2Kw inverter, too good to be true?

[muffking]

In an attempt to ditch lugging around my 3Kw petrol generator to power the tyre warmers for my race bike I stumbled across this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000W-40...572673&hash=item466b233465:g:BqoAAOSwLgNaaqVk

My tyre warmers (front & rear) draw 4A & 4.2A @ 230V measured with a clamp meter plugged in at home, which puts me around the the 2Kw that the inverter quotes, but is it too good to be true?

Also, Ive no idea what the average family car can put out as I reckon I'd be drawing around 165A @ 12v (maybe a little less as the voltage will be higher with the engine running).

 

[muffking]

Just to give you an idea what it's for, you can see the generator in the background on the right, but it's chuffing heavy because of the engine and fuel, plus it takes up half the boot of my car.

 

[bernardgreen]

I would say Yes it is too good to be true.

The heating blankets won't be bothered about the wave form of the AC voltage the invertor produces but if that waveform has a lit of harmonics ( it has to be a switch mode device ) then interfernce with nearby wireless systems is very likely. ( do not want to interfere with the race track safety teams' communications )

160 amps from a family car alternator is too much. The limit for the alternator in my Megane is about 100 amps continuous.

How long do the blankets have to on to heat the tyres ? Are they self regulating ?

A good 80 Ah battery would provide 160 amps for 20 minutes but would then need to be re-charged for maybe an hour at 60 amps before the next heating period. The alternator in a family car coould do that re-charge.

If you go the battery route than consider 12 volt heating blankets

 

[ericmark]

We got a similar 3kW with 6kW peak, it seems it has an array of field effect transistors each one protected by a 16A blade type car fuse, it relies on the resistance of that fuse to load share between the fets, and when a fet fails and the fuse ruptures there is nothing to show what has happened, so it ended up letting out the magic blue smoke, to return it not only cost the carriage but also cost Chinese customs duty in spite the original advert stating not made in China.

Because of current draw and need to route cables we used 2 x 16mm² cables rather than 50mm² so slightly under size, and also only three x 160Ah batteries so they too were a little under size, since we had shore power were upped the power from a 4 amp MCB to a 6 amp MCB and then all could be powered from the shore supply direct, but I would say 3 x 160Ah batteries are far heavier and bulky than a 3kVA generator, did not matter in a narrow boat, we were not carrying the batteries, what we did not want was the noise from a generator, where you are can't see the noise being a problem.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Check the specs on your car alternator but I think the others are correct, 165A will be a bit much for your car alternator. Plus the cables needed will be a bit chunky. Plus I bet that inverter isn't rated at 3kw continuous, your duty cycle (4 hours full load then 15 minutes off while you're on track and repeat) will probably fry the thing quite quickly.

Who do you race with? I get out (not as often as I'd like these days) with NEMCRC and Auto66

 

[motorbiking]

Some of the big 4x4s can handle 150A (e.g. BMW X5) out of the alternator, but these are often water cooled.
If its any comparison I have a 200W inverter in my Moho which struggles to power a macbook (85W) power supply without complaining. It seems that the macbook draws a lot more when the battery is also charging.

I wonder if 2 deep cycle 130A marine batteries on a buggy, connected to an inverter might be a good option? But maybe wheels on the generator is the even simpler option.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Get yourself a Landy with power take off, then all you need is the generator parts, no engine, no fuel.

 

[muffking]

Thanks guys. Too good to be true then.
The car battery is 85Ah, but the warmers have to be on for around 40mins each hour. They do self regulate, but when both on will draw a constant 8.2A @ mains voltage.

Re the race organiser, I've been looking at the No Limits Newcomers as I'm just running track days at the moment, but have a cold day at Cadwell to look forward to on March 3rd brrrr...

 

[muffking]

Get yourself a Landy with power take off, then all you need is the generator parts, no engine, no fuel.

And I would have no trouble towing the bike with one of them

 

[motorbiking]

Nice 'blade 2007?

 

[muffking]

Nice 'blade 2007?

Good shout. It's that shape, but registered in '06

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Cadwell in March? Good luck with that one, you'll spend the morning shovelling snow off the track

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Snow plough attachment for the front of the Landy....

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Snow plough attachment for the front of the Landy....

You're on a roll tonight.......spare Harrier jumpjet doing a low and slow pass would be much more fun (years ago someone allegedly did something involving a jet turbine, a wide duct and a flatbed. Cleared the snow/ice/paint/everything else but apparently there was a slight noise issue )

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It would be more fun.

They are harder to find on eBay, though, and a bit tricky to handle if all you've ever done are cars and bikes.