12 volt inverter.

I am thinking of getting a 12 volt inverter of some sort of wattage for the wagon one day. I`ve done the usual Google search here and there, just wondering what other people have / are using. At the moment I have only a couple of self inflating air mattresses of around 75w, a camera battery to charge. I have seen a Repco 600w pure sine wave inverters for around $249 on spesh, Jaycar 600w pure sine wave with 20A solar regulator built in to it for around $499. I have looked at 1000w inverters and don`t mind having extra power for Justin Case. I`m open minded on other brands and know there are cheapies and expensive units out there. I`m just looking for a reliable unit and eventually hook up solar power one day, hence looking at the Jaycar inverter with the built in regulator.

Best one I ever had came from Aussie battery and solar but think they have closed , worst was repco closely followed by the cheap arse 3000 watt I have now .
1000 watt is heaps big enough and in hindsight probably less , remember you need to get power to the unit so try and keep the run short as possible .

Thanks GQtdauto. I own a GU as you probably have noticed, so some where inside near the glove box area I was planning and being hooked up to the dual battery. I was wondering if the Repco inverter was a rebadged item of another brand. Was looking for a brand that had a reasonable / good warranty on it too.

Go with a pure sine wave inverter. I am on my 4th inverter upgrade and currently run a 3000w/6000w surge unit and that comfortably runs the expresso coffee machine and all my power tools and is smooth enough to run computers off it as well. It cost around $400 but its big - got it off ebay. I also have a 1000w pure sine wave unit that would cater for most things, except the coffee machine. there are websites around that will guide you regards the actual size you need to cater for start-up etc. Microwaves for example are energy gobblers.

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Originally Posted by Bush Ranger

Thanks GQtdauto. I own a GU as you probably have noticed, so some where inside near the glove box area I was planning and being hooked up to the dual battery. I was wondering if the Repco inverter was a rebadged item of another brand. Was looking for a brand that had a reasonable / good warranty on it too.

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No idea on the rebadge they all look very different to me , don't know of anyone fitting one up front but I'm sure someone has , this is where a three battery system shines , my inverter is accessible through the rear side window and is bolted to the cargo barrier.
Seen a few in the back of 4wds in various spots but never in the front , seriously peebee a coffee frother ? My kids reckon we Glamp .

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Originally Posted by PeeBee

Go with a pure sine wave inverter. I am on my 4th inverter upgrade and currently run a 3000w/6000w surge unit and that comfortably runs the expresso coffee machine and all my power tools and is smooth enough to run computers off it as well. It cost around $400 but its big - got it off ebay. I also have a 1000w pure sine wave unit that would cater for most things, except the coffee machine. there are websites around that will guide you regards the actual size you need to cater for start-up etc. Microwaves for example are energy gobblers.

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Sine wave was what I had in mind and starting to think a 1000w would be good for the extra power if needed. I was looking at the price difference between 600w and 1000w in a few brands, there`s a couple of hundred difference and thought the extra be good. As long as I have enough power to run a 55 inch tv when the fire runs out, lol.

@GQtdauto A third battery be a good idea to have, but at the moment, I have just a basic set up of just a wagon, with dual battery and it suits me at the moment. I have seen a Prado with a 1000w inverter screwed to the side of the passenger side of the console under the dash, but I`ll have to find a neater approach if there`s one.

Yep @GQtdauto - a coffee machine , up in the snow @AB was chasing a billy to boil water in the morning , he asked @PeeBee for a billy & Phil asked why he wanted to boil water , @AB said he wanted coffee - I was just about to jokingly say he's probly got a coffee machine in that thing of his then Phil says " no need to boil water - I have an expresso machine , what flavour would you like ? " then proceeded to bring out a plethora of flavour pods 😝 Unbelievable in a foot of snow haha

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Originally Posted by Sprock

Yep @GQtdauto - a coffee machine , up in the snow @AB was chasing a billy to boil water in the morning , he asked @PeeBee for a billy & Phil asked why he wanted to boil water , @AB said he wanted coffee - I was just about to jokingly say he's probly got a coffee machine in that thing of his then Phil says " no need to boil water - I have an expresso machine , what flavour would you like ? " then proceeded to bring out a plethora of flavour pods 😝 Unbelievable in a foot of snow haha

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Hahaha yup ! At MBs Meetup months ago Phil said I'll make you a cuppa in the morning ... Ah yeah. He was not joking , had a proper machine and all... Had an awesome coffee while checking out his Swiss Army Multi Function GQ .

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I've had a few inverters, all pure sine wave. Modified sine wave units are cheaper but are not good for some appliances, sticking with pure sine is a much safer option. The price of them has also fallen in rcent years.

However BEWARE! Oils aint oils & Pure sine inverters aint pure sine inverters if you get my drift. I've been down the cheap/bargain priced pure sine path & had nothing but grief. Fans not working when they should, no fan fitted to unit which needed one causing it to overheat & switch on & off every minute or so, & another which just stopped working after a few months.

There must be good cheap ones around, but for my money the better quality dosn't cost an excessive amount more these days & is worth paying the extra.
I'mnow running two Victron Phoenix pure sine wave inverters & can hnestly say I don't believe they can be beaten for quality. My 375w unit I tested at a load of 500w continuous for an hour & it managed without problem. They are under-rated whereas many of the cheapies use the higher surge rating as though it were the continuous rating in their advertising.

Advising what wattage inverter to get without knowing what the power requirements of the appliances you want to run is not really of much help. First know what you want to run & then buy the smallest inverter which will run it. It will save money on the cost of the inverter & have less 'overhead power' being sucked out of your battery(ies) just to run the inverter itself. Better quality inverters will also be more efficient than cheapies so will be kinder to your battery(ies).

Remember too that the more you drag out of your batteries with an inverter, the more you have to put back in. Unless you have a charging system to keep up with what the inverter drags out you'll be in trouble. Eg. a 240w (at 240v) rated appliance will pull 20 amps out of a 12v battery every hour. Even with that you need a charging system which can replenish that amount if not resorting to a gennie or mains power regularly. If using the full capacity of a 600w inverter - you would be pulling 50amps from a 12v battery each hour ... that is pretty much the full useable capacity of the average single 4wd aux battery in 1 hour!

Check these out for top quality inverters

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PIN123750....c100005.m1851

They can be bought with a standard Aus plug outlet rather than the 'VE Direct', but it may be cheaper to just buy a VE Direct one & get a short conversion cable. I'm not recommending this particular size or seller. It's the same model as one of mine.

Not so long ago inverters were about a dollar a watt and only a few brands on the market , nowadays the market is flooded with them , Cuppa is right about some advertised as pure sine wave are not as advertised when they arrive so be wary .

The longer I do my home work, the better the out come hopefully. @Cuppa I like the inverter you suggested, as it says it has a 5 year warranty.

At a guess I'd say young Cuppa mate knows his invertors and somewhat relies on his good choices now living outa the back of his ripper podder somewhere Outback-Aus ;-)
EDIT: Whoops, 'inverters' meant:-)