Inverter, or not ?

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smokeater1

smokeater1

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Southern CA
One item I overlooked in my haggling with the dealer on our 2005 Minnie was the addition of an inverter. This would be for the TV/DVD while underway. [Keeps daughter happy ]
Now it will have to be an aftermarket addition. Anyone have experience with this, or suggestions ? I would rather not run the genset while driving.

Thanks !
 
You can buy a small inverter for around $40-$50 that would be sufficient to run the TV &/or DVD. No need for an elaborate system or wiring. Just keep the 12 volt wires short (e.g. plug it into the cigarette lighter) and use a regular 110 volt extension cord from the inverter to the TV/DVD.
 
Tom:

On an earlier coach the small inverters couldn't start up our maggy. Took 400 watts to kick it off and then 200 or so for watching.
 
Interesting Jeff. Was that maybe because the 12V wires were too long? (That would cause a significant voltage drop and result in the inverter not working).
 
I've had the same problem as Jeff did with a small Panasonic TV.  A 300W inverter took 10-12 tries to get it to fire up, but it ran fine once it was on.  It has a screen degausser that pulled a lot of power for a few microseconds and it was enough to trip the internal breaker on the inverter.  After a dozen tries the screen would finally light and was OK thereafter. Including another off/on cycle, if done quickly.  I always had the feeling that the tv was charging up a capacitor to do the degausing, but I never verified that.

A 400W inverter started it fine.
 
DeGausing... Gause is the measure of magent force.

DeGausing is literly de-magnatizing... This is done by creating a very strong alternating magnetic field (usually by pumping alternating current through a coil of wire) and slowly backing down on the strength of the field.. The final result is that the magnetic poles in the metal within the field are left in dissarray.

The slow reduction (Takes as much as 1-2 seconds, which in computer/electronic times is darn near an eternety) is done by either charging a capacitor or more likely by warming a resistor (Thermistor Positive temperture coifiecent) to the point where current through it is negligable.  The capacitor method (if used) would be very small however as this would be used in a control circuit.

Far as I know most TV's use the PTC Thermistor method

And yes.. IT draws a LOT of current when it's cold (Room temperture) but less when it's hot, a lot less, which is why your quick off/on works
 
RV Roamer said:
I've had the same problem as Jeff did with a small Panasonic TV. A 300W inverter took 10-12 tries to get it to fire up, but it ran fine once it was on. It has a screen degausser that pulled a lot of power for a few microseconds and it was enough to trip the internal breaker on the inverter. After a dozen tries the screen would finally light and was OK thereafter. Including another off/on cycle, if done quickly. I always had the feeling that the tv was charging up a capacitor to do the degausing, but I never verified that.

A 400W inverter started it fine.
Click to expand...

Ron:

Now you tell me! I went out and bought a larger inverter!  :'(

But we were able to  make coffee on the new one. ::) ::)
 
John In Detroit said:
DeGausing... Gause is a measure of magent force.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how that (or this reply) helps the original poster in this topic, but the unit Gauss (not gause or Gaus) was named after Karl Friedrich Gauss, the German mathematician. It is the unit of magnetic flux density equal to a field of one line of force per square centimeter.

1 gauss = 1 Maxwell / cm2, but it's a different Maxwell from the one we all know here. No, I didn't remember the formula - way too far back in my magnetic theory for that.

Gauss was honored with his "photo" (image) and a diagram of a Gaussian (aka "normal" or bell-shaped) distribution on a German bank note. I have one around here somewhere from my days as a practitioner of witchcraft statistics, but haven't laid eyes on it since we last moved.

Before anyone jumps one me, the SI unit of measurement is the Tesla. 1 Tesla=10,000 Gauss.

Bottom line, a small inverter will power a TV without worrying about the math, but don't get one too small.
 
Last edited:
smokeater1 said:
One item I overlooked in my haggling with the dealer on our 2005 Minnie was the addition of an inverter. This would be for the TV/DVD while underway. [Keeps daughter happy ]
Now it will have to be an aftermarket addition. Anyone have experience with this, or suggestions ? I would rather not run the genset while driving.

Thanks !
Click to expand...

The inverter which comes as an option on Winny is 300 watt. Since you have gen-set I wonder if the genset wiring package doesn't all ready include the necessary inverter wiring since  winny comes standard with a so-called genset prep wiring. If I was in your shoes, I'd start with dealer service people to get as much info as possible on what's required and see if he would make any sort of deal. If not, at least you could duplicate the option with some confidence.
 
One again this forum has a lot of answers !  Thanks everyone.
Maybe this will not be as bad as I thought. The dealer scared me with the $95 per hour shop rate and a 2 hour min. Plugging in to a 12V power outlet sounds a lot better !
Although the TV is not in the drivers line of sight, I have concerns with it being too distracting while driving. My daughter may yet have to settle for the old fashioned bit of reading a book , and using her headphones for music....
 
smokeater1 said:
One again this forum has a lot of answers !? Thanks everyone.
Maybe this will not be as bad as I thought. The dealer scared me with the $95 per hour shop rate and a 2 hour min. Plugging in to a 12V power outlet sounds a lot better !
Although the TV is not in the drivers line of sight, I have concerns with it being too distracting while driving. My daughter may yet have to settle for the old fashioned bit of reading a book , and using her headphones for music....
Click to expand...

Just remember most 12v receptacles are fused for 10 amps or 120 watts no matter the size of your inverter.
 
Good catch Leo. FWIW our Burb has noth 10A and 20A receptacles, but I think you're right about the majority of receptacles in vehicles.
 
If the TV has a jack on the front of it, you can get wireless or infared head set for the daughter and there will be no sound to distract others.  I have one for the living room as the wife likes to read and doesn't like the sound when she is.  G
 
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