my first query here,,,, be gentle

[choppa]

my no 2 son has just this minute handed me a new accessory for the 4b,,,,,,,,,

here ya go dad,,, a ""digitor m 5111 300 watt 12volt dc to ac power inverter"",,,,,,,,,,,

now i have to confess,,, i'm sending this query via a new ""mobile"" toy that i picked up,,, and i'm currently sitting on bribies surf beach watching the world go by,,,,,,,,great eh???,, now to master the other 500 things attached to it

but what exactly does a digitor thingamayjig do,,,,,besides run my batteries flat???????

hey,,,,,i'm serious be cruel,,,,sons casting rods and i wont tell

[SCOTTYGC]

im sure it turns 12 volt to 240 volt???

[choppa]

thanks scott,,,,,, i think i should have used a bit more decorum,,,,sorry

at what loss does a 300 watt drain the standard battery,,, besides in my opinion,,, instant

if the cars on the run,,, does it require anything else attached?????? to maintain regularity

or do you recieve ""x"" time before shutting down etc etc

you see,,, i'm a bit spoilt,,,,, i run a generator,,, 240 volt,,,,,12 volt,,,,, and 24 volt outta the 4b is no problem

i just get cautious when no 2 son """gives""" me an unexpected gift that will change 12 to 240,,,especially when i've never had 1 b4

[oddbudman]

choppa,

As others have said, this is a device that inverts 12Vdc to 240v ac, this is commonly called an inverter.

With respect to the power drain it all depends on the load (ie device) you plug into the inverter. If nothing is plugged into the inverter it won't use 300W (the load would be probably <1W).

Under full load at 300W, the inverter would probably pull around 28Amps (assuming 90% efficiency of the inverter). This would drain a regulare charged sla battery pretty quickly, probably around 2 hours.

As for running the inverter while the car is going, I have no idea what sort of charge your alternator can provide to run the inverter, but perhaps someone else on this forum can shed some light. My guess would be 28Amps in addition to regular car power (such as lights and stereo) would push the alternator to it limits.

hope this helps,
oddbudman

[choppa]

okay,,, thanks scott once more,,, and also oddbudman,,,

next dumb question,,,,

on the back of this thing,,, theres a cooling fan,,, a red/black terminal for battery lead hookup,,, AND,,

a ground/earth terminal that has an oversized wingnut on it,,,,,,,,,,

whats this terminal 4????????

told ya,,,,, don"t know a thing about these things

[Grand_Marlin]

G'day Choppa,

The earth terminal is to attach to a metal rod that you push into the ground to provide an earth point should 240 be transferred to the body of the vehicle.

I have an 800w invertor that I use to run all my power tolls etc on site.
I get around 2 hrs use out of this when using a drill / grinder setup.

Mine has a low voltage cut out so it wont flatten the battery.

I also find my alternator will recharge the battery and run the invertor as well.

The red and the black terminals should have heavy duty wires connected to them ... probably 8 B&S ... but dont take my word for it ... read the manual.
Most of these come with cables supplied and alligator clamps on them.
These connect directly to the battery.

At 300w, you will be limited as to what you can run .... things like TV's Lights etc will be fine.
Most power tools wont work as they are 600w +
Things like electric jugs etc wont work as they are 2000w +

The great thing with them is they are silent, so you can have mobile 240v with no noise

Cheers

Pete

[choppa]

thanks pete,,,,,,

if ya see (or hear) a loud bang,,,,,,then a flash of light,,,around bribie in half hour

no need to think terrorist mate,,,,,,,,,,,

just me

[choppa]

thanks pete,,,,,,

if ya see (or hear) a loud bang,,,,,,then a flash of light,,,around bribie in half hour

no need to think terrorist mate,,,,,,,,,,,

just me