Inverter

**matt018** · 03-12-2011, 10:44 PM

Hey I was curious If anyone has ran an inverter to use an Angle grinder, or if there was anyone that would handle the amperage of a sawzall. I think that it would come in handy just to cut some things apart when im out. Just wondering if anyone has done this before or has some recomnendations, I just dont want to fry something, thanks for your help,
Matt

**parrothead** · 03-12-2011, 11:53 PM

This is the one that I have. It is not installed, but need to here shortly. I am sure you can find one cheaper though.

http://www.dkhardware.com/product-73...generator.html

I ripped this out of one of my bucket trucks when we were selling some of them.

**Mechanic688** · 03-20-2011, 02:43 AM

I realize I'm new to the forum, but here's my 2 cents; I use an inverter to run an older Milwaukee sawzall and I could probable run 2 of them at once. The inverter is a 800 with 1600 surge that clips to the battery terminals with small alligator clips. Cut up a mobile home roof and it just got warm is all. We use a demo blade also and you can cut most material you come up against, whether it's metal or wood. Thanks for letting me put in some input,,, Mike

**Bigblue12v** · 03-24-2011, 10:27 PM

I have an older version of this: http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-wa...ter-97047.html 1,000 Watt continuous, 2,000 Watt surge. Mine is identical but being an older version it only has 2 power outlets instead of 3. I don't know the max of what it will handle but I know it will power a 500W flood light for hours with the truck shut off. Well, used it with that flood light when camping for probably 3 hours then used it to run the dome lights in a pop up camper for a couple hours, when i went to restart the truck it was dead but we only had 6 trucks and a dozen jeeps there so jumping it was no biggie LOL.... The inverter gets used many times a week to run my DeWalt sawzall. I leave the truck running since its usually at a job site and half the time we are also using on board air at the same time to run impact or air up tires. Its engine driven on board air so engine must run. Thank god for a Cummins 12V it sips only a few ounces of fuel in an hours time it seems

probably worth mentioning too that mine is hard wired direct to truck battery with heavy gauge cable. Don't skimp out on cable thickness and remember, the longer the cable is the thicker it needs to be. And if you're somewhere where a jump start isn't available, don't use it for long without the truck running unless you like being stranded LOL

**Saroro** · 03-24-2011, 11:44 PM

Would it be worth while to just have a battery or two to have along with the inverter? Separate from the one in your car I mean. You could use them for hours, then charge them overnight in your garage with a plug in battery charger or something. Will keep you from being possibly stranded if nothing else.

**Bigblue12v** · 03-25-2011, 12:22 AM

If you have extra batteries laying around I'd give it a shot.... the winch on my trailer is powered by two 875 CCA car/truck batteries I had, it will pull at least 8 cars on the trailer before needing recharged.... I trickle charge it at 2 amps overnight about every week or two and never had em run low. But they are mounted in the box on the trailer and theres a lot of times i need the inverter in the truck when I don't have the trailer, and if I do have the trailer I keep a long extension cord with me so going from truck to trailer or truck to a job near the truck isn't a problem. Again my truck sips piddly amounts of fuel idling, and often I'm also using the on board air so its just cost of operation to me. There again cutting costs is always a good thing!!!!! I don't know how long the battery would last without an alternator keeping it charged. The best setup would be to have one or two batteries that were on an isolator setup so that they got charged when the truck is running, but when its shut off they would be isolated from the truck so you could run 'em dead and it would start back up and continue charging them. Most inverters have a low voltage shut off and if they sense low voltage (whatever the manufacturer sets the voltage at) then they power off or start "alarming" a beeping sound to notify you. So I wonder if running them from batteries with no charging system for very long would result in constant shut down due to low voltage.... I'm not sure about all this. I've thought about getting one or two cheap solar trickle chargers for the winch batteries but after realizing how long they'd last between charges, and doing the math on those chargers, I don't think they would do more than keep up with the drain of a cell phone charger even on a super bright sunny day, so probably wouldn't do much good for me using the winch on a daily basis I'd still need to plug it in every so often. So I passed on that idea.... a big solar panel would cost enough that you might as well leave your truck running likely or buy another battery or two (total 2-4) to make a battery "bank" that would surely power the inverter for a VERY long time.....

Another option is cordless power tools, with multiple batteries and keeping the spare batteries on a charger powered by the inverter which surely would not produce enough drain to kill your truck battery. But cordless tools are either expensive or disappointing, take your pick. And with an inverter you spend $100 once and use every tool you already own with it, and no power loss or switching batteries, or replacing batteries for that matter. Inverter wins in my book but I guess it depends on what your needs are and your budget and whats more convenient to you. I know people that won't use anything unless its cordless even if they are within 4' of a power outlet the whole time LOL

**matt018** · 03-25-2011, 07:51 AM

Alright, Well I am currently going to upgrade trucks soon as my 87 is starting to die. When I get my new truck, I will most likely wire up that inverter.