Power Inverters

[chopper6358]

We just go to the marina....it has a breakfast buffet that opens at 6 am and always leave with a large to go cup of coffee

[RonKMiller]

You definitely get what you pay for with inverters.

I can buy a 1000 watt unit at Harbor Freight for $79.00.

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This Tripp Lite 1000 watt unit I installed in my boat is $417.00. It has been used a lot and I've never had a moment's problem with it. Generally speaking the more heavy duty units are much more efficient, run cooler and provide *clean* power for running sophisticated electronics without fear of damage. I can't imagine why you would need any more power than 1000 watts.

Tripp Lite inverter.jpg (30 KiB) Viewed 722 times

I've got 3 AC outlets on my boat and have run a 32" LED TV, DVD player, stereo, coffee grinder and laptop. It won't run a hair dryer or electric coffee pot. I use two independent deep cycle RV batteries with solar panels for charging. Most of the use is evening, so the panels do a great job of providing me with fully charged batteries by the end of the day.

As others have warned don't even THINK of using your starting battery to connect to an inverter - once deeply discharged you'll never be able to recharge it with your motor's system - since it wasn't designed to do so in the first place. You could easily damage your motor's charging system.