craig333
Riley's Human
If I remember correctly, I used 2ga wire on a very short run. Wiring to the 12v outlets is not going to be enough for anything that can run a microwave.
craig333 said:If I remember correctly, I used 2ga wire on a very short run. Wiring to the 12v outlets is not going to be enough for anything that can run a microwave.
Hmmm. Very interesting that it's a 10-amp fuse. Mine is a 15-amp fuse but that's probably because my Hawk shell was wired (or re-fused) by a previous owner.rando said:On my camper the FWC 12V outlets are fused at 10A, so you could run up to ~100W of inverter load. Remember it is not the size of the inverter that matters, it is the size of the load. A 300W inverter will work fine as long as you don't load it over 100W, if you do you will pop the fuse.
Old Crow said:Hmmm. Very interesting that it's a 10-amp fuse. Mine is a 15-amp fuse but that's probably because my Hawk shell was wired (or re-fused) by a previous owner.
Anyway, I just found this online calculator: Calculator | DC to AC amperage conversion run through an Inverter . If we put 120 in the AC volts and check the 12V button, then start plugging numbers into the AC Amps box, we see both wattage and DC Amps calculated for us. If we do that a few times trying to get close to a DC 10A result, that shows 108 watts. That's close to rando's 100W number for a circuit fused with a 10A fuse. And if we do it a few more times looking for a DC 15A result (for my circuit fused at 15 amps), that's about 162 watts.
Most anything is better than Starbucks!BobM said:IMO the best coffee maker for the camper is an Aeropress Aeropress Coffee and Espresso Maker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0047BIWSK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_pcqtAbK19VN2C
Thanks for the input, that's about what I have been looking at.So Cal Adventurer said:I've been running a Xantrex ProWatt2000 inverter (around $450ish) in my truck for over 2 years now. Absolutely love it and more than enough for anything you might need.
One day a friend and I were bored and went through my whole garage and tried every single power tool I had and a microwave, and it performed perfectly.
I have 200 watt solar directly to a group 31 odyssey and the inverter directly to the odyssey, with 200 amp fuses in between.
Once I take delivery of my hawk, I will be moving the inverter over to it and setting up a charging station for all my photography gear. Which is really all I use it for anyway.
My .02
Thanks for the infoVic Harder said:I'll wade into this... If you are running anything with a fan/motor, you want a pure sine wave inverter. That means nice curvy waveforms, vs the alternative, which is basically square waves that motors don't like. For that matter, sensitive electronics don't like square waves, nor does radio gear.
Sine wave inverters cost a lot more, and you have to decide what you want to do. Just charge batteries on your electronics/camera/phone? A small 300W square wave will do, and these normally plug into your cigaretter lighter. I chopped the plug off of mine and wired it into the battery comparment and an ac outlet - done.
If you want to run something bigger like a big'ish screen or CPAP machine or - toaster oven - you will need that 2000W unit, and the batteries to run it.
Something to think about. A 1500W toaster oven is drawing 1500/120 = 12.5A in your house. Assuming 80% efficiency at converting the 12v DC in your batteries to 120v AC that the toaster needs, you need to deliver 156A to the inverter.
The wires had better be beefy, and short, and your batteries big if you want to cook much of anything!
Same here. My is only used occasionally usually just to charge things. But I’m digging the idea of a coffee maker now! HaMattC said:Thanks for the input, that's about what I have been looking at.
I have two new agm 12v batts in the camper.
and I don't mind starting the pickup to get everything back up to snuff.
this is for occasional use only, in a quick overnight, or tailgating situation.
I just don't want have to drag my generator around with me all the time
It's funny that you said a French press was easier to clean. I used to use a French press and it was a lot harder to clean because you had to unscrew the filter and wash each item including the rod and pot. On the Aero press, all the spent coffee pops out as a puck and a quick rinse. Takes me longer to wipe the milk off my steamer than to clean the aeropresshoyden said:Most anything is better than Starbucks!
and I vote for French Press over the Aeropress because of fewer things to clean!
That said, the Aeropress does make impressively good cup 'o coffee.
Thanks for this thread - even tho it's making my head spin. I have a little inverter that plugs into the outlet that I tried to use for my MacBook but it made weird noise, so I stopped using it. In retrospect, it was probably a fan inside of it, but it freaked me out and I'm "better safe than sorry" when it comes to the possibility of electrical fires inside my camper. But I like the idea of tying in a good inverter to the system!