power inverters for minivan

[victorylocksmith]

so being a new locksmith, i am prone to making very poor decisions. recently, i came to possess a 2007 toyota minivan. who would operate such an illegitimate vehicle you ask? this guy right here! well considering before that, i actually drove a 1995 toyota camry around for work, i would say it was an amazing upgrade. anyways, being the newbie that i am, i figured i needed to get an inverter to run the hpc mini speedex that i purchased a while ago at a Clark trade show. i purchase a RIGID inverter that only supports up to 100 watts and looking back on it, i have to say it was an absolutely retarded idea. it only goes up to 12 volts and after doing some research, i see that most people use an inverter with at least 100 volts and are still running into times of not having enough volts.

so i made a bad uninformed decision and am pretty certain that i cannot return the item considering i threw away the packaging and dont remember where i put the receipt. from the looks of it, any inverter that plugs into the cig lighter will not be acceptable because from what i have researched, the cig lighter is designed to only support up to 150 watts. any advice and or solutions for my predicament would be much appreciated. money is of course an issue considering that i recently upgraded from a 1995 camry, which by the way recently has a jammed ignition cylinder. the irony truly never ends, a locksmith that needs to replace his own car ignition.

[victorylocksmith]

im beginning to feel like buying the inverter was truly a bad idea. i pretty much bought a toy and at this rate, maybe i should just bring some rubber duckies with me to work from now on in my minivan. ugh

[2octops]

Do you actually know any other locksmiths that successfully operate a full time business? Have you ever seen their set ups before?

2500 watts is pretty standard to run the needed equipment. These are hard wired to the vehicle, typically using a secondary battery with an isolator.

Redi-Line generators are also very popular. The 500 watt will run a key machine and a light but not much more. The 1600 watt is what most use if going this route.

[victorylocksmith]

Do you actually know any other locksmiths that successfully operate a full time business? Have you ever seen their set ups before?

2500 watts is pretty standard to run the needed equipment. These are hard wired to the vehicle, typically using a secondary battery with an isolator.

Redi-Line generators are also very popular. The 500 watt will run a key machine and a light but not much more. The 1600 watt is what most use if going this route.

thanks a lot for the information, looks like im going to need to save up quite a bit more money before i can get power tools and my key machine running with my vehicle. here in california, the qualifications and prerequisites are not very stringent, so as long as you have a clean record, anyone can apply to be a locksmith and will most likely become one. the irony is that the company i subcontract for all have guys who are equally inexperienced as i. at one point, we had a key machine being shared between like 10 guys, all in different counties. my other buddy uses a gmc colorado and hardwires an inverter to his car, amusingly enough, he uses plastic wallmart shelves as storage devices and doesnt even have his key machine bolted down, it just slides around in his shelf. for the most part, i can avoid issues with actually having a motorized key machine because i have a pak-a-punch but, it seemed like a good idea to get the key machine running in the car, instead of just having it lying around at home. i guess, in the meanwhile as i save up more money, i will just have to duplicate keys ahead of time at home, so that i can have extra keys on hand for other projects as to save on the wear and tear of the pak-a-punch. as for actually making duplicates in the field, i will have to manually cut each key after decoding.

thanks a lot for the information, it seems like i will look into getting a generator and another battery. if you have any advice for hardwiring the inverter to the actual car battery, it would be much appreciated.

[2octops]

Sounds like you were working for a real hack if they did not even supply a key machine.

Are you planning on doing this as a sole source of income?

Inverters come with instructions for wiring. So do battery isolators. You can usually pick up both at a local RV dealership or supplier. Most use welding cable to hook them up with. The wire alone will cost more than your second battery and isolator combined. Most use gel cell batteries for a second battery to keep from having acid spills or vapor inside the van.

[victorylocksmith]

Sounds like you were working for a real hack if they did not even supply a key machine.

Are you planning on doing this as a sole source of income?

Inverters come with instructions for wiring. So do battery isolators. You can usually pick up both at a local RV dealership or supplier. Most use welding cable to hook them up with. The wire alone will cost more than your second battery and isolator combined. Most use gel cell batteries for a second battery to keep from having acid spills or vapor inside the van.

it is all a work in progress, i am attempting to make it a primary source for income. i also do various other activities such as event setup with triathlons and other odd jobs. yes, indeed the company i sub-contract for is truly a hack. however, with the contractual agreement we have signed, it is more like we are employees rather than independent contractors. as a result, we have to supply all our own tools and vehicles as well as pay for a fair share of expenses while they rake in 50% of the profits. it is what it is, the learning curve is steep and quite frankly i dont know all that much. however, everyday i attempt to learn more and well, there is progress.

i also train and fight mma/bjj/muay thai which i can say without any doubt, i have a decent mastery of. however, it is very difficult to drum up business other than personal training, which i have little interest in. i primarily deal with competitive training, whether it be for myself or for others. this however, is a very niche group and is highly unprofitable.

thanks again for the information. maybe this will make me seem even more like a guy who plays with rubber duckies in his minivan, playing make believe as a locksmith. i went to costco for lunch, because i'm broke and while i was there i looked around and saw some generators, sure the oil bill will add up but, as you stated before: isolators, batteries, and inverters are $$$. maybe i should just get a gas generator and pull it out when i am stopped and working in the field so i can have decent wattage and ventilation. i am not in the position to be partnering up someone so it's not as if somebody can really even work in the van while i am driving around because the minivan is too cramped and i have plastic wallmart shelf containers instead of an actual work area.

[billdeserthills]

I've been working as a locksmith since 1994 and I have never understood guys who wanna put an inverter into their vehicle. I run my key machines with 12 volt DC motors right off the single battery the vehicle runs on & I have never seen any drawback other than the cost of the 12 volt motor. Anyhow Keedex makes the best motor, it is very strong and I own a couple of them as I have two trucks set up. I recently bought a Nissan NV high top 3500 van, which has a factory installed inverter, but I don't really know what to do with it. Anyhow all my tools are battery operated with 12volt dc chargers, so what need would I have for an inverter?
Congrats on the mini-speedex, it is a very solidly made little machine & so much stronger than the little Ilco 008, plus the speedex comes with a 4-way set of vises & a brush, so much better than the Ilco's crappy key scraper idea.

[victorylocksmith]

I've been working as a locksmith since 1994 and I have never understood guys who wanna put an inverter into their vehicle. I run my key machines with 12 volt DC motors right off the single battery the vehicle runs on & I have never seen any drawback other than the cost of the 12 volt motor. Anyhow Keedex makes the best motor, it is very strong and I own a couple of them as I have two trucks set up. I recently bought a Nissan NV high top 3500 van, which has a factory installed inverter, but I don't really know what to do with it. Anyhow all my tools are battery operated with 12volt dc chargers, so what need would I have for an inverter?
Congrats on the mini-speedex, it is a very solidly made little machine & so much stronger than the little Ilco 008, plus the speedex comes with a 4-way set of vises & a brush, so much better than the Ilco's crappy key scraper idea.

please sir, if you may: what are these 12 volt DC motors you speak of? how do i go about installing them? how much does it cost and should i be concerned about my battery dying in the middle of the ghetto?

[billdeserthills]

The Keedex K-5 Speedo II Motor is available from most any locksmith supply house you can cut all the keys you need and your auto battery won't even notice. I got one last year for about $125, but I understand some places get almost $300 for one. This motor will last and last, just don't drop it, although the last one I had was abused by the shipper and I wound up sending it to the factory for repair. Keedex is a great company too, they fixed my motor for free & sent me a 6-pack of their armored cylinder rings for my trouble. You can put keedex K-5 Motor in your browser and take a look

[billdeserthills]

I've been working as a locksmith since 1994 and I have never understood guys who wanna put an inverter into their vehicle. I run my key machines with 12 volt DC motors right off the single battery the vehicle runs on & I have never seen any drawback other than the cost of the 12 volt motor. Anyhow Keedex makes the best motor, it is very strong and I own a couple of them as I have two trucks set up. I recently bought a Nissan NV high top 3500 van, which has a factory installed inverter, but I don't really know what to do with it. Anyhow all my tools are battery operated with 12volt dc chargers, so what need would I have for an inverter?
Congrats on the mini-speedex, it is a very solidly made little machine & so much stronger than the little Ilco 008, plus the speedex comes with a 4-way set of vises & a brush, so much better than the Ilco's crappy key scraper idea.

please sir, if you may: what are these 12 volt DC motors you speak of? how do i go about installing them? how much does it cost and should i be concerned about my battery dying in the middle of the ghetto?

I actually have a mini-speedex and just bolted the keedex motor to it, when the original HPC 12volt dc motor started dieing. You just unscrew the original motor and bolt the new one onto the frame, & swap the wiring, it is easy. Even on older machines the most I have had to do was file the holes in the frame a bit.

[cledry]

I've been working as a locksmith since 1994 and I have never understood guys who wanna put an inverter into their vehicle. I run my key machines with 12 volt DC motors right off the single battery the vehicle runs on & I have never seen any drawback other than the cost of the 12 volt motor. Anyhow Keedex makes the best motor, it is very strong and I own a couple of them as I have two trucks set up. I recently bought a Nissan NV high top 3500 van, which has a factory installed inverter, but I don't really know what to do with it. Anyhow all my tools are battery operated with 12volt dc chargers, so what need would I have for an inverter?
Congrats on the mini-speedex, it is a very solidly made little machine & so much stronger than the little Ilco 008, plus the speedex comes with a 4-way set of vises & a brush, so much better than the Ilco's crappy key scraper idea.

Well, let's see. I run a bench grinder, a belt sander, a drill press and although I have a battery operated drill, impact driver, jig saw, sawzall, circular saw the product I use doesn't make an oscillating tool, a die grinder, an angle grinder, portable band saw, or portable belt sander, soldering iron, or router that uses their battery. That is why I use an inverter. Plus I use it to charge the batteries for my 18 volt tools and run 110 volt 6 watt Cree lighting.

[cledry]

Oh, they don't make a cordless door planer either, nor an orbital sander.

[billdeserthills]

Oh, they don't make a cordless door planer either, nor an orbital sander.

My 100' extension cord has always run those tools for me, as well as my vacuum and I haven't yet met a client who didn't have electricity on a job I needed those tools for in over 20 years. I hope I never hafta read about how your shop truck lit on fire mysteriously due to an incorrectly connected inverter

[cledry]

Oh, they don't make a cordless door planer either, nor an orbital sander.

My 100' extension cord has always run those tools for me, as well as my vacuum and I haven't yet met a client who didn't have electricity on a job I needed those tools for in over 20 years. I hope I never hafta read about how your shop truck lit on fire mysteriously due to an incorrectly connected inverter

Granted most jobs you could run cords, but we do work at several factories and stores that do not allow cords to be used inside the premises due to safety concerns, so we back a truck up to the door and use our own power. Today I was working in a parking garage at the airport and again, no cords allowed due to tripping hazard, and you would have needed a lot more than 100 feet. We work on pedestrian and vehicle gates, again no power nearby.

I did get by without an inverter for the first 25 years as a locksmith, but I do a lot more varied work now and the faster I can do a job the more I make. The inverter adds convenience and makes my jobs go much faster.

Wiring an inverter isn't at all difficult, so hopefully you won't hear of my trucks burning down. BTW, 12 volts can just as easily set something on fire.

[2octops]

The 12v motors are fine for key machines and you can also purchase 12v lighting. That's fine for some people depending on what they normally work on.

We service several car auctions and dealerships. Between running computers, printers, charging batteries for tools, lighting, dremel, high security machine, duplicator and code machine, we pretty much are required to have our own power source. We also repair and install a lot of security gates for apartment complex and HOA swimming pools and tennis courts so we need to be able to run angle grinders, saws, hammer drills and a mig welder. We can do all of this with a simple inverter.

To the original poster, have you considered trying to go to work for a real locksmith company for a while to learn some skills and a little more about how the business really operates?

No offense but I've been in this business half my life. I've seen A LOT of people that start out similar to how you are explaining and very few have been able to make a profitable career out of it. I'm not saying that you can not, but it's a lot easier to watch an existing, profitable business operate for a while to see what you need to do to grow your own and build a reputation. I know a lot of people that are in the business now that know just enough to be what most would consider an entry level technician. Those guys can rekey a lock, install a deadbolt and run lock outs but it's hard to make a living doing just that. With the proper training (and a lot of money) you can tackle any job that comes in on the phone.

I'll give you an example. This week we have made keys for 11 vehicles (1971-2014), masterkeyed 32 cylinders and installed 9 panics and closers for a school, installed a doorbell for a restaurant, repaired a broken pool gate, replaced 3 ignitions, installed 2 new steel doors and knock down frames and installed a continuous hinge on a storefront door. We have a full week on the books as of now, so if the phone doesn't ring for the rest of the week, we will still have work to do. I can not remember the last time that a customer called and I could honestly say that we could not do the work for them.