I'd been given the impression that Leisure Batterys were the be all & end all for habitation needs & so thought that Inverters followed suit. Iv'e been over optomistic in my expectations of batterys and
inverter . Although I know i did plunge in impetuously when i got them & didn't look into it beforehand instead of after ( how many times have i said that to myself) Amazing & interesting the the things you can learn off other people, never too old too learn as they say. I do have a 500watt Delonghi Bambino oil filled heater & at the moment if i wished to use it at home from plug in from mains on the frostguard setting i could. On the other hand it does have 6 settings so i'm presuming that if it was at some point used on one of the low settings ( frostguard or 1 if it was really freezing) through the
inverter it shouldn't hammer batterys too much, with it having a thermostat (no timer). I can see that what firefox says having 4x110ah batterys would be better, i can't see there being the room . Although my 2x100ah Elecsolls are either side of the spare wheel & the vehicle is 24ft long , theyr'e located from outside at the rear. From the range of appliances that can be used (obviously with me not realising the demands on the amperage) i sometimes wonder was it worth bothering with an
inverter. But ,here we are. Thanks to all for your answers ,iv'e got enough to keep me on the straight & narrow, unless i get too ambitous:juggle:
There are never any issues with the use of inverters, but to what means they are used for is the most important.
Sustaining equiment such as heaters is daft, due the the high end of consumption they take, so running such appliances over long periods just isn't realistic. However short stabs from items such as Microwaves and hair dryers are fine, but not without it's own problems.
The most important thing is batteries, batteries and um batteries. when
battery banking, the general rule is to keep them as close together as poss and using a sensible diameter cable to link. The ideal situation is to avoid
battery banking and have one large capacity
battery, removing any resistance and power is direct from one
battery source. A very important factor is to make sure the
Inverter is as close to the batteries as you can get!!! It doesn't matter that the output (AC) is long, but the
battery to
inverter connection should have the least amount of resistance to maintain performance. You then move on-to how you replace/sustain the energy you have consumed. This varies with personal preference (
Solar/upgraded split charging etc), but the importance is that you have that ability to put back quickly what you have taken out. Standard split charging forms do not cut it, as generally Motorhome manufacturers use small cable, coupled to a cheep automotive relay. With
Solar, you only have to ask yourself when you use the van and where, as mother nature does have a hait of letting us down when we need her. If you use a Genny, why have you got an
inverter????
Firefox is on the money when it comes to inveter deficency (5-10%), but that's a good quality product. Budget lines can be as much as 20% in terms the the energy consumption on top of the appliance you are trying to use.
The way I look at power in the motorhome, is like looking at a pyramid, foundation level is always your leisure batteries, second tier is power use, tier 3 is replacing the power, tier 4 is monitoring the power.
I have taken a while in perfecting my system to suit my family's use, but I have had no issues with using inverters and will continue to whilst the boss requires the use of hair plug-ins. I just wish she would have a Sinaed O'Connor cut, save all the hassle
