Inverter advice

[123mack]

Need some advice on inverters. I have a 24v apu off of the M577 command post track. My plan is to use it on my S250 commo shelter, with an inverter and a voltage reducer mounted inside the shelter. This arrangement would give me 24v for the mil radios,12v for some ham radios and 120v for other radios as well as lights. My main concern is an inverter which provedes clean power. The apu is rated at 4.3kw

 

[gimpyrobb]

I didn't really see a question, but if your worried about clean power, just run the apu through a power conditioner.

 

[123mack]

Guess I should have added "any particular brands or models to reccommend?". I've never used an inverter and the wrong say 2000 watt inverter would be an expensive mistake.

 

[Recovry4x4]

I think pure sine wave converters are cleaner than the modified sine wave ones, and priced accordingly. IIRC OD Iron used to have some listed on his website.

 

[Firefighter294]

If OPCOM doesn't see this thread and reply PM him, he is very knowledgeable regarding communications and electrical "stuff" like this.

Not to say that there aren't others. I have just seen a lot of good info from him and I like his web site http://www.bunkerofdoom.com/

Rick

.

 

[123mack]

Thanks for the "bunker of doom" site , it'll come in handy.

 

[cranetruck]

What model APU is it?
List your 24VDC and 120 VAC requirements and perhaps the APU isn't the best choice to begin with.
You will get a clean sine wave from a MEP type genset, but not so easily from an inverter, for example. Inverters produce square waves in their cheapest configs and square waves contain lots of undesirable harmonics....

 

[tennmogger]

If you need a 24v to 12 v converter, I highly recommend the Wilmore brand. US made, great quality. Used by fire departments, airports, railroads, emergency vehicles, etc. I use their models 1640 and 1416 (versions up to 35 Amps or higher).

Running 12 v radios and equipment directly off the Wilmore converters works slick and is much less hassle that keeping a separate 12 v battery charged (the way I did it at first).

For an inverter (to 115 vac) consider a used UPS (uninterruptable power supply). Lots of these show up after the batteries go bad. Find a 24 volt one. Feed the S250/truck's 24v replacing the batteries (verify the charging circuit can handle the heavier batteries) and don't plug it in to get inverter 115 out. Back home, just plug it in and get 'shore' power, topping up the 24 v batteries and maintaining them.

My application is in 24v Unimogs.

Tennmogger

Need some advice on inverters. I have a 24v apu off of the M577 command post track. My plan is to use it on my S250 commo shelter, with an inverter and a voltage reducer mounted inside the shelter. This arrangement would give me 24v for the mil radios,12v for some ham radios and 120v for other radios as well as lights. My main concern is an inverter which provedes clean power. The apu is rated at 4.3kw

 

[123mack]

Thanks for all the replies. The idea of using this genset for my commo shelter is really a second thought. I saw a lot at a state of Alabama surplus property auction a few weeks ago and had the idea that on would be good as a jump starter or for other 24v items such as a 24v impact. Like a lot of auctions, I had to take th whole lot ( six generators plus the aluminum housings). While loading them a guy walked up and said "I see you got some generators for a command post track". So I thought if they would work with acp track, they would work with a S-250. Maybe not. I'll play around with one, sell the rest.