devices like tablets and cellphones means you do not need to leave the inverter on, saving a lot of battery capacity..

Boondocking is about CONSERVATION of energy.. Needlessly using an inverter for items that 12V direct chargers can be used is not conserving energy.