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Anyone use their 6.2 diesel with a power inverter for camping?

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boston
I know absolutely NO-thing about electronics so bare with me. I have an Xantrex Sine Wave Inverter 1800, 1800 watts. I would like to use it in my M1009 to power a room to room moblie A/C. The A/C unit says; Rated volt; 115v- Cooling current input; 8.9A Cooling capacity; 800BTU/h HP. PSIG; 3.9MPa LP. PSIG; 1.0Pa There is a data plate that says; 120Vac 60Hz 1800W
Any & all help would be greatly appreciated.
An 1800W inverter feeding an 1800W appliance *might* work. When they measure wattage, there are peak (AKA surge) and continuous values. Inverter manufactures tend to advertise the peak number, since it's bigger. Appliance manufacturers tend to advertise the continuous number, since it's smaller.

When an electric motor starts up, it uses a surge of electricity far greater than what it requires when running. That's why you might see the lights dim momentarily when your A/C compressor kicks in. If the appliance surge exceeds the surge capacity of your inverter, then you need a bigger inverter. Since you already own these devices, it can't hurt to try it and see how they interoperate. Keep in mind that the inverter requires ample DC voltage input in order to produce its max rated output.

The device documentation should tell you the surge requirement for your appliance and the surge capacity of your inverter. This documentation will also tell you where you need to put fuses in your circuitry. Be very careful to comply with this guidance. If you don't know enough to install proper fuses, find someone who does. Any professional mechanic will know. Fuses and/or circuit breakers are essential safety equipment. They prevent electric fires if something goes wrong. Do not omit them.

If you run the A/C with the engine off, you can drain the batteries to the point where the truck won't start. This is why many folks have a separate "house" battery, plus a battery isolator to keep the starter batteries just for starting.

Watts=Volts X amps. 1800W @ 120 VAC = 15 amps. A normal household outlet and the circuit breaker behind it are rated at 15 amps. This means that A/C unit is designed to max out a typical household circuit. You have to feed at least that much power into your inverter. Inverters are never 100% efficient. You always lose some power in the conversion process. Ignoring that for the moment, 1800W @ 12V = 150 amps. That's a *lot* of amps. What is the capacity of your alternators? If they can't produce over 150 amps, the inverter will draw down your batteries even with the engine running.

Your inverter documentation should tell you how many amps it draws at max power. The number will be more than 150. How much more depends on the efficiency of the inverter. More efficient inverters are more expensive. You may find you need to upgrade to bigger alternators to handle this load.

You can see why most RV folks use a generator to power their A/C units. They take a lot of power, and it's expensive to upgrade a 12VDC system to support an inverter that provides that much power. A little Honda generator is usually a less expensive option. It's also much quieter and much more fuel efficient than a 6.2L V8.
 
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Mainsail

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I picked up this marine 24v inverter from craigslist for $50 or $60; I forget the rating but I can look later. A lot of boats use 24v so that's one place to look.

EDIT to add: I routinely troll cl for stuff, using search terms like 24v, 24vdc, 24 vdc, 24 volt, and 24 volts. You never know what will return.
 

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stationjj

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I use my M1009 for many back country camping trips. As mentioned before I think it depends on what your planning to run. I try and run most everything on DC, and avoid AC power devices. I use DC LED lights, DC TV/DVD, Ham radios, and other devices. Since I am a HAM radio operator I decided to add a 3rd battery. Yes a little over kill, but I like the security of the 3rd battery when I am back country.

Back to your question. I have a small 24 volt 400 watt inverter I got off Amazon. It works well, but rarely use it.

John
KK4LNG
 

SFC Deal

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I use my M1009 for many back country camping trips. As mentioned before I think it depends on what your planning to run. I try and run most everything on DC, and avoid AC power devices. I use DC LED lights, DC TV/DVD, Ham radios, and other devices. Since I am a HAM radio operator I decided to add a 3rd battery. Yes a little over kill, but I like the security of the 3rd battery when I am back country.

Back to your question. I have a small 24 volt 400 watt inverter I got off Amazon. It works well, but rarely use it.

John
KK4LNG
Could you post some pics of how & where you added the 3rd Battery?
 

stationjj

Member
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Location
Middle Tennessee
On adding a 3rd battery. I couldn't get any good pictures tonight. I will get some tomorrow. Basically I combined the 2 batteries on the front battery mount.
With the front battery mount free I added the 3rd battery. Hope this helps?

John
KK4LNG
 
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