installing power inverter in bed of truck. anyone did this??
09-26-2012, 08:54 AM
#11
fxmf4
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by strawsb
That is a good idea but I wired the 2500 watt inverter to another battery with a run over to charge both! The wires to the inverter is 4 gauge which is about 1/4' and plenty of wire for running to the bed! I have enough to run a full size table saw as well as a 110 volt mig welder! That 800 watt one has no chance and the 25ft power cord is a bad idea plugged into a 800 watt inverter to run stuff needs a lot of amps to make it though cord and power something!
09-26-2012, 12:34 PM
#13
Ford Tech
Originally Posted by brandonjr36
Did you put battery in bed?? Or where?
09-26-2012, 12:47 PM
#14
fxmf4
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by strawsb
He wanted it installed in the bed but we made a bracket and installed if under the hood! Have 2 optima yellow tops installed one in factory location and one in front of that sideways!
10-29-2013, 12:05 AM
#15
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My 2500 Watt inverter install with lots of pics
First, I did the calcs- how much power can I expect out of my 2012 F150 SCREW?
According to the Ford Specs (Page 12) it is 200A, sometimes more, depending on how cool the alternator is! 12V*200A=2400W. I picked the 2500W model.
According to the manual of my inverter, it said for runs from 6-10 ft, I needed #0000 (4-0) copper cable. I used welding cable found on Ebay. You can also find the connectors, heat shrink there.
had a great video on how to solder your own. Most welding shops carry all of this and can probably crimp the terminals on too.
Anything with that much current carrying capacity needs a fuse. If you were to short it to body somehow without one, it would only take a few seconds to weld itself there and probably catch your rig on fire.
I took the battery out, drilled a couple holes to install a contactor. Its a giant relay that can handle 200A continuous. They use them on wenches, golf carts.
I then went from the contactor under the truck near the passenger door. I did this with both the positive and the negative. You don't want 200A
It sits under the passenger seat. The seat is pushed ALL the way foreward here, to make the inverter visible. Normally, you can't see it. Also, have it on stand-offs so the air flow under the seat can still reach the rear passengers. From here, I can easily run an extension back out to the bottom of the truck to the bed, or put some outlets in the center console. The contactor is driven by a relay with a switch that I put near the emergency brake. It was easy to get the small wires to the switch through the firewall, connecting one side to the under-hood fuse box, and the other switch wire going to the relay. This way, the inverter was guaranteed not to draw any current when the truck was off. This model inverter actually has a 'remote' signal, but the inverter still draws 100's of milliamps when the remote signal has the inverter off. I didn't want my truck sitting at the airport for a couple weeks and not be able to start on a cold winter morning.
I am able to pull 2400W continuously (using two hair dryers as a test). I have not tested how the alternator does on a constant load like this for long periods. My guess is that it would heat up quite a bit if I used it at 2500W for a long time. My use case is tools- it runs a huge compressor, a welder, a chop saw all intermittently as you'd use them normally in a shop.
According to the Ford Specs (Page 12) it is 200A, sometimes more, depending on how cool the alternator is! 12V*200A=2400W. I picked the 2500W model.
According to the manual of my inverter, it said for runs from 6-10 ft, I needed #0000 (4-0) copper cable. I used welding cable found on Ebay. You can also find the connectors, heat shrink there.
Anything with that much current carrying capacity needs a fuse. If you were to short it to body somehow without one, it would only take a few seconds to weld itself there and probably catch your rig on fire.
I took the battery out, drilled a couple holes to install a contactor. Its a giant relay that can handle 200A continuous. They use them on wenches, golf carts.
I then went from the contactor under the truck near the passenger door. I did this with both the positive and the negative. You don't want 200A
It sits under the passenger seat. The seat is pushed ALL the way foreward here, to make the inverter visible. Normally, you can't see it. Also, have it on stand-offs so the air flow under the seat can still reach the rear passengers. From here, I can easily run an extension back out to the bottom of the truck to the bed, or put some outlets in the center console. The contactor is driven by a relay with a switch that I put near the emergency brake. It was easy to get the small wires to the switch through the firewall, connecting one side to the under-hood fuse box, and the other switch wire going to the relay. This way, the inverter was guaranteed not to draw any current when the truck was off. This model inverter actually has a 'remote' signal, but the inverter still draws 100's of milliamps when the remote signal has the inverter off. I didn't want my truck sitting at the airport for a couple weeks and not be able to start on a cold winter morning.
I am able to pull 2400W continuously (using two hair dryers as a test). I have not tested how the alternator does on a constant load like this for long periods. My guess is that it would heat up quite a bit if I used it at 2500W for a long time. My use case is tools- it runs a huge compressor, a welder, a chop saw all intermittently as you'd use them normally in a shop.
10-29-2013, 12:21 AM
#16
Senior Member
First, I did the calcs- how much power can I expect out of my 2012 F150 SCREW? According to the Ford Specs (Page 12) it is 200A, sometimes more, depending on how cool the alternator is! 12V*200A=2400W. I picked the 2500W model. According to the manual of my inverter, it said for runs from 6-10 ft, I needed #0000 (4-0) copper cable. I used welding cable found on Ebay. You can also find the connectors, heat shrink there. Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2XMkEGRzGU had a great video on how to solder your own. Most welding shops carry all of this and can probably crimp the terminals on too. Anything with that much current carrying capacity needs a fuse. If you were to short it to body somehow without one, it would only take a few seconds to weld itself there and probably catch your rig on fire. I took the battery out, drilled a couple holes to install a contactor. Its a giant relay that can handle 200A continuous. They use them on wenches, golf carts. I then went from the contactor under the truck near the passenger door. I did this with both the positive and the negative. You don't want 200A It sits under the passenger seat. The seat is pushed ALL the way foreward here, to make the inverter visible. Normally, you can't see it. Also, have it on stand-offs so the air flow under the seat can still reach the rear passengers. From here, I can easily run an extension back out to the bottom of the truck to the bed, or put some outlets in the center console. The contactor is driven by a relay with a switch that I put near the emergency brake. It was easy to get the small wires to the switch through the firewall, connecting one side to the under-hood fuse box, and the other switch wire going to the relay. This way, the inverter was guaranteed not to draw any current when the truck was off. This model inverter actually has a 'remote' signal, but the inverter still draws 100's of milliamps when the remote signal has the inverter off. I didn't want my truck sitting at the airport for a couple weeks and not be able to start on a cold winter morning. I am able to pull 2400W continuously (using two hair dryers as a test). I have not tested how the alternator does on a constant load like this for long periods. My guess is that it would heat up quite a bit if I used it at 2500W for a long time. My use case is tools- it runs a huge compressor, a welder, a chop saw all intermittently as you'd use them normally in a shop.
10-29-2013, 12:20 PM
#17
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Thanks for your opinion, but I didn't see any data there. I measured 180A of current going into the inverter for a period of 10 minutes when I had the maximum load connected (one 1600W hair dryer and one 1200W hair dryer). Its when the truck isn't running that you can't expect that kind of current for long.
You're right, you wouldn't want to run the stereo and the lights/fog lights on while trying to pull 2500W from the inverter. According to the alternator spec, it can handle 200A+ of current. The inverter measures the input voltage and the wattage output. I also plugged in a Kill-a-watt device to make sure that the inverter was doing what it said it was doing.
Thanks again, I love this kind of stuff and the discussion about it.
You're right, you wouldn't want to run the stereo and the lights/fog lights on while trying to pull 2500W from the inverter. According to the alternator spec, it can handle 200A+ of current. The inverter measures the input voltage and the wattage output. I also plugged in a Kill-a-watt device to make sure that the inverter was doing what it said it was doing.
Thanks again, I love this kind of stuff and the discussion about it.
Last edited by djodom; 10-29-2013 at 12:24 PM.
10-29-2013, 12:51 PM
#18
Senior Member
Nice set up. A bit bigger than mine lol. Not to hate but am currently looking a getting a new alt and they are only 110 amp. Do you have a high output aftermarket one? You can still pull more than 110 amps but you will start to drain the battery even with the truck on and dumping 110 amps into the system. Just wondering what the heck you would need two hair dryers for lol must have some long hair lol.
10-29-2013, 01:10 PM
#19
Senior Member
Thanks for your opinion, but I didn't see any data there. I measured 180A of current going into the inverter for a period of 10 minutes when I had the maximum load connected (one 1600W hair dryer and one 1200W hair dryer). Its when the truck isn't running that you can't expect that kind of current for long. You're right, you wouldn't want to run the stereo and the lights/fog lights on while trying to pull 2500W from the inverter. According to the alternator spec, it can handle 200A+ of current. The inverter measures the input voltage and the wattage output. I also plugged in a Kill-a-watt device to make sure that the inverter was doing what it said it was doing. Thanks again, I love this kind of stuff and the discussion about it.