Mr. Lucid

Here is a link to an album I just posted to Picasa of my installation of a 750W power inverter under the passenger seat.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mrlucid/...verterProject#

JK-Ford

Looks cool but! Uh, I didn't notice a fuse?

Rovingshoe

The web says the MAXX 750 has high voltage, low voltage, short circuit and overload protection. Also, Low Battery Alarm and Low Battery Shutdown. All built in to the unit. Do you think you still should have a fuse? I am about to install a similar unit and had the same question.

Mr. Lucid

There is a picture of the 60A fuse in the web album. There is an additional fuse attached directly to the unit.

I have run electronics chargers of all types on this unit. I carry an extension cord with three outlets when I camp for hooking up lighting. It works well... The fan is kinda loud though. I suppose there's really no way around that.

D.K.O.B

does it get hot when you run it for a long time. and on the floor,my jeep is like a boat. do you think i could put it over rear tire or on the back of the back seat or is there some kind of gfi and that is wny it's on the floor

Benchmark Designs Inc.

Cool install! Careful not to run that too much with the Jeep off. It will drain for battery fast!

Mr. Lucid

It will get increasingly warmer the more load you put on it. It has never been hot to the touch, only warm. I have only reached a load of about 300W so it is possible that drawing 750W off of it would make it hot.

It did take me a while to finally decide on the mounting location. It would have been nice to have the AC plugs outside the vehicle somehow but without some hardware modifications this was not possible (or safe). Beneath the seat it is out of the way for the most part. Unless a tall person is sitting in the back, which for me, is practically never. The extension cord solution is simple and works well to get electricity out of the jeep and where I need it.

When I arrive at camp I assume by battery is fully charged as the engine has usually been running for an hour or so. Even though the inverter has a low battery alarm thing, I've never run it long enough to see it work.

I generally will run it with my stereo going for 1 to 2 hours before starting and idling my engine for 30 min to put some juice back in the battery...

I am looking at the possibility of rigging a secondary battery in the vehicle for running such accessories while camping but need to read up on how to do that first. Ideally I would have a separate battery, also charged by the alternator (which I think is possible), that would drain separately when the engine is off. I imagine needing some sort of switch to accomplish this.

It's been a while since I studied electronics (high school) so, I'm really fuzzy on the topic and don't want to wing it and damage my electrical systems.

If anyone else has installed a secondary battery in their rig I would love to see pictures and find out about the installation procedure.

genesbro

If you wanted to run a deep cycle battery for your inverter you could get the parts for doing that from either a rv or maybe even a boat type store. They should have a switch/isolator that would let you connect that deep cycle battery into and out of your vehicles power system for charging without draining your starting battery when stopped at camp.

BigJeschke

Check out this system from one of the sponsors, Benchmark Designs. The stage two kit will isolate a second battery to run auxilary loads when your engine is off. It will charge both batteries when the engine is running. http://www.benchmarkdesigns.com/inde...products_id=86

Mr. Lucid

Awesome, thanks for the link. Looks to be what I am looking for. Now to save some $$$.