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WestFalls
Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2014
Posts: 7
Location: Rhode Island
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 Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 3:19 pm Post subject: Power Inverter Location (House Battery) |
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Hey everyone!
Just want to preface by saying I spent time searching and it didn't yield much in terms of best location for a house battery under a rear bench seat, I apologize if this is a redundant post.
I'm gearing up for a multi-month roadtrip and have been working on my Westy for a while. We purchased it from a fellow enthusiast who did a great job on upkeep and wired in a deep-cycle house battery with all the required kit (battery switcher, extra 12v sockets, voltometer, etc). Because I will be doing some work on the road, I will need to charge up my laptop and camera batteries along the way, and will need an inverter to charge those (note that all other devices/lighting will run on 12v as not to waste power).
PHOTO 1 - back bench removed, top down of the house battery location
I bought the 600w pure sine inverter from TheInverterStore.com and am now looking around for the best location for it. I want to make sure it doesn't get spilled on, doesn't run too hot while operating, and is accessible for the plugs. My house battery is under the back bench in the middle and I am debating a few locations to put it.
My favorite possible location would be just inside the vent hole (fan pointed toward the hole/vent in the bench) and though I don't believe I'll be running the inverter during the peak hours of the day (aka the hottest hours) I think it should be OK there. That being said, I know they need some ventilation and don't want to risk danger. I liken it to an old PC tower and believe there's enough airflow for it to be more than fine to run for an hour or so a day.
PHOTO 2 - Looking backwards from driver's area - showing the vent hole
PHOTO 3 - Looking from trunk down at proposed location.
Looking for some advice, it stays well protected but then also doesn't have the MOST ventilation -- but again I will probably use 1-2 hours a day TOPS and am flexible when I use it.
Thanks, this forum has been absolutely amazing.
-Brendan |
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hans j
Samba Member
Joined: May 06, 2006
Posts: 2715
Location: Salt Lake City UT
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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I put my battery on the far passenger side to offset weight. Then I mounted my inverter behind the 120v outlets and wired inverter power to the outlets.
If you really wanted to get fancy, you could break the connector in the outlet to have one side be the inverter power, and the other be shore power.
_________________
1986 Canadian Syncro Westy TDI - 1989 Syncro Single Cab - 2001 Audi S4 - 1981 VW Caddy ABA - 1980 VW Caddy EV - 1973 VW T-181 |
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16505
Location: Brookeville, MD
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Dampcamper
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Joined: October 07, 2013
Posts: 788
Location: Rainy Portland, Oregon
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| So long as it can draw "cool" air and not be rebreathing the warm air it puts off, you'll probably be OK with that, it has a fan to move the air. Let it have easy air flow. And if you're not running it fully loaded it will make less heat anyway. Good idea to have it close to the battery, the large wire you need for the DC side gets expensive. Good for you for getting a true-sine wave unit, I deal with people who buy "Modified" sine-wave inverters and don't understand why their electronics' power supplies don't work right. You might throw one of these in so you can charge USB without having to run the inverter: http://www.bluesea.com/products/1016/Dual_USB_Charger_Socket/featured |
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WestFalls
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Joined: March 19, 2014
Posts: 7
Location: Rhode Island
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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Great! Thanks everyone.
Issue is that we have very specialty camera and sound equipment that doesn't play as nice with 12v...even large battery packs that have 12v adapters end up not working as well (putting stress on the charging unit itself and eventually fry it -- even with all OEM items from the manufacturer -- crazy for professional grade equipment, I know). Hopefully for our larger days of charging we'll be on shore power.
Seems like the airflow would be OK beneath the bench for short spans when we are without shore. |
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16505
Location: Brookeville, MD
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