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Old 06-27-2018, 05:17 AM   #41
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"and a coffee pot"

The heating element in the pot would be the highest load , so any inverter that would feed it should do.

The unit will probably take a bit longer to heat (+ 10% ?) , just turn it off after the brew is made , as an all day load it will be a batt killer.
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Old 06-27-2018, 05:46 AM   #42
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"and a coffee pot"

The heating element in the pot would be the highest load , so any inverter that would feed it should do.

The unit will probably take a bit longer to heat (+ 10% ?) , just turn it off after the brew is made , as an all day load it will be a batt killer.
Yes, we use a coffee maker with a thermal carafe as opposed to a heated base for that very reason.
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Old 07-01-2018, 06:13 PM   #43
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So what size should I buy? comparing it to some of your experiences with the units?
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Old 07-01-2018, 08:17 PM   #44
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As was said above, resistance heating with DC-->AC inverted power is not ideal.

Get yourself a 12-volt coffee maker and forget that particular problem. What's a computer plus a couple of LED lights draw? 250 watts? A 1,000 watt unit would be plenty, and would give you a little overhead for occasional use. Think about what you'll realistically be using. A single hair dryer might pull 1,500 to 1,800 watts.
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Old 07-02-2018, 03:49 PM   #45
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Okay, one simple question for the inverter experts,,, I need one for the computer, some 110 LED lights and a coffee pot. So what size and type can I get by with? I have duel 27 series AGM batteries to run this expected purchase. TIA
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"and a coffee pot"

The heating element in the pot would be the highest load , so any inverter that would feed it should do.
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So what size should I buy? comparing it to some of your experiences with the units?
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As was said above, resistance heating with DC-->AC inverted power is not ideal.

Scratch, just pick your target coffee maker, read the watts on the label, then get an inverter with approx twice that wattage. No matter what the amperage (current) draw, you're only talking about 5 minutes of it (assuming you're not using the "keep warm" function for too long.)

There can be a better answer, but that calls for a real systems approach, with more info about chargers, batteries (and maybe whether you might want to increase batteries, etc.), other loads, and so forth...

But the shortest version is that the coffee maker label will tell you most of what you need to know.

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Old 07-02-2018, 05:06 PM   #46
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Thanks guys, the 1000 watt KiSAE true sine wave inverter it is. We solved the coffee pot issue, which was not really high on the important list. The butane stove will boil our high octane requirements. My wife drinks " virgin motor oil" . So we get to cook it until it barely pours out of the pot without requiring a ton of electricity.


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Old 07-02-2018, 06:31 PM   #47
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Thanks guys, the 1000 watt KiSAE true sine wave inverter it is. We solved the coffee pot issue, which was not really high on the important list. The butane stove will boil our high octane requirements. My wife drinks " virgin motor oil" . So we get to cook it until it barely pours out of the pot without requiring a ton of electricity.


I vote for at least a 1500 watt true sine wave inverter. My small microwave is 1200 watts. Once you get an inverter, you will find more stuff to run on it.
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Old 07-02-2018, 07:01 PM   #48
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I vote for at least a 1500 watt true sine wave inverter. My small microwave is 1200 watts. Once you get an inverter, you will find more stuff to run on it.

Thanks for the feedback. My expected microwave is actually 700 watts. So that's not an issue. But fortunately or unfortunately I am slowly running out of space for much more stuff. This boat is just 23' 6" and traliable beam and the cubbies are all but maxed out.

So I will make do for now with the smaller one. which will do what we need for now. While we will be on the hook a bit, for this first extended trip we have things worked out for some limited dockage too.

And we want to do some local fare in some of the communities. So cooking much more than two meager meals is really not needed. We do really well with combination canned entrees . So the little stove did really well too for our first venture.
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Old 07-02-2018, 07:14 PM   #49
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Most of these problems can be solved by more solar panels, I'm lucky
enough to have a large flat roof, and have 9 x 250w panels, I use my
budget 3000w pure sine wave inverters for everything except my big
2kw pump, which is for emergency pumping and has its own Yamaha
8kw generator. Thing is, solar panels are cheap, silent and low maintenance,
and can even contribute in less than optimum position, I stopped worrying
about current draw, idle draw and low batteries, and find that even when using
big power tools and dishwasher etc, the batteries top up very quickly. In reference
to whether its better to go for a budget inverter or Victron, I know I can buy 5 cheapies
for one Victron, and with a three year warranty, I feel more comfortable having a
couple of spares in the locker......If money is not an issue go for Victron and 1 or 2
budget units as back up.
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Old 07-02-2018, 07:43 PM   #50
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Stormboy, alas I have a 34ft boat and the pilot house roof is only so big for solar panels. I have 2x135 panels on the pilot house roof. They were selected to support the house batteries provide power to the bilge pumps and the 12 volt Nova Kool when I am off the boat. The AT34 is a 2x30 amp cable boat. One cable is dedicated for the AC. The second cable supports the rest of the boat. That in itself presents a problem when cooking with 3 burners and the microwave, the breaker trips. With proper load management and a couple of switches, I can turn the 1500 watt inverter, split the 1200 watt microwave and cook a nice pretty much big meal. Try to add in the oven, things the house breaker trips every time. So it is back "timing and load management."

AND, if I added everything people have added to their boat, I would need a trailer floating behind the boat. LOL
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Old 07-02-2018, 08:00 PM   #51
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Dan.....been there done that, I did a circumnavigation of
Australia in the late 1980's in a 40' yacht, and only had one 40w panel...yikes...
I have found that my lpg cooking and heating system have
saved a lot of power and really economical.....couple of my
friends have a space issue like you and have mounted panels
in horizontal and 45 degree positions, power production is
not optimum, but a couple of 250w panels on the side
of the pilothouse still make a decent contribution.....one
guy even places a foldable lightweight panel in his dinghy
on deck, which helps....by the way Dan, if you were born in
1943.... your'e not old..." the seventies is the new sixties"
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Old 07-02-2018, 08:19 PM   #52
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....by the way Dan, if you were born in
1943.... your'e not old..." the seventies is the new sixties"
In your dreams. LOL If I live to be 81 years old and still have the currently quality of life, I'll set the record for the family.
If I make it beyond 80, I attribute to the red wine.
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Old 07-14-2018, 09:41 PM   #53
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Just a quick update for anyone getting into the inverter business... I purchased the 1000 watt pure sine wave from West Marine and they price matched the Amazon price just before the price went up. This saved me 30 bucks .

I installed it and attempted to hook up the battery terminals after it was wired with the proper 150adc breaker, proper gauged wires and fire shot across the cable and the cable ends. The unit would not start after shutting off the breaker and connecting everything back up.

I quickly removed it and returned it and they were good about taking it back. And they did not have another one and the warehouse and other stores were completely out of them.

So with me running out of time I decided to go with the 1000 watt modified sine wave since all my wire size and the sized breaker for the 1000 watt was already installed. West Marine matched the Amazon price again saving me 40 bucks on that one.

It works great with my computer, no problems. But I found out that the start requirements for the microwave needs 1050 watts to start, with a run requirement of 700 watts.

So there is a 1500 watt modified sine wave with a price match that saves me 60 bucks from the west marine price. And since my main concern had been taken care of with the computer, I am in the process of wiring the 1500 for my microwave, the coffee pot, which gets little long term use anyway and a bigger fan. So I am ending up with two and a mega savings from the pure sine wave in 1500 watts and I am set. They are the KIISAE brands.
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Old 07-15-2018, 07:34 AM   #54
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Just a quick update for anyone getting into the inverter business... I purchased the 1000 watt pure sine wave from West Marine and they price matched the Amazon price just before the price went up. This saved me 30 bucks .

I installed it and attempted to hook up the battery terminals after it was wired with the proper 150adc breaker, proper gauged wires and fire shot across the cable and the cable ends. The unit would not start after shutting off the breaker and connecting everything back up.

I quickly removed it and returned it and they were good about taking it back. And they did not have another one and the warehouse and other stores were completely out of them.

So with me running out of time I decided to go with the 1000 watt modified sine wave since all my wire size and the sized breaker for the 1000 watt was already installed. West Marine matched the Amazon price again saving me 40 bucks on that one.

It works great with my computer, no problems. But I found out that the start requirements for the microwave needs 1050 watts to start, with a run requirement of 700 watts.

So there is a 1500 watt modified sine wave with a price match that saves me 60 bucks from the west marine price. And since my main concern had been taken care of with the computer, I am in the process of wiring the 1500 for my microwave, the coffee pot, which gets little long term use anyway and a bigger fan. So I am ending up with two and a mega savings from the pure sine wave in 1500 watts and I am set. They are the KIISAE brands.
As you found out, the breakers or fuses, do not protect the inverter just the wires. The inverter has internal fuses, perhaps as many as 16 or more. But even they can not always protect the inverter. I had 2 inverters fail on sudden overloads, they did not shut down automatically, nor did they blow any fuses.

They just let out the magic smoke.

I currently have a 3000 watt - 6000 watt surge MSW and it has worked fine, except for once when I tried to run my cruisair AC, that fried it instantly, burnt out all 16 DC side mosfets, mosfet gate resistors, 4 mosfet controllers. Took about $50 in parts and had to rebuild burnt copper traces. The DC mosfets switch off and on at a very high frequency pumping up the low DC volts with transformers. Then it is converted to AC power. If the mosfets get stuck on, then they get all out of cycle with each other and the whole low volt DC side shorts and burns. A single shorted stuck on mosfet will destroy all the other mosfets. It is like some of these manufacturers use the cheapest parts they can find and build them to run on the ragged edge.

I noticed recently my rebuild actually works better than OEM, because I ran a pump without a start capacitor, and it shut down safely the inverter. Then I added a start capacitor in the pool motor pump and it worked ok. I did upgrade the low side caps to 25 vdc from the 16 vdc ones, and also choose good quality mosfets with bigger gate resistors. I never plan to run my AC off it ever again.

I wired my inverter into the boat's AC system, and using relays and manual switches, can select from shore, gen, inverter power. When the AC comes on, it breaks open the circuit to the AC automatically so it can never even try to start. If the gen begins a start cycle, it breaks off the inverter relay, so no power gets intermingled, Same with shore, if shore power is present it breaks off inverter and generator. So the priority is shore, then gen, then inverter. All done with various types of relays. Some relays are 4 pole double throw. With twin 30 amp power, you have to account for 4 power wires, 2 hots and 2 neutrals to be switched simultaneously.
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Old 07-15-2018, 10:17 AM   #55
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As you found out, the breakers or fuses, do not protect the inverter just the wires. The inverter has internal fuses, perhaps as many as 16 or more. But even they can not always protect the inverter. I had 2 inverters fail on sudden overloads, they did not shut down automatically, nor did they blow any fuses.

They just let out the magic smoke.

I currently have a 3000 watt - 6000 watt surge MSW and it has worked fine, except for once when I tried to run my cruisair AC, that fried it instantly, burnt out all 16 DC side mosfets, mosfet gate resistors, 4 mosfet controllers. Took about $50 in parts and had to rebuild burnt copper traces. The DC mosfets switch off and on at a very high frequency pumping up the low DC volts with transformers. Then it is converted to AC power. If the mosfets get stuck on, then they get all out of cycle with each other and the whole low volt DC side shorts and burns. A single shorted stuck on mosfet will destroy all the other mosfets. It is like some of these manufacturers use the cheapest parts they can find and build them to run on the ragged edge.

I noticed recently my rebuild actually works better than OEM, because I ran a pump without a start capacitor, and it shut down safely the inverter. Then I added a start capacitor in the pool motor pump and it worked ok. I did upgrade the low side caps to 25 vdc from the 16 vdc ones, and also choose good quality mosfets with bigger gate resistors. I never plan to run my AC off it ever again.

I wired my inverter into the boat's AC system, and using relays and manual switches, can select from shore, gen, inverter power. When the AC comes on, it breaks open the circuit to the AC automatically so it can never even try to start. If the gen begins a start cycle, it breaks off the inverter relay, so no power gets intermingled, Same with shore, if shore power is present it breaks off inverter and generator. So the priority is shore, then gen, then inverter. All done with various types of relays. Some relays are 4 pole double throw. With twin 30 amp power, you have to account for 4 power wires, 2 hots and 2 neutrals to be switched simultaneously.
Your post reminds me of one of my adventures some 8-10 years ago. I purchased a Freedom 3KW (the old Heart inverter/charger) on Ebay. It was almost free except for the shipping......it didn’t work. So I rebuilt it just as you did yours. Next installed it in my boat. One night when at Cuttyhunk I watched charging one of my battery banks at about 80 amperes. What happened next turned out to be horrible.

I switched batteries from bat 1 to all using the so called make before break battery switch. Well it did not! It interrupted the current and the inverter didn’t have protection for current interruption and the entire unit burst into flames. Darned near caused an onboard fire. That inverter sat in my basement until about a month ago when I tossed it into our of our dumpsters.
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