12v To 120v Inverter

[MDKOZ]

I have an 1999 30ft Fleetwood storm. It has a inteli power model PD9145A. From the limited information I have on this it only converts the 120v shore power to 13.5v.

I want to be able to use my 120v outlets from my house batteries. Can this unit do that or do I have to get a 12v to 120v inverter. If so were is a good place to get one. I don't need anything too big as I will only be running-- a computer  and phone charger etc

Thanks Keith

 

[Lenp]

THe PD9145A is a CONVERTER.  It converts 120VAC to 13.6 VDC to charge your batteries and power the 12 volt circuits in your RV.  You will need to add an INVERTER to convert 12 VDC (battery voltage) to 120VAC.

Use caution in selecting your inverter.  There are "modified" sine and "pure" sine wave inverters.  Some appliances do not like the modified sine wave inverters.  Also make sure you choose one with adequate power to supply your devices and connect them to the battery bank with cables capable of handling the current required.  Remember, 10 amps at 120VAC is equivalent to 100 amps at 12 volts.

Lenp

[manholt]

To run todays tech devises, I would go with pure sine, since your appliances will run on either.  The Storm was entry level class A, in the 90's. I just don't see why you want one, since you can charge your computer and phone via a adapter to 12V..like a cigarette lighter!

Carl 

[kaypsmith]

You may want to also consider  adding extra batteries also, as Lenp pointed out that 10 amps at 120 volts consumes at least 100 amps, I usually calculate 20% extra for the overhead of the inverter, as it uses some of the 12 volts to actually invert to 120 plus fans for cooling. If your coach was designed to use only the onboard 12 volt appliances, then extra 12 volt capacity will be needed to power the addition of the 120 volt appliances. You may want to actually incorporate a stand alone scenario for the inverter purpose. If you decide to go this route we will be happy to advise what will be needed to acheive this goal.

[alflorida]

For the phone charger, just buy a USB charger which plugs into the 12V outlet.  No need for the inverter here.

For the computer, are you talking about a laptop or a computer tower?  For a laptop buy a $30 150 watt inverter and plug it into the 12v outlet.  An inverter larger than 150watts draws to much current for the standard cigarette lighter 12v outlet and will need to be attached directly to the battery.  

All the laptops we have had over the years, including the 2 Dell's we bought in 2016, work fine on the modified sine wave inverters. 

[alflorida]

18 hours ago, MDKOZ said:

I have an 1999 30ft Fleetwood storm. It has a inteli power model PD9145A. From the limited information I have on this it only converts the 120v shore power to 13.5v.

I want to be able to use my 120v outlets from my house batteries. Can this unit do that or do I have to get a 12v to 120v inverter. If so were is a good place to get one. I don't need anything too big as I will only be running-- a computer  and phone charger etc

Thanks Keith

 

How are you planning on recharging your house batteries? 

Trying to charge your batteries with the standard converters (120V to 13.5V) may take 12-24 hours to fully recharge the batteries.  That is really long time to run your generator.  You need to install a 3 stage converter to do an efficient job of recharging your batteries.

[desertdeals69]

What do you have for house batteries?

[kaypsmith]

Keith, is the computer a desktop (stand alone computer with separate monitor) or laptop? If laptop, what brand and model? There are chargers available for some laptops that can use 12 volt DC and transforms upward to 19 volts.