I wanted a large inverter to cover all needs. This inverter comes with its own battery cables...is that enough for its use. When you talk LARGE cables for high inverters are you referring to cables to you inverter from another batterty so that you can recharge your deep cycle batter? I am looking at a Whistler Pro 3000 or should I just get a 1500 or 1600 watt. I am powering a sound system but this inverter will be used for emergency needs to power refrigerators and freezers. Is 3000 an over-kill or are there benefits to more wattage over less. I wanted a large inverter to cover all needs. This inverter comes with its own battery cables...is that enough for its use. When you talk LARGE cables for high inverters are you referring to... » Read More I wanted a large inverter to cover all needs. This inverter comes with its own battery cables...is that enough for its use. When you talk LARGE cables for high inverters are you referring to cables to you inverter from another batterty so that you can recharge your deep cycle batter? I am looking at a Whistler Pro 3000 or should I just get a 1500 or 1600 watt. I am powering a sound system but this inverter will be used for emergency needs to power refrigerators and freezers. Is 3000 an over-kill or are there benefits to more wattage over less. « Show Less
142374
I would go with the 3000 watt I had a 1500 watt powering a small microwave and with this, 3000 watt it's the difference between day light and dark.
142375
I had an old 1700 watt generator during sandy. It powered my fridge and a bunch of other small things. The 3000 watt inverter isn't overkill tho. It won't draw more power than it needs. Battery needs to be good and charged as much as needed. Car alternator at least. Cables need to be thick for 3000 watts.
142376
If you want to power freezers and refrigerators, get the 3000 watt inverter.
142377
Hi Suzanne, for hookup to a single battery vehicle...keep it under 2500 watts. The bigger ones should only be used with dual battery diesel trucks. A 2000 or 2500 will power pretty much anything for you. I run a 50 ft. Cord into my house when i lose power and i just switch back and forth to different things. A 2000 will run up to twenty 100 watt lights all at once....just to give you an idea. But the secret to getting full potential is to use no more than 10 ft of welding cable from the battery to the inverter. Probably cost you 50 bucks and another few bucks for dual battery terminals. Inverters are really cool gadgets. Good luck...Steve Hi Suzanne, for hookup to a single battery vehicle...keep it under 2500 watts. The bigger ones should only be used with dual battery diesel trucks. A 2000 or 2500 will power pretty much anything for you. I run a 50 ft. Cord into my house when i lose power and i just switch back and forth to different things. A 2000 will run up to twenty 100 watt lights all at once....just to give you an idea. But the secret to getting full potential is to use no more than 10 ft of welding cable from the battery to the inverter. Probably cost you 50 bucks and another few bucks for dual battery terminals.... » Read More Hi Suzanne, for hookup to a single battery vehicle...keep it under 2500 watts. The bigger ones should only be used with dual battery diesel trucks. A 2000 or 2500 will power pretty much anything for you. I run a 50 ft. Cord into my house when i lose power and i just switch back and forth to different things. A 2000 will run up to twenty 100 watt lights all at once....just to give you an idea. But the secret to getting full potential is to use no more than 10 ft of welding cable from the battery to the inverter. Probably cost you 50 bucks and another few bucks for dual battery terminals. Inverters are really cool gadgets. Good luck...Steve « Show Less
222843
Amps are not Amps. WATTS are what need to be conserved. If you have 10000 Watts of AC available on the output, it will require OVER 833 Amps on the input. If fact, it will require even more than 833 Amps as a result of the efficiency (lack of perfect conversion) of the inverter. I'd bet the overall conversion eff. to be less than 80%, which means it would be 10000 Watts/0.8 = 12,500 Watts, and for the sake of easy math 1000 Amps @ 12.5 Vdc input. Thats some serious current and is going to be a real problem when attempting to minimize the voltage drop on the input cables! (Which when it occurs will result in even more current being required for the same number of Watts! Amps are not Amps. WATTS are what need to be conserved. If you have 10000 Watts of AC available on the output, it will require OVER 833 Amps on the input. If fact, it will require even more than 833 Amps as a result of the efficiency (lack of perfect conversion) of the inverter. I'd bet the overall conversion eff. to be less than 80%, which means it would be 10000 Watts/0.8 = 12,500 Watts, and for the sake of easy math 1000 Amps @ 12.5 Vdc input. Thats some serious current and is going to be a real problem when attempting to minimize the voltage drop on the input cables! (Which when it... » Read More Amps are not Amps. WATTS are what need to be conserved. If you have 10000 Watts of AC available on the output, it will require OVER 833 Amps on the input. If fact, it will require even more than 833 Amps as a result of the efficiency (lack of perfect conversion) of the inverter. I'd bet the overall conversion eff. to be less than 80%, which means it would be 10000 Watts/0.8 = 12,500 Watts, and for the sake of easy math 1000 Amps @ 12.5 Vdc input. Thats some serious current and is going to be a real problem when attempting to minimize the voltage drop on the input cables! (Which when it occurs will result in even more current being required for the same number of Watts! « Show Less
460172
I notice wildly different ratings on this and other inverters. I need to power a stereo receiver - about 1200 W, with 2 Bose outdoor speakers set pretty loud. Any thoughts on how I should evaluate suitability? Can I be sure my T & C minivan can power this setup? Thanks for any info. - THT
1306599
The inverter is a 3500 W. 4 1500 W equals 6000 w. That would mean you would need 2. I use this inverter on my boat. It runs a household refrigerator of approximately 1800 W. The best thing about this inverter is that it will shut down if it is back fed. Since I switch from AC to DC this feature is extremely valuable. I would recommend this inverter because I have tried Xanax and I burnt out 4 them. As far as the amount of battery you need it all depends on how long you going to run the unit.
219974
the wagan 10000 should be ran with more than one battery as it will draw hard and wear your battery out a lot sooner i would suggest a 2500 orat the most a5000 watt. the big ? is how many watts is the a/c unit?then get an inverter a little bigger than that so you wont over work your inverter. i am running 18 6volt batteries with mine. theyrun down about every 4 to 6 days. i hope this helps you out. p.s. stay away from aims inverters they do not put out what they say. wagan is your best bet for the price.
312062
This inverter is to big for cig.lighter direct hook up to battery..wire that come with this inverter is a little light..you might want to get heavier gauge..
1157679
It depends on how long you intend to run the appliance. Frig. 3-4amps @ 120V = 420 watts. Divide by 12 = 35amps per hour. Typical large battery has 150 amp hour capacity but not at that rate and not fully discharging. Regular batteries are cheaper and you will only discharge to about 11.5 volts. That is why most residential system use line inverters and sell back to the utility. My starting point would be 10 if I was seriously wanting to benefit from a generator / battery backup on these appliances.. A couple of batteries could take all the charge a 100 watt panel could produce for days. Store it, use it or lose it because you can't afford your design intentions here. It depends on how long you intend to run the appliance. Frig. 3-4amps @ 120V = 420 watts. Divide by 12 = 35amps per hour. Typical large battery has 150 amp hour capacity but not at that rate and not fully discharging. Regular batteries are cheaper and you will only discharge to about 11.5 volts. That is why most residential system use line inverters and sell back to the utility. My starting point would be 10 if I was seriously wanting to benefit from a generator / battery backup on these appliances.. A couple of batteries could take all the charge a 100 watt panel could produce for days.... » Read More It depends on how long you intend to run the appliance. Frig. 3-4amps @ 120V = 420 watts. Divide by 12 = 35amps per hour. Typical large battery has 150 amp hour capacity but not at that rate and not fully discharging. Regular batteries are cheaper and you will only discharge to about 11.5 volts. That is why most residential system use line inverters and sell back to the utility. My starting point would be 10 if I was seriously wanting to benefit from a generator / battery backup on these appliances.. A couple of batteries could take all the charge a 100 watt panel could produce for days. Store it, use it or lose it because you can't afford your design intentions here. « Show Less
136850
Sorta. AC watts output and DC watts input are not quite the same thing. I would be thinking "amps" instead of "watts". First, this is a modified sine wave inverter. It will work on most appliances, but not all. 3,000 AC watts in appliances is within specs for this inverter. However, if you think one or two batteries connected to it will work...I wouldn't even try. To run that much power, you are going to need at a minimum of 4-6 batteries wired in parallel (12v) with very large battery cables (0-gauge or thicker). At 3,000 AC watts this inverter will likely draw over 250 amps from the batteries. A typical deep cycle marine battery will have 100-125 amp/hours. When you parallel, you add amp hours. Two batteries (200-250) or four batteries (400-500 amp hours). Running 3,000 watts AC out of this inverter is possible, if you have enough batteries, thick battery cables, and something to recharge them...cause you will drain them QUICK. Your battery cables must be rated to handle this much amperage. Download the Power Bright Owners Manual, call them, or do a Google search...be safe. Good luck.
604390
When you say you have an electric impact wrench needing 7 amps, is that 7 amps at 120V? If so (as I'm assuming) then the inverter in this will NOT work because it is rated for 200 watts continuous (~2 amps max). I doubt any power-pack like this will be able to handle that load, so to run such off a battery/inverter system will require you to put together a 1000 watt inverter and car-size battery (I'd get one rated at least 60 amp-hour if you'll be pulling ~60 amps at 12V which is the same as 6 amps at 120V).If it just needed 7 amps at 12V, this battery could run such for over an hour, but that sounds unrealistic for such a tool. When you say you have an electric impact wrench needing 7 amps, is that 7 amps at 120V? If so (as I'm assuming) then the inverter in this will NOT work because it is rated for 200 watts continuous (~2 amps max). I doubt any power-pack like this will be able to handle that load, so to run such off a battery/inverter system will require you to put together a 1000 watt inverter and car-size battery (I'd get one rated at least 60 amp-hour if you'll be pulling ~60 amps at 12V which is the same as 6 amps at 120V).If it just needed 7 amps at 12V, this battery could run such for over an... » Read More When you say you have an electric impact wrench needing 7 amps, is that 7 amps at 120V? If so (as I'm assuming) then the inverter in this will NOT work because it is rated for 200 watts continuous (~2 amps max). I doubt any power-pack like this will be able to handle that load, so to run such off a battery/inverter system will require you to put together a 1000 watt inverter and car-size battery (I'd get one rated at least 60 amp-hour if you'll be pulling ~60 amps at 12V which is the same as 6 amps at 120V).If it just needed 7 amps at 12V, this battery could run such for over an hour, but that sounds unrealistic for such a tool. « Show Less
168480
we bought that kit the inverterwas too small for what we needed to do we bought the 6000 it does a great job we are running for 100 watt solar panel 6 /6 volt batterywe run it from 12 o'clock in the afternoon 2 ,1 o'clock in the morning then we lost power we are living in a 40 foot trailer we plan on adding a 900 wind generator and 6 more batteries that should do the trick but the 1500 watt inverter just wasn't enough hope this was help
941572
Hey Michael, in my experiences with these inverters, it is best to direct connect to the battery. The cigarette lighter will not carry enough load for most things like laptop, a light, etc.... You can contact the manufacturer and get more specific details on "load". To really use this device the best, connect to battery. Best Buy does installs or any car audio sound shop. I can't remember the product warranty but it is best to have it connected by a professional. My first one stopped working because it had a loose connection and shorted out. Also, I have blown up a couple devices trying to use the cigarette lighter. They melt and smoke. This is electricity, so you must be careful. Hope this helps and good luck.
2251453
It's impossible to answer your question without knowing how much load you will be running on the inverter or what your peak current draw will be from your battery bank. My maximum current draw from the battery bank is 176 amps. My peak current can be over 200 for a short period. I am 10 feet from the battery bank and I use 4/0 cable with a 300 amp fuse in the positive cable. Keep in mind if you use 4/0 cable you will need and adaptor to connect it to the inverter. The inverter connections will only accept 2/0 cable.
197588
You need an inverter with the same amount of output volts as your device's input volts. You need two different inverters if you need two different voltages (or one inverter that does both, but that is harder to find). The voltages you need do not match this inverter. You need something with lower volts. Amps/watts is what your inverter should have more of than you need. More volts than you need will ruin your equipment.
729982
I wouldn't do that. It is only 1000 watt. It can power your tv, computer and maybe a mini-fridge (which will totally drain your battery in no time) but not all at once. If you did hook this into a breaker box, I would strip a power cord to the length you need, plug it into the unit and wire the ends into the breaker box. That would eliminate the opening of the box hassle. it should have its own breaker and a warning label on it to only run very small devices on it and to be sure to turn it off when not in use as, even in standby mode, it will still drain your battery eventually. As an idea of what size breaker you need, consider that a 100watt light bulb at 110vac will draw about 1 amp hour. Theoretically, this unit could power 10 100watt bulbs but I would try to never use more than 700watts (or 7 bulbs, for instance)running constantly just so I wouldn't kick in the units internal protection or blow a fuse. (your dc input should definitely be fused to protect those wires from overheating and starting a fire. I think the unit comes with one but do not remember). Size it to your largest intended load that will not exceed the units rating. I use this on a boat that always has a generator running and a HUGE battery bank (16 6vdc golf cart batteries arranged into 2 banks of 24vdc) but have this on a relay in case of main power failure so it can switch over. I generate enough juice to leave it on all the time. It has worked well since I bought it. It powers a computer with a 500 watt power supply in it, a monitor and some GPS devices. The computer power supply did not like the old square wave inverter and the monitor display was crappy. When I switched to this pure sine wave inverter, those problems vanished.
2027560
if you have problems at the start, i am sure amazon will back you. i used my inverter for 3 days straight with no problems and am saving it for emergencys now, you should call power bright (company) talk to them and feel them out. for the money it is a great buy, but do not overload it drawing too much power. it has a fan built in, if it is running warm, ok, but if it is hot, let cool and try reducing load so it does not get hot. if it is running hot it will burn out in time. electronics can run cool or warm, if hot somethings wrong.
1193520
I would say yes, 2,a 24volt system would be enought.Be sure your inverter will cary thecompressor starting currant ,typically 3 times running amps. and a pure sinewave type.Get a GOOD battery charger-6 amps. or more. Vmax has a good matching charger
721809
Hi Karen, I think your question is back to front......but I may be wrong. The batteries should be rigged up to supply the inverter with + 12 V Direct Current for the inverter to supply nominal 120 V Alternative Current......The inverter will take power from the batteries and if the batteries themselves are not supplied with power [from solar panels, an alternator or charger] the inverter will eventually take the batteries down to about 10.5 V DC whilst still delivering the nominal 120 V AC. Which is not good for the batteries. I hope this helps.......best wishes....Jack.