Inverters

[Misty]

Hi all,
I just got my new catalog from Heartland America. It has the 5000 watt/10000 peak inverter for $399. This is a really good price. I paid $550 for mine. I just thought I would let you know in case if anyone is considering going inverter.

[Doug]

manamana?

http://www.theinverterstore.com/pwrig7000toplarge.html

http://rome.ro/sesame_street_manamana.mpg

[ferret]

I see a glow in the distance....

Wow! How tempting......

[Misty]

Wow 7000 watt, I suppose you want me to buy it so you can see how it works. Sorry dear, its a little too pricey for me right now. But I want it. Hopefully it will come down a little more in price soon. Call me when it gets down to a grand.

[PAWS]

Doug...

Hey, it's a lot less than I paid for my generator!!! Doug--do you know how long it lasts if running hard before needing to be recharged??? Wow, 20 - 30 amp outlets!! How much it weighs? Someday, I would like to sell my genny and get an inverter, but I wouldn't be able to plug in at night unless it was portable because I have to park the trailer at a storage facility at night I want an inverter to work for my situation sooooooo bad.

[toomuchfunbnme]

Inverters for dummies

I was wondering if you guys could explain inverters for dummies here. I am thinking that an inverter takes power form a battery or batteries and converts it to electricity? If so, do you need to have a large battery pack and charge them nightly? Have you ever run out of power using and inverter? Hmmm.

[Misty]

inverters for dummies

Hi, the inverter converts power from batteries to regular household electricity. The inverter itself is not heavy it is the batteries that are so heavy. I have 8 batteries, that weigh 75lbs apeice. My system is not connected to the truck so I have to plug it in at night to charge the batteries. If you have a large alternator in your van then you can charge off of the engine, but you would still want to charge at night too. When I had a smaller inverter I would occassionally run out of electricity. However I always had enough to run the lights and clippers, I just wouldn't have enough to run the HV or the clipper vac. The system I have now is more than I really need. I just charge the batteries over the weekend and on Wednesday night. Wednesday and Thursday are my busiest days so I want to make sure that I have enough electricity for my Sheep dog on Thursday. If I forget to charge the batteries on Wed. then I can only use one motor on my HV for any dogs after the OES. So even though I run out of electricity I can still get my work done. It is not like a generator that shuts down completely.
Since I set up this system in April of 2005 it broke down once. I finished bathing a dog and suddenly had no electricity at all. I opened up the battery box and started wiggling cables, there was a big spark that scared me to death. I called Doug, and figured out that a nut had come off of one of the batteries. I was afraid to touch it again. He managed to persuade me that I could touch it. It only took me a couple of seconds to put the nut back on and the electricity came back on and I was able to finish my day. I have checked the water in the batteries a couple of times but they have been fine. That is the only maintenance I have done to my inverter and batteries.
It is very quiet, there is a fan on the inverter and the battery charger but they don't make much noise at all.

[Doug]

Toomuch

Yes

You can run out for a veriety of reasons and if you plan to work a full day with typical grooming equipment like normal large hv dryers you will need to charge up from a land line over night.
Sometimes the short easy answer only cheats you.Was that the answer you were looking for.

[toomuchfunbnme]

Inverters for dummies

Thanks for explaining about inverters Misty. I had no idea. Wow! Eight 75 pound batteries! That's pretty heavy.

[Doug]

7000

The 7000-watt is already in a van in Stephens’s neck of the woods. It’s been running for a few months so you cannot be the first one misty. I could not possibly use that much wattage myself so it would only serve me for entertainment sake as a form of irritation.Which has some novel value but it's not important enough to waste my time and energy on that.

[diamienono]

Hi, the inverter converts power from batteries to regular household electricity. The inverter itself is not heavy it is the batteries that are so heavy. I have 8 batteries, that weigh 75lbs apeice. My system is not connected to the truck so I have to plug it in at night to charge the batteries. If you have a large alternator in your van then you can charge off of the engine, but you would still want to charge at night too. When I had a smaller inverter I would occassionally run out of electricity. However I always had enough to run the lights and clippers, I just wouldn't have enough to run the HV or the clipper vac. The system I have now is more than I really need. I just charge the batteries over the weekend and on Wednesday night. Wednesday and Thursday are my busiest days so I want to make sure that I have enough electricity for my Sheep dog on Thursday. If I forget to charge the batteries on Wed. then I can only use one motor on my HV for any dogs after the OES. So even though I run out of electricity I can still get my work done. It is not like a generator that shuts down completely.
Since I set up this system in April of 2005 it broke down once. I finished bathing a dog and suddenly had no electricity at all. I opened up the battery box and started wiggling cables, there was a big spark that scared me to death. I called Doug, and figured out that a nut had come off of one of the batteries. I was afraid to touch it again. He managed to persuade me that I could touch it. It only took me a couple of seconds to put the nut back on and the electricity came back on and I was able to finish my day. I have checked the water in the batteries a couple of times but they have been fine. That is the only maintenance I have done to my inverter and batteries.
It is very quiet, there is a fan on the inverter and the battery charger but they don't make much noise at all.

That is a lot of weight. Inverters sound awesome, but VERY heavy

[toomuchfunbnme]

Inverters for dummies

I am wondering if it is necessary to use this many large batteries with an inverter, to operate a grooming van? Also do they make smaller batteries instead?

[barknpurr]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

I want one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pawsitively Purrfect]

From what I understand, the more batteries you have the longer the inverter(s) run. I have 2 inverters and 5 BIG batteries and run ALL day long, 10+ dogs no problem. Glad I saved my money for the inverter system and never had a generator.

[Misty]

My first inverter was a 3000 watt. First I had 4 really big batteries with that but I wasn't happy with it. Then we got 17 little riding lawn mower batteries. That was better, so I got an extra 10. That took up a lot of space and the cableing was attrocious. I used to get so mad at Doug because I couldn't even check the water in the batteries because of all of the stupid cables. The cables would come loose or get corroded and it would take hours to figure which one had the problem and fix it. I like my new system so much better the batteries are all in a box where I can get to them and I can check the water and make sure they aren't getting corroded and that the cables are all tight. I really hate having to call a man for something simple.