Chris Grew
Member
Hi all,
Two issues here.
If, like me, you have a motorhome or perhaps a caravan then an inverter is a good idea, but it will cause more drain than a DC to DC power supply. However, as long as you keep an eye on your battery volts you should be OK. I also have a 100 Watt solar panel fitted.
Second point, you need to be careful with your calculations on the maximum power usage of a device and the size of inverter you need to buy. I would very strongly recommend you buy a pure sine wave inverter for any use, but particularly for computers. Most manufacturers suggest you should size an inverter by anything from 2 to 3 times the power required. What this means is, if you calculate your maximum possible use is 100Watts, you need a 200 to 300Watt inverter. Whatever you do, don't skimp on this! You will end up drawing too much from your battery and create a lot of potentially dangerous heat if you get close to the limit of the inverter.
For the record in my motorhome I have one of these:
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SK652104.html
I charge my quadcopter battery via this unit, which has a high drain/current/power consumption. I also charge the SP3.
It is better to use a DC to DC converter and as soon as a legitimate sensibly priced one comes out for the SP3 I will probably buy it.
Perhaps I should add, I am an electronics engineer.
Best regards
Chris
Two issues here.
If, like me, you have a motorhome or perhaps a caravan then an inverter is a good idea, but it will cause more drain than a DC to DC power supply. However, as long as you keep an eye on your battery volts you should be OK. I also have a 100 Watt solar panel fitted.
Second point, you need to be careful with your calculations on the maximum power usage of a device and the size of inverter you need to buy. I would very strongly recommend you buy a pure sine wave inverter for any use, but particularly for computers. Most manufacturers suggest you should size an inverter by anything from 2 to 3 times the power required. What this means is, if you calculate your maximum possible use is 100Watts, you need a 200 to 300Watt inverter. Whatever you do, don't skimp on this! You will end up drawing too much from your battery and create a lot of potentially dangerous heat if you get close to the limit of the inverter.
For the record in my motorhome I have one of these:
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SK652104.html
I charge my quadcopter battery via this unit, which has a high drain/current/power consumption. I also charge the SP3.
It is better to use a DC to DC converter and as soon as a legitimate sensibly priced one comes out for the SP3 I will probably buy it.
Perhaps I should add, I am an electronics engineer.
Best regards
Chris
