Sport 16 help - 1000 Watt Inverter, run in cell booster cable

[halfloaf]

Hello, hello! I've been lurking for a while and I'm picking up my Sport 16 in two weeks. I'm set for about everything, EXCEPT:

I need to install a 1000 Watt Inverter and I'm a little lost. All the messages I could find on the forum were for smaller inverters that could use a cigarette lighter plug, or are for bigger trailers using set ups that don't really make sense for the Sport 16. What I've got is a friend who is good with woodwork and is an electrical engineer. All I need is a plug in the dinette area. Any insights on this, on where to access wiring, etc?

Second issue, has anyone run in the coax cable for their cell booster? I'm going to use one of those park-a-tire-on-it poles on the service side, so dropping the cable down to the ground and running it up somewhere from the bottom would work. Any insights on a good access point?

Thank you for any help you can provide!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

There are a number of 1KW inverters you can use. Something in the 80% efficiency range is not uncommon on a "as installed" inverter (including wires and fuses and ....).

Your 16' has a single group 24 battery in it. That's an 80AH battery. You get half of that in normal use. Your inverter will pull about 100A with a full load. A fully charged battery will be to the "stop" point in a bit under a half hour with a full load.

If you are shopping, there are various levels of "idle" current. Finding out what's what is not terribly easy. In some cases a very small load will have a big impact on this. If the inverter pulls 4A at idle, your 40AH will get you 10 hours. That's with zero load.

In a lot of cases, doing things straight off of 12V is a much better idea than doing it through an inverter. Things from TV's to CPAP to computer chargers can all run much more efficiently straight off of 12V.

Lots of Fun

Bob

[SilverHouseDreams]

As Bob states, you likely had a single battery and you aren't going to pull much off of it. What do you plan to run off of the inverter? If you actually need to operate from battery your best bet is to avoid any conversion from DC to AC power as you lose a lot of energy in the process...especially since 90% of the devices you are going to power just convert it back to DC power anyhow.

[Msherw]

I just installed a 12vdc lighter socket in my 22FB to charge a streamlight and on the off chance the wife 'needs' to operate a small 120vac kitchen appliance for a short time, I have a 300 watt inverter stowed. As noted here, I avoid using converted ac at all costs due to the high loss factor.

Motto: if it doesn't work on 12vdc then I probably don't really need it.

[halfloaf]

It has been fascinating to hear about how other people meet their needs for electricty. I had no idea that was the direction this would go!

I think I've got a set up put together to meet my needs and when it's implemented and working I'll be sure to come back and update the thread so that configuration is here too.

Still haven't figured out how to get the coax from the wireless booster into the house, but hasn't been my top priority as the smaller booster has met my needs so far and that wire can just be closed into the door. The end of the awning has several steel pieces to stick that magnetic stub antenna onto (it uses the reflection from the roof of the Airstream and that's close-enough a lot), though sticking it on the roof of my Expedition works better when needed.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by halfloaf

It has been fascinating to hear about how other people meet their needs for electricty. I had no idea that was the direction this would go!

I think I've got a set up put together to meet my needs and when it's implemented and working I'll be sure to come back and update the thread so that configuration is here too.

Still haven't figured out how to get the coax from the wireless booster into the house, but hasn't been my top priority as the smaller booster has met my needs so far and that wire can just be closed into the door. The end of the awning has several steel pieces to stick that magnetic stub antenna onto (it uses the reflection from the roof of the Airstream and that's close-enough a lot), though sticking it on the roof of my Expedition works better when needed.

Hi

The bottom line on power is still the same as it was years ago. If you are on shore power, not much matters. If you are not on shore power, load management is the key. There is no practical way to "just run everything" when you are off grid with an AS.

Bob

[halfloaf]

Great point for the person who wants to "just run everything," if they were to come across this thread.

[waninae39]

IMHO

go lithium with large a larger capacity
then you could add the 1kw converter and get some decent run time

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Indeed, you will get more for $20,000 than for $10,000. If you go to $40,000 or $80,000 you can really do some "interesting stuff". For most of us who live in the real world, cost matters. Somewhere on that list (or maybe before that list even starts) we loose interest. If not, we probably bought a 54' class A for $1M rather than a AS. Load management is cheap, light weight, and *very* eco-friendly .

Bob

[halfloaf]

Originally Posted by waninae39

IMHO

go lithium with large a larger capacity
then you could add the 1kw converter and get some decent run time

Yup, that's where I'm headed. In the tow vehicle so I'm all set on my weight distribution. Part of the reason I got the Expedition - plenty of available cargo weight capacity. I had started the thread thinking I was just going to add an inverter inside the trailer, and somewhere around here a person did put their lithium in the dinette seat over the water tank for the 16, which was super cool but ended up not being the right direction for me.

More, better, later as it shapes up!