Invertors Help Please

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SaltyCod

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I wonder if anyone can give me some advice on Invertors.

I would like to fit an Invertor to just run an 18 inch flat screen TV together with a Sky Box or DVD player, upto now we have been running the gennie to do this. So, what do you think would be the smallest Invertor I could get away with.

Thanks in anticipation
 
Not a very big one
the TV and digi box should have marked on the back their power consumption in watts (W)( it might be marked VA - assume VA = W for this application). Just add the two together and that is the minimum power that you will need from an inverter.
When selecting your inverter try and get a true sine wave inverter as these tend to work better with compex electronic devices. The cheaper quasi sine wave inverters might make the TV/digi box play up sometimes. Avoid the very cheap "square wave " inverters.
 
yep, good advice there.

even if the modified sine wave invertors operate the electronics in the tv/box well enough.... they can still cause annoyingly loud buzzes from the power supplies - mine does anyhow, and the brick is fitted behind a panel at the back of a cupboard. Picky I spose, don't hear it except in the quiet bits, but no noise from it when on shorepower.
 
It\'s the tele -

that will take the most power. I have a Panny 20" which takes 65W, so:-

18" (funny size??) 40 -60W
Sky digibox 30W
Sky+ digibox 60W (but you don't have one of those?)
DVD player 20W

All the above values have been extracted from my own equipment and are maximum values quoted by the manufacturer. IME actual values are less than this. So for you the total is likely to be 60 + 30 + 20 = 110.

A sine wave (best recommendation) 300W unit would cost £150 and would be more than adequate. Remember you don't have to scale the rated power to suit your anticipated load. That is a 600W unit running your load would draw about the same amount of power as a 300W unit.

I have a 350W unit from Power Master at £149 including carriage and it works fine.

Previously I used a girt big 1800W quasi sine wave unit form that nice Mr. Stirling and it worked fine for the equipment that I had then. The only trouble I have had with "screwed up square wave" inverters was with a cheap food processor, but the vacuum cleaner works fine. Go figure.

So there you have it, actual experience from someone who's done it.


What works fine for me may not work similarly well for you. Your choice can work or even blow up. It's not my fault
 
These guy's
http://www.velleman.be/be/en/product/view/?id=367614
have invertors from 150 to 3500 W
we have used the 600W (for computers) and the 1600W versions, both work very well and are really cheap. they have local dealers in UK.
The 150W will be OK for your application, but if you buy one, its worth looking to other applications such as: lamp charger, water cooker, laptop, ....
and buy one with some more power
There are also more intelligent solutions on the market, invertor and battery charger in one, from Master Volt and Victron, but a lot more expensive.
 
Keep the 12v supply, from the battery to the invertor, as short as posible and use the largest cable you can get in the terminals.
Don't forget an in line fuse to protect that cable.
 
Well, thank you all for such good and sound advice. Really appreciated, it will be nice to watch a bit of TV without the gennie humming in the background.

Thanks
 
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