inverter or generator?

[phunkyguy]

I've recently installed a couple power inverters into my vehicle, 2 very stoudt models. The wire up similar to an audio amp as far as in the car is concerned, but basically, these wonder gadgets turn 12V power into 110v.

I've used generators before, but these seem like a healthy alternative.

Had good results in the car, planning on pairing up an inverter with an Optima Sealed Deep Cycle battery.

Just wondering if anyone else is doing anything like this.

[visualove]

With the inverter, be sure the load you plug in is within the capacity of the inverter and the vehicle circuit fuse is big enough. If your wiring is warm at all it's too small. Car batteries are designed for starting power, not long term drain, so running the engine to run your inverters is good. Unfortunately this makes a very noisy power source because of the spark plugs, etc., maybe noisy enough to destroy equipment. Deep cycle (also called marine) battery power is the best, but expensive. Running a larger type diesel generator off bio diesel has a lot of advantages, but these are very expensive (rentable though) Just the VJ rig is probably under 1000 watts, but diesel generators are 15000 on up.

[phunkyguy]

i've found some great deep cycle batteries in the Optima line. They claim to be ideal for inverter situations. All my inverters are 750W Base Load, 1500W Max. Based on my calculations, one 77Ah deep cycle from those guys should power a 1900 lumen projector (250W constant load) for about 3 hours. Throw in a laptop with wifi and stream video to a projector that's completely self sufficient.

I plan to build pseudo power-packs out of a deep cycle, an inverter, and a deep cycle charger. 3 of them would run my rig and 2 projectors completely independant of any power source at all.

Since power's always such an issue, this would even be ideal in a place where the power hookup is less than great.

Bring it home and charge them all in half a day, ready for the next night!