.png "Powered by vBulletin")
These are very handy things to have around if you don't want to string an extension cord every time you want to work outside. They are even better if you're on an extended camping trip and need power for your video camera. Just buy a roll up solar panel and you can charge your batteries without running the bike. My teacher did this in the arctic and was able to rig the thing up on top of his backpack while he was walking!
I've got one of the earlier models about 8 years ago before the prices came down and it's still working as it origionally did! The StatPower ProWatt 150 to be exact.
There are two things that you need to know about these gadgets. First, they don't put out a normal sine wave so if you plug an alarm clock into one of these things it will run at about triple speed so that doesn't work. My father tells me one of his electric razors didn't work with my brothers newer model so he got another razor and it did work (he has a RoadTrek van he uses for camping) Second, if you try to use a soldering iron with one you'll find that the tip of the iron is grounded to the frame. This means you can't solder to live wires unless you pull the fuse for the circuit. One handy tip is to get rid of the cigarette lighter connector and use a sturdier connector with an on/off switch and replace the fuse with a breaker. The lighter connector will make the power flicker whenever you hit a bump.
There are booster boxes now available with inverters but they don't seem to be as good. I bought a MotoMaster one in May and after 6 months of being in my transport it was dead. The dust or possibly the vibration made the inverter part fail although the rest of the box worked. Even so, it is worth the money to have one since you can use it to power stuff in the bush without a noisey genset.
Steve
I've got one of the earlier models about 8 years ago before the prices came down and it's still working as it origionally did! The StatPower ProWatt 150 to be exact.
There are two things that you need to know about these gadgets. First, they don't put out a normal sine wave so if you plug an alarm clock into one of these things it will run at about triple speed so that doesn't work. My father tells me one of his electric razors didn't work with my brothers newer model so he got another razor and it did work (he has a RoadTrek van he uses for camping) Second, if you try to use a soldering iron with one you'll find that the tip of the iron is grounded to the frame. This means you can't solder to live wires unless you pull the fuse for the circuit. One handy tip is to get rid of the cigarette lighter connector and use a sturdier connector with an on/off switch and replace the fuse with a breaker. The lighter connector will make the power flicker whenever you hit a bump.
There are booster boxes now available with inverters but they don't seem to be as good. I bought a MotoMaster one in May and after 6 months of being in my transport it was dead. The dust or possibly the vibration made the inverter part fail although the rest of the box worked. Even so, it is worth the money to have one since you can use it to power stuff in the bush without a noisey genset.
Steve