On Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:15:26 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote:




Most vehicles today will run a 1200 watt inverter indefinitely while idling,
but you may need to turn on the air conditioner (which increases the engine
idle) or turn up the idle speed (not legal €“ do not do this) to make sure
the alternator is putting out full power.


Good article, but the above needs checking out.
Way too simplistic.
I looked fairly hard at this when I was considering buying an
inverter.
A typical 100A alternator (I think the alt in my Lumina is 105A) won't
put out nearly that much at idle, so you want to put a meter on your
alternator to know what you're getting.
From what I've seen alt amp ratings assume about 3000 rpm.
You might get 2/3 of rating at idle.
There's some inverter loss.
High output alts are available for most cars, but it's an expense.
Some car ECU's will limit alternator output to gain efficiency, so
check that out.
Inverters should to be wired correctly to the car's charging system
right, with heavy gauge wire and lugs.
Getting by with jumper cables might work, might not.
You'll probably want to add permanent connects to the car.
Good sine wave inverters cost more. No surprise there.
Anyway, you have to check out all the factors to get a realistic
assessment of what you can actually power continually.
I liked the idea, and it's doable, but decided to just buy a couple
extra flashlights and some more candles.

--Vic