What Invertor?

[Brightonian73]

Hi All,

I need to get an invertor fitted, we already have an additional battery fitted from factory what wattage would I need to charge a couple of batteries at the same time using a charger with the following:-

Input of 100 - 240V 60/50Hz 2.5A
Output 24VDC/6A (5A)

(not that I know what any of the above means)!!

Cheers

 

[Loz]

What are you wanting to charge? because, it may be more efficient to find a dc-dc charger for your application then an inverter and plug in charger with all the losses incurred.

 

[Brightonian73]

What are you wanting to charge? because, it may be more efficient to find a dc-dc charger for your application then an inverter and plug in charger with all the losses incurred.

Hi Loz, you lost me at dc-dc!!
We run cordless vacuum cleaners and we need to charge the batteries through the day whilst working so as we are getting the new van set up we thought we would add a charging option from day 1.

 

[Loz]

okay, a dc-dc charger takes 12v up to the voltage you need for charging (eg 12 to 36v) but these are normally manufacturer specific, eg Mrs Loz has a 12v charger for her camera batteries and I have one for my laptop.
As opposed to a mains inverter that takes 12v up to 240v AC and then you plug in your charger into that.

The latter needs more battery and also you need to spend more money for a good sine-wave inverter as cheap ones can burn out battery chargers.

 

[Brightonian73]

okay, a dc-dc charger takes 12v up to the voltage you need for charging (eg 12 to 36v) but these are normally manufacturer specific, eg Mrs Loz has a 12v charger for her camera batteries and I have one for my laptop.
As opposed to a mains inverter that takes 12v up to 240v AC and then you plug in your charger into that.

The latter needs more battery and also you need to spend more money for a good sine-wave inverter as cheap ones can burn out battery chargers.

Thanks for this, I will look in to this some more and see how we go about getting this option installed/set up

 

[travelvolts]

I think some confusion has hit this page. I think the OP has some power tool batteries that he wants to charge using an inverter from his aux battery. In that case you will need a 500 watt pure sine wave inverter. Expect to pay around £200-£250

 

[Brightonian73]

I think some confusion has hit this page. I think the OP has some power tool batteries that he wants to charge using an inverter from his aux battery. In that case you will need a 500 watt pure sine wave inverter. Expect to pay around £200-£250

Thanks travelvolts, you are correct we are looking to charge power tool batteries, I have previously been given slightly conflicting advice regards which invertor required, one said a 1000W would charge 10 batteries at a time!! The other said we would need a 2000w to charge one battery, hence my confusion...

 

[travelvolts]

How many chargers will you use at one time? That is the key. Based on the info that you have provided each charger will use around 500 watts when charging a battery. To be more accurate we would need to know the actual wattage of the charger rather than a vague current estimate across a broad input voltage range. I would think that the 2.5 amp figure probably relates to an input of 100 volts so we could in theory halve that amount for 230 volts.

 

[Brightonian73]

How many chargers will you use at one time? That is the key. Based on the info that you have provided each charger will use around 500 watts when charging a battery. To be more accurate we would need to know the actual wattage of the charger rather than a vague current estimate across a broad input voltage range. I would think that the 2.5 amp figure probably relates to an input of 100 volts so we could in theory halve that amount for 230 volts.

I would like to charge 3 batteries at a time, I have attached a picture of both the battery and charger so you can see what we are talking about. Cheers

 

[travelvolts]

Not much help unfortunately but I think that you should go for 1200 watt Victron to be on the safe side if you are charging 3 at the same time. £360 ish

 

[Brightonian73]

Not much help unfortunately but I think that you should go for 1200 watt Victron to be on the safe side if you are charging 3 at the same time. £360 ish

Thanks, really appreciate your help, one last question. Any suggestions on fitters in the Brighton area?

 

[travelvolts]

Before you go ahead just be aware that this will be quite a drain on your aux battery and that you would best to try and use the chargers while you are driving. Speak to Barden UK in Southampton, I am sure they will be able to tell you of someone in your area.

 

[Brightonian73]

Before you go ahead just be aware that this will be quite a drain on your aux battery and that you would best to try and use the chargers while you are driving. Speak to Barden UK in Southampton, I am sure they will be able to tell you of someone in your area.

That's great, thank you again.