Power Inverter

[leonard.shelby]

has anyone installed a power inverter? i'm looking to install one or two outlets. mainly as a power source for a laptop, but while i'm at it i figured i'd install a 300W source.

i'm looking to have this permanently mounted so that i don't have the plug inserted in the cigarette lighter.

if anyone has been so inclined let me know how it went. suggestions and ideas from all are welcome

thanks

[rickm]

I'm shopping for one now. The ones I saw that were to be hardwired would connect directly to your battery via cables. You could mount it under the rear seat...what I've been thinking of is cutting away some of the metal in front of the rear seat, mounting it so the outlets are fairly flush...you could put velcro or something around the carpet edges so it wouldn't pull away as time passed. My only concern is how warm do these units get?

One of my cohorts has one, we've used it in the 'burb for trips to Atlanta...nothing like setting up a LAN so you can play WarCraft while you buzz down 85.

Oh, make sure you check the specs. Some units say "150 watts" - which is total, for like 50watts/outlet.

[ryan roopnarine]

i've been planning an installation of one for a while now, but i haven't done it yet due to financial constraints. originally I wanted 2kW so that i could power my laptop and a laser printer, and still be able to throw out 100 W or so when somebody just wants to use one appliance with it. i was going to build a quiet (RFI quiet) unit the size of an audio amplifier, with built in fan, and put it right beside the stock audio amplifier on the trunk LH side. the thick wire is easily run straight from the battery under the back seat. my circuitry would include a remote LED up to the front (where my alarm LED is currently) with green and red, to indicate when the battery is about to be overtaxed. For outlets, i was planning on running heavy wire across the transmission hump, and into the back of the shift console. There, would be located two automotive a/c outlets (like the integrated-looking ones) on toyota matrix and pontiac vibe and such, and two smaller ones up front (with lighter wire) for powering little things.

[Javier]

nt

[ryan roopnarine]

i estimate that i only need AT MOST 1.2kW for the start up surge (a negligible bit of time too) of the laser printer, 2kW is just a measure of safety if im building it myself. the laser printer i have in mind is a little HP LaserjetIIIP from 1992 that uses 110v and 4.5 amperes at cruise. 75 watts for the laptop, stagger the startup so that the ignition is on when the printer is spooled, and i think i'll be ok.

nt