Inverter for light AC service when no shore power

[AlwaysDreaming]

Class C Chateau/FourWinds 22B
I would like to add some light AC electrical service to my coach for overnight stays on the road where shore power is not available and I don't want to run the generator for long periods of time. My my requirement is 100 Watts. LCDTV w/ROKU (100 Watts) or CPAP 60 Watts, not both at the same time.
I am looking at a 200 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter with a "cigarette lighter" plug.
I have added a second house battery that matches the original battery (group 27 Deep cycle), so I have doubled my amp/hours
There is 2 "cigarette lighter" plugs on the dash and in the glove box of the cab of the Ford E350.
Does anyone know if one, or both, or none of the "cigarette lighter" plugs are connected to the house batteries as opposed to the engine/chassis battery?

Thanks

[Mo_Mike]

I know on the FORD E-450 on our AXIS the one power port is on chassis, and what would have been the second from FORD (capped off but leads are there) is also on the chassis.

Since the second capped leads are a 30 amp rated load, I have used them to power some usb ports under the dash

[TurnerFam]

you might want to easily try the Inverter with the battery clips, directly from the batteries themselves... see the photo. This unit, you can find many places, including most auto parts stores and Walmart, will also show you your draw amps and the battery level, nice.

This way you are plugging your items either directly into this unit, or using an extension cord to your devices. You can monitor your battery levels, which you probably can't with the other types.

[AlwaysDreaming]

Originally Posted by AlwaysDreaming

Class C Chateau/FourWinds 22B
I would like to add some light AC electrical service to my coach for overnight stays on the road where shore power is not available and I don't want to run the generator for long periods of time. My my requirement is 100 Watts. LCDTV w/ROKU (100 Watts) or CPAP 60 Watts, not both at the same time.
I am looking at a 200 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter with a "cigarette lighter" plug.
I have added a second house battery that matches the original battery (group 27 Deep cycle), so I have doubled my amp/hours
There is 2 "cigarette lighter" plugs on the dash and in the glove box of the cab of the Ford E350.
Does anyone know if one, or both, or none of the "cigarette lighter" plugs are connected to the house batteries as opposed to the engine/chassis battery?

Thanks

I was mistaken, there are 3 "cigarette lighter" plugs, 2 on the dash 3 inches apart, one in the glove box. 1 of the 3 must be connected to the house batteries, right?

[AlwaysDreaming]

Originally Posted by TurnerFam

you might want to easily try the Inverter with the battery clips, directly from the batteries themselves... see the photo. This unit, you can find many places, including most auto parts stores and Walmart, will also show you your draw amps and the battery level, nice.

This way you are plugging your items either directly into this unit, or using an extension cord to your devices. You can monitor your battery levels, which you probably can't with the other types.

I understand that LCD TV's, Computers, Medical equipment, while low power, require "clean power". I have read that a "pure" sinewave inverter is the cleanest power.

[TurnerFam]

that's pure balogna... our modified sine wave Inverter has performed perfectly in over 3 years, 80,000 miles - desktop computers, TVs, receivers, fridge, electronics, everything....

[Trkyte@msn.com]

My 2017 outlaw (2016 e450 chassis) has to sockets, both wired to the chassis battery. I added one from the coach batteries by tapping off the power lead behind the radio to power the xm receiver while camping.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by AlwaysDreaming

I understand that LCD TV's, Computers, Medical equipment, while low power, require "clean power". I have read that a "pure" sinewave inverter is the cleanest power.

Nope, that stuff really doesn't care as it converts the 120 VAC back to DC any way. The things that care about true sine waves are motors that rely on the sine wave to create a smoothly rotating magnetic field.

BTW, look at the power supply for your CPAP: it probably puts out 12 VDC so a DC cord may be the way to go for that.

And if you want a cigarette lighter style connection to you house batteries you will probably need to install it yourself.

[Mo_Mike]

I would bet they are all FORD equipment, so off the chassis...THOR doesn't modify the OEM from FORD very much

[Chance]

My older Ford E-350 has two just to the right of steering wheel. One requires key to be on, the other stays powered all the time.

Like Tfryman stated, I've only had a problem connecting a small fan motor to my modified sine wave inverter. Mostly we used it for charging phones, laptops, and cameras years ago. Now we mostly connect phones and iPads directly to a charger, so small inverter rarely gets used.

With prices being as low as they are, I'd go with pure sine inverter. Inverters can last a long time if one is lucky, and who knows what use you may have that requires pure sine in the next year or two.

[gmc]

Originally Posted by AlwaysDreaming

I was mistaken, there are 3 "cigarette lighter" plugs, 2 on the dash 3 inches apart, one in the glove box. 1 of the 3 must be connected to the house batteries, right?

On my Hurricane - all 3 of those are on the chassis battery...
Only matters when boondocking - as the chassis battery and coach batteries are charged by either alternator or shore power/genny...

I am planning to add one in the bedroom area attached to coach - for convenience.

[petefoss]

My wife's CPAP is 90 watt 24V DC supply. That said we ran it off the bedroom TV outlet supplied by the inverter and it worked fine. I also couldn't measure the draw on my inverter display. Me thinks 90 watts is overkill.