If I'm in the right place...Looking for an inverter that will run a 1875w +/- hair dryer, 700w microwave (which really takes 1100w), and both sides of an electric blank, the controllers say 180w. I've been told electric blankets need PSW.Question, if I were to install a 2000 watt inverter, would it run the hair dryer, just at a reduced heat output, or am I asking for problems? The inverter I'm looking at, Xantrex Prowatt SW2000, states a max continuous output of 1800w . Any suggestions for reasonably priced brands other then the Xantrex Prowatt?

That's cutting it close for the dryer. It would likely depend on how long it's used. And at 12v your wiring could get hot. I run a lot of big stuff and have chosen to go to a higher voltage. Have you chosen your battery complement? That's going to be important in your quest to run high draw appliances.

Good PSW inverters are not cheap and the cheap ones tend to be very noisy with fans that run all the time. The better ones have quiet thermostatically controlled fans while the best don't have fans at all.

I don't understand the 12v wiring getting hot if it's sized correctly for the 3' it'll be run.If I do my math right, running a hair dryer once every 3 days for 10 minutes is 25A. If we run the MW at all, it'll be for maybe 10 minutes a day, or 15A a day. Another 20A for misc for 130A every 3 days, I have enough solar and batteries.

Ron3rd wrote:Good PSW inverters are not cheap and the cheap ones tend to be very noisy with fans that run all the time. The better ones have quiet thermostatically controlled fans while the best don't have fans at all.Any brand examples? Is that why some are $400 and others $900, for the same size?

I have and recommend GoPower 2000 watt sine wave inverter. Yea it is a little more money.Either way I recommend 4+ batteries to drive this amount of power. 2/0 or 4/0 12v wire will be fine.

Choosing an Inverter | Good Sam Community

Jimf1234
Explorer
Mar 08, 2017
This is the one I run. It will run the hair dryer or microwave with no problem. It has actually run 2 microwaves at the same time. DW was running the microwave inside and I fired up the one in the outdoor kitchen. I only noticed because the low voltage alarm was going off. The alarm goes off at 10.7 volts but doesn't shut off until it hits 10volts. This also works good with solar with a max voltage of 16.5volts. http://www.bestconverter.com/Samlex-PST-2000-12-Pure-Sine-Inverter_p_550.html#.WL-gxRiZPMU
pnichols
Explorer II
Mar 08, 2017
Almot wrote:
People are trying to turn their RVs into something that it's not designed for, - offgrid living. Except for very few models, RV are made for camping with full hookups - and even in this capacity they are in all respects inferior to smallest and humblest shore home.

Huuuuuhh???

We can go 4-5 days in our 24 foot Class C ... which we bought specifically to be self-contained. The most limitating provision is probably it's 45 gallon fresh water supply. 12V DC and 120V AC electrical power - with no solar on board - does not limit us. For 12V DC power we have three ways of charging our coach battery bank. For 120V AC power we have a high power source fed from the main tank and a low power source fed from a gas can we bring along.

I'm sure many, many RV'ers have drycamping setups far superior to ours.
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Mar 07, 2017
Padlin wrote:
Guess it's back to the drawing board, got to rethink this. Thanks for the help folks.

Most of us, but not all, use the inverters for low power stuff like TV's etc. That's really the only reason I installed an inverter; so the grandkids can watch TV after quiet time in the campground so I don't have to fire up the Honda genny. Higher wattage draw stuff takes more battery than I care to lug around or have to recharge.
Almot
Explorer III
Mar 06, 2017
BFL13 wrote:
When solar is available, I like to use the microwave and then get the free sunshine to restore the AH instead of using the propane stove and then having to go buy propane.

Stove is THE least propane-hungry appliance. It consumes less than fridge or furnace even if you use it for making meals 3 times a day (which you probably don't). Not that I advocate to always use stove when MW is available. Some things are more convenient to do in MW.
Almot
Explorer III
Mar 06, 2017
BFL13 wrote:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benghazi_burner

Told ya. If living doesn't involve 110V grid or 3000W generator, full use of MW, toaster, TV, leaf blower, lawn mower and central vacuum - then it's a cave living. Or so they think.
Almot
Explorer III
Mar 06, 2017
road-runner wrote:
The problem is that some users incorrectly assume that the advertised wattage is an electrical spec, instead of the RF power spec that it actually is.

Yes. Note that this is how (most) users are referring to their MW - 700W micro, 1000W etc. Those who do know the difference btw AC input and RF output, report actual draw.
BFL13
Explorer II
Mar 06, 2017
A microwave on a MSW inverter pulls fewer amps from the battery bank than it would on a PSW inverter.

I once did the calculation that showed the longer microwave running time on MSW but lower amps made a lower AH figure than the shorter time but higher amps of doing it with PSW.

When solar is available, I like to use the microwave and then get the free sunshine to restore the AH instead of using the propane stove and then having to go buy propane.
MrWizard
Moderator
Mar 06, 2017
our GE MW is 1675 input watts, 1150 cooking watts, off shore or genny

with our triplite inverter is pulls 120amps on a fully charged bank

and approx 110 amps in the morning warming up a cup of coffee

while the drip coffee maker only pulls 900+ watts aprox 65 amps

its actually more thermos carafe , but i hate to waste coffee, so we usually MW whats in the carafe one cup at a time
2oldman
Explorer II
Mar 06, 2017
My Dometic 1.5kw RV microwave takes 30a @ ~ 52v = 1,560 watts. Pretty close.
GordonThree
Explorer
Mar 06, 2017
road-runner wrote:
One thing BFL is right about is that microwave draws more than it says on the label. They never tell you real ratings. 1000W micro will draw 1500W and 700W model will draw 1000W.
I disagree with this explanation. For example, the label on my 1250 watt cooking power microwave says it draws 12.7 amps on a 120 volt circuit. The problem is that some users incorrectly assume that the advertised wattage is an electrical spec, instead of the RF power spec that it actually is. I'd expect all of the microwaves to have a correct electrical spec on the electrical label. The owners manual specs for mine list "cooking power" as 1,250 watts and "power consumption" as 12.7 amps, 1,460 watts (which is 12.7 amps at 115 volts). They do tell you the real ratings, it's the users that mix them up.

x2 for this. Mine is even labeled Magnetron output 975 watts AC input 1250 watts, just inside the the door frame.

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