hobson Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I'll be adding an inverter soon to our 110 and have done some research on them (output, peak power etc) i've also looked at what i'll be using, the biggest draw is my grinder which is 800w, so i thought i'd be safe going for a 1000w inverter. i've looked around and Maplin have this one: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=224283 which seems great. questions are: is this going to be ok for what i need and are there any specific things i need to be looking for? also, if this one is rubbish, can anyone recommend some good brands? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errol209 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 the biggest draw is my grinder which is 800w Sadly, 800W is only 800W with a resistive load, where current and voltage are in phase (lightbulbs, for instance). Your grinder is an electromagnet with a wheel on - 100% inductive. As the Maplin blurb says, not suitable. You would need an inverter with a much bigger load capacity and the ability to compensate for phase angle / regulation problems , don't know if such a beast exists. Have you considered what would be a very small generator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobson Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Going to get a small genny to keep in the caravan, but wanted to be able to use things (drill 710w and grinder) off an inverter if i needed whilst out exploring. also found this one: http://www.watt-power.co.uk/catalogue/-p-333.html which says it's inductive (whatever that is!) i know very little about inverters and how they work... also just found this one: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/rpi569-1000w-power-inverter-24vdc-230vac.htm which is recommended for drills etc... any feedback please?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errol209 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Going to get a small genny to keep in the caravan, but wanted to be able to use things (drill 710w and grinder) off an inverter if i needed whilst out exploring. also found this one: http://www.watt-power.co.uk/catalogue/-p-333.html which says it's inductive (whatever that is!) i know very little about inverters and how they work... also just found this one: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/rpi569-1000w-power-inverter-24vdc-230vac.htm which is recommended for drills etc... any feedback please?! First, I managed to find this , very helpful. The first linky hasn't loaded in 20 minutes, and the second one is 24V? After refreshing my memory and reading round, I'd suggest over-rating the inverter to 1.2KW(or buying 500W power tools ...) and choosing one with at least a "modified sine wave" (your second linky) or better still "pure sine wave". Oh, and never start the drill / grinder under load ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobson Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 The second linked site has it in 12v as well, sorry about that. i thought that with it having a 2000w max output it'd be ok? and what do you mean by under load? drill bit already in the material you're drilling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roachy Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 battery drill? battery grinder? could you get 14v and use jump leads? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 battery drill? battery grinder? could you get 14v and use jump leads? lol I agree with roachy - a half decent cordless drill and grinder would be cheaper and simpler than trying to run mains power tools from an inverter. Could could then get a small inverter to charge the batteries... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errol209 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 what do you mean by under load? drill bit already in the material you're drilling? Yes. I'd second the comments that followed mine too - cordless is so much less hassle and nearly impossible to fatally electrocute yourself with them! You can get some good kits with drills/grinders/lights in them, all using the same batteries and charger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I have a cheapo cordless 12v drill that I butchered and stuck jumpleads in the end, with a car battery behind it it's surprisingly powerful. A decent 12 or 14v cordless drill & grinder connected to a car battery with a 60A+ alternator on tap will perform much better than mains-powered ones struggling on an inverter or even a medium sized generator. Inverters may cut out if you attack something a bit hard, and generators unless over-specced about 3x, will bog down or not react quickly enough to changes in load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobson Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 Wow, well it seems inverters and grinders are a bad idea then! i've only just bought a new grinder, so not going to get another, and the cordless drill i have is 18v (two batteries though) so don't want to replace that. though i could be tempted with a cordless dremel type tool, i know you can get grinding discs for them, and they're surprisingly good. i'll have to blow up my 240 dremel though, so i can justify more tools to the missus! spoke to a company that do generators and they have a 2kw one that they say will run anything, including grinders and drills as it's a sine wave one. downside is finding somewhere to put it in the landy and it weighs 20k... -but it would solve any power issues i might have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFR Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 battery drill? battery grinder? could you get 14v and use jump leads? lol Hi, I run a 14V drill directly connected to the cigarette socket. In the drill side a pair of crocodile clip leads clamped (observe right polarity) and to keep both clips tight in place and isolated, a small sock (it was supposed to be a temporary solution.. but after three months I can't imagine anything easyer than this...) I have a small inverter, too. Something around 20 Euro and 75 Watts. It moves the dremel tool quite fast, and sometimes I use it to plug a neon workshop light. Going for something bigger doesn't worth the effort, I think. The only thing I would consider is another small converter, for redundancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Also do not buy an 'inverter' spend the extra on a true-sine inverter/charger as they allow you to plug into mains when available and will pass that through in addition to charging your battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Well a small grinder will certainly work off a small inverter as I have used mine to grind a small amount off the carriage of my mini digger to remove a bolt when the track came off up the wood! If you put too much load on the grinder it would slow alarmingly but keeping it gentle it soon removed enough to allow the errant bolt to be removed. Saved my bacon. It was only a 600W cheap inverter running a 600W makita grinder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardAllen Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I run a 2kW Ring inverter off a dual battery system which does drill, 4 1/2"grinder, hot air stripper, and wife/daughters' hair dryer (hence needing 2kW), as well as recharging the phone, laptop, camera batteries cordless impact driver, cordless drill etc etc. My setup is for expedition use, on the basis that why have a generator, which needs petrol, when you have a large engine, alternato rand battery. The setup is horribly energy inefficient, but the cost of diesel for charging is not noticeable. Regards Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 On the other hand a briefcase style generator is very versatile, you can charge cordless power tools, run 240v equipment and if you run your vehicle battery/batteries flat you can charge them using a battery charger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobson Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 well i think i've settled it, saw a Honda EU20i generator today that someone had, which is the one we've been looking at. it was smaller than i expected in the flesh and was very quiet too, we need to get a genny for the caravan, so i think i'll be able to make a few modifications to the storage area in the back and fit it in quite comfortably. with the genny i'll never have any power issues as it'll run pretty much anything (that we'll be using) it has a built in inverter and 12v charger and it also runs on petrol OR LPG/propane (which we'll be carrying anyway) it also has a five year warranty, which covers all of Europe. as far as the weight issue i had, i figure a decent inverter is around 5kg and a decent battery 10-15kg, so really theres not too much difference. only downside is the price.... £1050 ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Kipor are a very close copy of the Hondas but much cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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