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| leonski Member Since: 14 Dec 2009 Location: Northumberland Posts: 205   
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We are traveling up North next week and I have seen a cheap inverter as a temporary arrangement until I sort the electrics properly!
Its only going to be used to charge a macbook/phones. Just interested if anyone has one of these or if one can be recommended. https://www.amazon.co.uk/BESTEK-Charger-In...op?ie=UTF8 Cheers, Leon |
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10th Aug 2017 7:59am |
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| JJ Member Since: 18 May 2009 Location: Winchester Posts: 932 
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Not the one you picture but I bought this cheap inverter about 3 years ago as a temporary solution and it has worked perfectly for my limited needs ( phone and laptop ) so no reason why the one you have chosen shouldn't do the job, it looks a lot better than mine in terms of spec. HR064 Hampshire and Berkshire 4x4 Response |
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10th Aug 2017 8:17am |
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| JJ Member Since: 18 May 2009 Location: Winchester Posts: 932
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Hmm, know what you mean. I wouldn't leave mine running without being in attendance. The reviews on Amazon look positive, especially if you rule out the numpties.
Hopefully someone has one and can comment. HR064 Hampshire and Berkshire 4x4 Response |
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10th Aug 2017 11:03am |
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| zsd-puma Member Since: 09 Aug 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 2720 
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Am i the only one that finds Amazon reviewer numpties entertaining? I love the reviews you get on self assembly stuff, "poor instructions", "took hours to put together". When it has 3 parts and took 10 min to screw together. 
If that's all then you're probably better off getting car chargers for your phones and a car charger for the laptop. It'll be more effcient than ramping the voltage up only to step it back down again. It might even work out cheaper. |
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10th Aug 2017 4:31pm |
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| Cupboard Member Since: 21 Mar 2014 Location: Suffolk Posts: 2971 
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^^ That.
I recently bought one of these: http://cpc.farnell.com/magnese/ma-102910/d...dp/PW04055 which is completely useless for charging a Macbook but works extremely well for charging my Thinkpad. The sole advantage of an inverter is the flexibility. You can charge anything you like with them. |
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14th Aug 2017 6:35pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 19568
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If you do go for one go for Pure Sine wave.
 Diesel$ Live$ Matter. ⛽️🛢️👨🔧🧰⚙️ RED, WHITE & BOOST! 🇬🇧 |
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14th Aug 2017 6:47pm |
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| miker Member Since: 13 Sep 2015 Location: Surrey Posts: 1758 
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Pure sine depends on the application. If it's just for charging phones/laptops then a modified sine is fine, as most of the smaller/cheaper units are.
I've got a waeco modified sine wave PP300 inverter, that's perfectly good for running chargers. |
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14th Aug 2017 6:52pm |
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| AMBxx Member Since: 24 Jul 2016 Location: York Posts: 985 
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Just don't try boiling a kettle  |
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15th Aug 2017 10:06am |
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| miker Member Since: 13 Sep 2015 Location: Surrey Posts: 1758
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NLEMBX6
Just need to choose the right inverter if you want to boil kettles! |
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21st Aug 2017 10:40am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 16871 
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^^ Now that's what I call an inverter, very impressive spec!
I notice that it doesn't appear to say the current draw on the 12V supply when running at 3kW, however, which I would estimate to be around 320A. |
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21st Aug 2017 11:12am |
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| Cupboard Member Since: 21 Mar 2014 Location: Suffolk Posts: 2971
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It's difficult to say really, because you don't know what the voltage will be.
If the engine is running then you might be able to get 100A out of a Puma alternator (it's rated at 150A), so at least half of the power is going to have to come from the battery. The voltage will be higher at the start than at the end. If you want a kettle for your car you could always buy a 12V one... |
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21st Aug 2017 12:25pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 19568
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Yes, a 12v kettle would be much better.
It says input Amps selectable upto 90A so I would round that off at 100A. You would be able to do that on a Puma, but will of course put an inherent large load on the Alterator. I wouldn't recommend having lights on for example, sportlights and or audio too. But in reality you'd not likely use those things anyway at the same time. We are lucky in the respect the Puma has a relatively high output. This is why we can safely run pretty high output audio Amps if we needed to, with no changes.to the Alternator. It doesn't account for losses due to Earth continuity though. The idea of selectable input which I'd have thought is switchable is for efficiency. Simply adjust to cover and suit the appliance you are using. The input would be max 12.1v ~ 14.3v DC likely regulated and at a draw of 90A (100A I'd estimate if you take into account current / voltage spikes.) The output should be upto around 220v - 240v 13A AC or lower depending on device used. Based on just looking quickly at it, so don't quote me exactly on it. Diesel$ Live$ Matter. ⛽️🛢️👨🔧🧰⚙️ RED, WHITE & BOOST! 🇬🇧 |
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21st Aug 2017 12:42pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 16871
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You won't even get close to 3kW (let alone the 9kW surge limit) with a nominal 12V 90A supply, even ignoring all losses.
90A at 12V is a max of around 1kW. The 90A figure mentioned in the blurb is the maximum battery charging current the device can provide when running on ac. |
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21st Aug 2017 1:12pm |
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| miker Member Since: 13 Sep 2015 Location: Surrey Posts: 1758
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It's a marine type alternator, the selectable current is for battery charging. I wasn't suggesting it seriously for use in a defender!! Just pointing out that you cant get some very large 12-230V inverters!
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21st Aug 2017 1:15pm |
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