# Inverter ??



## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

So I am thinking of buying the guys inverters for their vans. really just enough to charge batteries or maybe an LED light when doing a service. 
Is there anything I need to know? How big do I need?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

This same thing has been discussed here a lot. 

FWIW, I wouldn't power a light off of your vehicle battery thru an inverter (and extension cords, ewww) when battery lights are so great nowadays. Buy yourself the M12 mini flood light. Or the bigger M18 flood light if you think you may need to light the whole basement.

As for the inverter, I have gotten by with a 600w pure sine wave to power my M12 and M18 battery chargers with great results. It is a good system because I charge the batteries on the commute to and from jobs so I always have full batteries. I keep all my batteries and chargers in the front of the van so I can change them out, and also so I can blast the floor heat on them for those cold Winter mornings when LiION batteries sometimes don't work if they are frozen.

The 600w inverter powered 4 M12 chargers and 3 Dewalt 18V chargers in the past, now it does 4 M12 chargers and 1 M18 rapid charger just fine.


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## emtnut (Mar 1, 2015)

The Milwaukee M18 charger takes around 6 amps @ 120V 
(I think that's the dual charger).

I'd go min 1000VA ... or 1500VA , direct connected to battery.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

I have an 1800 directly connected. When I replace it, Ill bump it up a size. 
I needed to run a concrete vibrator and it would stay on. 
FWIW, it will run my small greenlee tugger.


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

Get the pure sine wave inverter. A modified sine wave will work OK for incandescent lights and brushed motor tools, but electronics and induction motors hate them. I smoked two battery chargers using them on modified sine wave inverters. You can hear the whine inside electonics. CFL bulbs make an awful ringing sound too.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

emtnut said:


> The Milwaukee M18 charger takes around 6 amps @ 120V
> (I think that's the dual charger).
> 
> I'd go min 1000VA ... or 1500VA , direct connected to battery.


That is way excessive for battery charging, a pure sine wave inverter at 1,000 or 1,500 watts is very pricey.

Milwaukee themselves say this:



> *Powering the Charger with an Inverter or Generator*
> The charger will operate with most generators and
> inverters rated at 350 Watts or higher.


That's for the newer M18 Rapid Charger. The older M18 charger only requires 300W. And the M12 chargers require 100W.

I have no issue powering all of these with a 600W PSW inverter.


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

Just remember that 5 amps at 120 volts is over 50 amps at 12 volts (once you include losses). You need a battery that can handle the drain you intend to put on it. For anything more than quick bursts of use, start the truck.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

RePhase277 said:


> Just remember that 5 amps at 120 volts is over 50 amps at 12 volts (once you include losses). You need a battery that can handle the drain you intend to put on it. For anything more than quick bursts of use, start the truck.


I do all my charging when driving. Originally I was going to get a second battery and isolate it from the starting battery, but I really haven't had the need for it.


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## emtnut (Mar 1, 2015)

HackWork said:


> That is way excessive for battery charging, a pure sine wave inverter at 1,000 or 1,500 watts is very pricey.
> 
> Milwaukee themselves say this:
> 
> ...


Maybe it's overkill then ... I use a cheapo 1000W (square wave).
Cheap, and I can run quite a bit off it.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

emtnut said:


> Maybe it's overkill then ... I use a cheapo 1000W (square wave).
> Cheap, and I can run quite a bit off it.


Yeah, that type of inverter is great for general light and tool use. But it can mess with battery chargers and kill batteries, which is why they say to use a PSW model, which is expensive.


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## Flyingsod (Jul 11, 2013)

This:









Runs this:










Anything else is superfluous. Although the portaband and sawzall work just fine on it. I don't recall ever needing to use it for my battery tools though.

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## emtnut (Mar 1, 2015)

RePhase277 said:


> Just remember that 5 amps at 120 volts is over 50 amps at 12 volts (once you include losses). You need a battery that can handle the drain you intend to put on it. For anything more than quick bursts of use, start the truck.


Now that name 'almost' looks familiar :laughing:

Nice to see you back buddy !


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## knomore (Mar 21, 2010)

One thing I know about adding inverters to employee vehicles is that they will plug in a god damn crock pot, or a microwave and burn that thing up. Happened to one of our trucks twice before we figured out some idiot was trying to heat up bean dip for lunch. So size that thing big enough for people to cook with, because they will.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

knomore said:


> One thing I know about adding inverters to employee vehicles is that they will plug in a god damn crock pot, or a microwave and burn that thing up. Happened to one of our trucks twice before we figured out some idiot was trying to heat up bean dip for lunch. So size that thing big enough for people to cook with, because they will.


You must be hiring electricians who don't know anything about electricity.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

LawnGuyLandSparky said:


> You must be hiring electricians who don't know anything about electricity.


Well, he did say they were heating up bean dip for lunch.....


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## WIsparky71 (Mar 7, 2015)

My 2015 GMC van has a factory installed 150 watt power inverter that charges 1 battery at a time just fine. The charger manual says it's OK. 

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## Patriot1776 (May 20, 2016)

I'm with knomore on this one, go big or go home! You'll never regret having put it too big of an inverter, but too small and you'll be buying the bigger one the next time. And fwiw I would wire the inverter to a switch that can easily be shut off or maybe even auto shutoff when the engine is turned off. 


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