Generator Vs Power Inverter

[Jburgett2nd]

So I am trying to acquire all the tools + supplies I need to start a mobile business and I've been looking at Power Inverters and generators and was list the pros and cons of each and just wondered what you guys prefer from what I've read on here it seems like most of you lean towards the power inverter. The cost for a 3000 watt inverter is around the same for a 3000 watt generator and I will be working out of the back of my truck (with truck shell) I know that a generator is much heavier but there would be no stress on my car battery and I know my way around a two stroke engine fairly well to do maintenance. What do you use/would prefer to use?

[billdeserthills]

For 25 years I have been using cordless DeWalt 18vt tools, with a car charger (12vt) my key machines are 12vt as well and it has never killed my battery
the way an inverter will. I even have a 12vt motor on my framon machine. Keedex maked the K-5 12vt dc key machine motor, I have a couple and they
are strong enough to run any key machine I know of.

[MatrixBlackRock]

The cost for a 3000 watt inverter is around the same for a 3000 watt generator and I will be working out of the back of my truck (with truck shell) I know that a generator is much heavier but there would be no stress on my car battery.

I think to come to a informed decision you need to determine just how much power you will actually need for just the basics, that being a handful of outlets, some good lighting for night work and maybe a fan or two if you are not willing to keep the truck idling with the air on.

Figure a basic key machine 300-500 watts, fluorescent lighting 250 watts, bench grinder 700 watts, fan 200 watts, etc.

So that leaves you with a steady lighting draw 250 watts and a fan 200 watts rounded up we will call that 500 watts steady draw.

So lets look at powering this load with an inverter with a 80% half load efficiency, well at the nominal truck battery voltage of 13.5 you will be pulling 45 amps, as the battery draws down and the voltage drops that amperage will rise up to almost 50 amps which means in about an hour you are going to have a battery that probably will not start your truck.

So you have two alternates, a generator or a second battery with an isolation relay.

The second battery is a simple affair, add a deep discharge marine/RV battery somewhere back in the truck stored in a plastic marine battery box and an isolation relay which disconnects that battery from the vehicles battery so even if you nearly kill your inverter battery you will still have a fully charged to start the truck from. The battery box and relay can be had from any decent marine or RV supply outfit and your best pricing on a deep discharge battery will be had from a company that sell batteries, generally speaking marine and RV placed jack the prices on batteries so be sure to compare prices before buying.

This solution is graceful and noise free.

The alternative is a generator, but do consider you will need probably more room to store an generator than a second battery and inverter combo, you will also need to keep it gassed up, think about your truck smelling like gasoline and you must, just like a second battery, be sure it is securely mounted to the floor or in a cabinet that will hold it in place in the event of a collision.

Then there is the noise a generator makes, unless you are looking at the lower wattage Honda invertor generators or an Onan RV genset, you are going to have a device, which at night in a residential location, may produce enough noise to cause lots of complaints.

and I know my way around a two stroke engine fairly well to do maintenance. What do you use/would prefer to use?

I would strongly recommend you avoid any two stroke generators and stay with a known brand like Honda, Generac, B&S or Onan/Cummings.

If you need any details on going either way just ask, I have built a few ENG trucks out of vans and have a good deal of experience with mobile power.

Wayne

[cledry]

Ditch the fluorescent lighting 250 watts, for a few Cree LED bulbs, 24 watts lights my truck fine. Instant on, no heat, no flickr and very good in dealing with road vibration.

I run a 4000 watt inverter and a second battery. I have a battery isolator so my main starting battery can never be drawn down. I run a belt sander, small bench grinder, portable band saw, fan, lights, HPC 1200 and Curtis 2000. No issues. I also run a die grinder, angle grinder, small air compressor, Metabo hammer drill and charge my drill batteries and my USB devices.

Generator is a PITA.

90% of what I do I can do with cordless tools, but 10% is worth the few dollars.

[MatrixBlackRock]

Ditch the fluorescent lighting 250 watts, for a few Cree LED bulbs, 24 watts lights my truck fine. Instant on, no heat, no flickr and very good in dealing with road vibration.

Excellent suggestion.

Generator is a PITA.

Personally, for a locksmith, I believe a generator is overkill, portables, other than the Honda inverters which are light weight and very quiet, allowing them to be set outside the truck, are the only alternative with say a Transit van, other than that we're taking serious money with an Onan RV, which requires a ventilated cabinet, isolating the genset and it's heat and exhaust, from the interior of the van and a tap into the vans fuel system at which point a F-150/GM 1500 or larger van is needed.

Wayne

[MatrixBlackRock]

BTW that's E-150/250.

Wayne

[MatrixBlackRock]

and I will be working out of the back of my truck (with truck shell)

BTW, is the term working out of the back of my truck, with a truck shell, mean you are using a pickup truck with a camper top?

If so, I would totally ditch the generator idea and go with a second battery, with a pickup truck you can place that second battery right up against the front of the bed in a marine box and should you ever have the unfortunate chance to rear end someone hard, not have the problem with that battery landing forward into the passenger compartment.

Something which is a bit tougher to do in a van.

Wayne

[Jburgett2nd]

This is why I love this forum, you guys proposed some ideas I never would have thought of, I'm going to start my research a second battery with an isolation relay. Yeah a camper top I have always called them a shell regional dialect maybe. To be honest I'm looking for the most effective cheapest ways to get started, not bottom of the barrel cheap but feasible on a 8$ an hour full time income, I'm not going to complain about it stuff is tight but I've done fairly well getting tools and supplies little by little, like they say where there is a will there is a way.

[allan501]

Any inverter will do for lights and motors. If any of your tools or machines use digital displays spend the extra money on a pure sine wave inverter. The cheap ones use a modified square wave which is good enough for some things but which will tend to cause trouble for anything using digital electronics.

[cledry]

I will say spend money on large cable for the + side, you can get by using frame for - side. Make sure connections are clean and tight and use battery post goop. I use an inexpensive 4000 watt Harbor Freight inverter, and it is holding up fine.

[1mrchristopher]

I am running a used 1800 watt tripp lite inverter, which works great for what I need, along with an isolator and a deep cycle secondary battery. The heavier cable you can afford, the better. If you can get marine cable (few great sellers on ebay), so much the better, as it is much more flexible, ergo easy to work with. Also, put breakers or fuses on both ends of the run to your coach battery (the one in the engine compartment), this greatly reduces the risk of fire, should there be a short.

[Jburgett2nd]

What is the amperage on the isolator/relays that you guys are running. Also what is the voltage of the batteries you run?

[MatrixBlackRock]

What is the amperage on the isolator/relays that you guys are running. Also what is the voltage of the batteries you run?

I used a Standard Automotive Products RY-238, which I believe is a 100 amp relay, do understand the amperage of the relay is not all that related to the amperage of the load the auxiliary battery will be burdened with, even if you are running the engine at idle while pulling power from the auxiliary battery.

The heaviest load the relay will have to handle is recharging the auxiliary battery, whence it is run down and the vehicle is at speed allowing the vehicles alternator to push a decent amount of amperage into the auxiliary battery.

If I might ask, what model and age truck are you building this into, from there I can give you an idea of the amperage the relay should be.

As for the voltage of the battery, that needs to match the vehicles voltage, which unless your are putting a top on a Semi, will be 12 volts.

Personally, I can recommend the EastPenn/Deka Intimidator Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) deep cycle series, unlike a flooded cell lead acid car battery, which doesn't take being over discharged too many times, too well, an AGM deep discharge battery can be flattened and then brought back up over and over without a lot of the loss of capacity a flooded cell battery will go into.

The trick for the longest life is, don't leave either an AGM or a flooded cell to remain in a discharged state too long.

Wayne

[cledry]

200 amp stinger on mine. 12 volts of course. Be wary of battery gassing fumes, they will corrode your brass keys in short order.

[Jburgett2nd]

What is the amperage on the isolator/relays that you guys are running. Also what is the voltage of the batteries you run?

what model and age truck are you building this into, from there I can give you an idea of the amperage the relay should be.


Wayne

It's a 95 dodge dakota 5.2l V8.