Possible use of Power Inverters for occasional Mobile Detailing power-source?

[Ohio Detailing]

UPDATE:

Just found out exact specs!

Dyson's 11amp motor uses 120 volts, so the calculation was possible from there: 1,320 watts

I'm attaching a screen-shot of the exact calculations in this post... so, I guess all I need is an inverter than can produce a MINIMUM of 1,320 watts, and to be safe, 1,500+ watts so that it is not straining the vehicle's battery, or better yet, an alternator with some muscle AND an inverter than can provide CONTINUOUS 1,500 watts, so the vehicle's battery is NEVER strained (?)

PS: Found one (maybe)! This is a 1,500 watt CONTINUOUS "Pure Sine Wave" Inverter that produces 220-240 volts output which is enough for the Dyson, and about everything else I can imagine a detailer would use. HERE'S THE -- LINK --

[Romans5.8]

Absolutely awesome post, thank you!

You really seem to know a lot about this, and your reasoning and advice seems really solid. Actually, I know some guys who are amazing with cars, and would know how to mount this kind of system I'm sure. With the installation hardware, the inverter itself, the wiring, and the new 12v deep-cycle battery... I bet this entire project would be well under $500 from start to finish, I could even upgrade the inverted I originally linked to on Amazon in my original post, and stay under $500. This is something really worth considering, especially if the highest load would be 11amps, because I wouldn't be paint-correcting WHILE vacuuming obviously. Very cool. Since the inverter is under the hood along with the additional battery, it would also take up ZERO space in the back of my small-SUV, which is great.

One last thing I want to bring up is, I have an actual normal outlet in my SUV, 2-prong though... would I be able to plug into this, or, would I have to mount the inverter ITSELF somewhere within the SUV to make it accessible to plugging tools DIRECTLY into, for best current? Don't want to leave my hood popped for a couple hours while I detail, so maybe I'd mount it somewhere inside?

A couple of things;

1) As far as upgrading the alternator (in reference to previous comments) that's not likely a concern and is only a concern for major paint correction work where you'd be using the DA polisher for long periods of time. Using a bit of the battery to run the vacuum or a DA for shorter periods (which won't be much since the alternator will still provide the brunt of the load) won't harm anything. Providing a sort burst of power then being quickly recharged is exactly what your battery is designed to do anyway. It's long, continuous drains that you want to avoid.

2) The built-in inverter's 'plug' is not likely going to be able to handle that much load. You could, in theory, wire it in, but you'd lose your ground AND the wiring is not likely to be able to handle it.

3) Personally, I wouldn't mount it under the hood. Heat kills electronics. There's already the issue of whether a small inverter will be able to shed the heat from powering a tool like a DA polisher for long periods of time. Adding engine heat to the equation is a recipe for early failure or the overheat shutoff kicking in mid-job. I would treat an inverter installation like a subwoofer amplifier installation if it were me. I'd use similar wires and tools, run the wires through the firewall and under the carpet or running boards, and then into the back of the vehicle where I'd mount the inverter. If your SUV has rear glass that opens, then you could easily plug your tools in through the glass and be okay (just through a microfiber towel down over the liftgate to protect the paint from the cord!). I've actually seen guys do inverter setups on cargo vans who installed outside GFI outlets (like you'd find outside your home) on the side of the van. But that's probably not an option on your SUV!

I think it's a great solution! Cheaper than a generator, quieter, more environmentally friendly, and far less maintenance. But, if you do this often, don't forget to figure in the extra idle time when considering your cars oil change intervals!

[Romans5.8]

UPDATE:

Just found out exact specs!

Dyson's 11amp motor uses 120 volts, so the calculation was possible from there: 1,320 watts

I'm attaching a screen-shot of the exact calculations in this post... so, I guess all I need is an inverter than can produce a MINIMUM of 1,320 watts, and to be safe, 1,500+ watts so that it is not straining the vehicle's battery, or better yet, an alternator with some muscle AND an inverter than can provide CONTINUOUS 1,500 watts, so the vehicle's battery is NEVER strained (?)

You'll need one that can provide a CONTINUOUS 1500 watts without overheating, AND provide a 'surge' of more, as that vacuum will actually pull a lot more than 1500 watts when it's initially turned on.

You can perform the same calculations to determine the stock output of your alternator. Now I don't know what kind of SUV you have, but you said it was a small SUV. One could guess it has a 140 to 160 amp alternator. 140 amps at 14 volts is just shy of 2000 watts.

What I do NOT know, is

A) How many watts your inverter will pull to make 120 AC volts @ 1500 watts. But no inverter is 100% efficient.

B) How much your SUV draws just idling to power computers, spark plugs, fuel injection, etc. etc. Goes without saying, leave the headlights, stereo, etc. off.

HOWEVER, personally, I would be more than comfortable running a 1500 watt vacuum on a 140 amp alternator. It will, in theory, use some of the batteries 'juice' (After all, the alternator won't necessarily be putting out it's full power at your car engines idle. Most alternators run peak power at 3400-4000 RPM's. Depending on the pulley size, I don't know what engine RPM translates into your alternators peak power RPM). However, it'll only be using a little bit of the batteries juice. ESPECIALLY if you wire in a deep cycle battery.

If it was enough of a concern to you, or you found yourself hitting the low voltage cutoff or ending up with a discharged battery, then you should be able to get a 240 amp or so alternator as a direct replacement. And that should provide more than enough power for you. But that will add a bit more cost, and put you in the ballpark of a generator. You still have the quiet/clean/low maintenance advantages of an inverter, but if you need to upgrade the alternator, you've bumped into the cost of a generator, so keep that in mind.

I would also do a complete detail on my own personal car from the inverter before going to a client. Just to make sure everything works the way I anticipate it to.

I am in no way an expert! It's just something I've fiddled with from time to time. Helped build a relatives shed with an inverter. No power available until AFTER the shed was built and the power company inspected it. We could've used a generator, but said relative had a big heavy duty sine wave inverter. It piqued my interest so I did some research. We idled his F-150 and ran plug-in drills, angle grinders, table saws, circular saws, you name it off of this thing. (But, unlike detailing, those are frequent short bursts, instead of long sustained heavy draws like a vacuum or a DA)

[octane]

first off you would need the 2000 watts model that is 380$(Amazon.com: Xantrex PROWatt 2000 Inverter, Model# 806-1220: Automotive)

2000 watts on a 12v system is 166amps (that is at a 100% efficiency, which you will not even be close to on a 400$ inverter) then you have to take into account that your alternator will probably give out less than half it's rated amps at idle, so maybe 60 amps... and then the running car will need some amps to run, you will also get some power loss with the wiring...

lots of unknowns... but to me it doesn't look like you can make this work for under 1000$

[Ohio Detailing]

Thanks for the help guys! I'm positive this is doable, when/if the time comes, it would be an awesome, stealthy, and ingenious way to do things... and would also allow for other uses like camping trips etc, for a great power supply. Kudos for the awesome help and ideas!!

[forchunet]

Did you ever get this thing running?

[Ohio Detailing]

Did you ever get this thing running?

Hey, thanks for asking. No, I have not... for two reasons. I was doing some research to see if this would be effective or a practical solution to a plaguing problem during our off months here in Ohio (where it is currently snowing - literally). Secondly, since our detail season only just began this year, and the temperatures wildly fluctuate along with in climate weather, the need for this possible solution has never really become an issue.

I don't believe this will be something crucially vital or pressing in the coming weeks and months, because we have such fantastic relationships with our clientele we always have the ability to detail in their garage areas at their home and use their water and electric to power our equipment.

But, now that I'm thinking about the subject again... we are advertising now, and have already added several new clients to our roster for the coming weeks, it might be something worth looking into, in the event a client wants their vehicle(s) detailed outdoors, in a work parking lot, or in their driveway while they're on vacation or away.

[Kevin Cullen]

I have done this many times in big rigs when i was full time truck driving to run my polishers out on the road. I would always rig up a 3500 watt inverter to run everything in the truck. This included microwave, vaccum and polishers etc.

Think 14 watts to every amp. Spec your inverter well past "peak load" needed to avoid overheating of the unit. Peak load is the intial sart up burst of whatever you want to operate. When you get to the big inverters (1000 watts plus) you MUST wire them directly to the battery. Use 1 gauge welding cable and put in two "maxi" fuses in parrallel to get the correct amount of amperage fusing. I use fuses that would blow just under the units internal fuse so i did not have to take the inverter apart to change fuses if one went. I had 4 batteries standard on the trucks and could run my polisher most of the day without starting the truck. For a one battery system consider just running the engine to reduce load on alternator and battery and doing increased maintanence, brushes and bearings on the altenator and battery.

This is a doable project that just needs to be set up correctly.

[Shaggy1970]

I just bought Power Bright 1500 Power Bright 12 Volt DC to AC 1500 Watt Power Inverter-PW1500-12 at The Home Depot for 140.99. It has a peak power of 3000 watts and powers anything you want. I plugged my AR Blue390 power washer and works like a champ and also my GG6 powered off of my Deep Cycle battery. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[Ohio Detailing]

...You MUST wire them directly to the battery. Use 1 gauge welding cable and put in two "maxi" fuses in parrallel to get the correct amount of amperage fusing. I use fuses that would blow just under the units internal fuse so i did not have to take the inverter apart to change fuses if one went. I had 4 batteries standard on the trucks and could run my polisher most of the day without starting the truck. For a one battery system consider just running the engine to reduce load on alternator and battery and doing increased maintanence, brushes and bearings on the altenator and battery.

This is a doable project that just needs to be set up correctly.

Hi Kevin, THANKS for the post! This got me thinking actually, it doesn't seem hard whatsoever. A hundred bucks on a beefy dedicated battery, a few bucks on wiring and harness, and another hundred or two on the device itself. The whole concept has a lot of merit, and the nice thing is the vehicle would be the "recharger" just while driving around between appointments. I do need to remember to get the right battery though, for continuous power versus 'peak' power like most batteries for surging power to start the engine.