Generators, Batteries and Inverters

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
Question..
Why do people need so much shit while "camping"?
This guy wins the Dick Swinging contest...View attachment 374185
Not even close. Out at Lara a couple of years ago was an old greyhound bus, the one with lazy axle. Both sides popped out like that. Kingsize bed. Oh and the typical trailer the busses pulled with a Suzuki Jimny, harley, dirt bikes, mountain bikes and a couple of roadies. Or the 20' container on the old Acco where one false side dropped down to make a 20'x8' verandah. Then there was the 10m ish 5th wheeler with electric everything and satellite tv.
 

Mattyp

Cows go boing
Not even close. Out at Lara a couple of years ago was an old greyhound bus, the one with lazy axle. Both sides popped out like that. Kingsize bed. Oh and the typical trailer the busses pulled with a Suzuki Jimny, harley, dirt bikes, mountain bikes and a couple of roadies. Or the 20' container on the old Acco where one false side dropped down to make a 20'x8' verandah. Then there was the 10m ish 5th wheeler with electric everything and satellite tv.
Why though?
 

Lazmo

Old and hopeless
Whatever floats your camping boat. We are all different. Thank Dog.

Sue and I are not van people. We like tents.

So, our powered 3 month long foreshore setup is huge and has all the stuff... a huge 2 room old school canvas tent, proper bed & base, indoor/outdoor heating, couches, side tables, office, proper kitchen, dining area and a visitors tent. Will be heading there tomorrow, after work.

But our mountain biking trip setup is way smallerer. A Coleman instant up tent (amazing really, 12 minutes completely done, while drinking beer) and the solar setup described above, with a 6" thick Futon that is super comfy, assuming reasonably level ground. A flatpack firepit if fires are allowed, or a gas heater if not, and a gas two burner stove. A JBL Flip 4 for music, or my fingerstyle guitar for something that is similar to music.

When we are moving on... wet or dry, we just collapse the tent and roll it into a tarp, slide it into the car, along with the Futon... the whole lot packs into the car easily... chuck the bikes on the back, and we are away.

We love unpowered camping, and the riding that typically goes with it.

I personally can't wait to go away again.

374201
 

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
..you need to go bigger watts on the inverter and panels, buy the lightweight panels .... fuck the coffee machine off and buy a coleman drip that I talked about earlier. Fuck gennies, yr camping and trying to soak up the serenity not the humm of a gennie, use the sun, its free!!!!!!
Haha. Bigger inverter and more panels I'm in for! Microwave stays. Coffee machine I'll look into. But I need something fast to cope with stressed riders who roll in earlier than their predicted lap time demanding coffee....
 

Fred Nurk

No custom title here
It's only 700w though. So peak should still be below 1500w. The Kickass ones I was looking at spec a 700w microwave with a 1500w inverter anyway.
That's 700W delivered to the load, not total load of the microwave...
Microwaves are surprisingly inefficient, but it doesn't matter that much as they're never on for long anyway.
I tend to agree with the recommendation of a large inverter.
 

Lazmo

Old and hopeless
Maybe use the generator with a big arsed charger, during the the day, when nobody is going to notice the noise, to top the inverter batteries up.
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
Haha. Bigger inverter and more panels I'm in for! Microwave stays. Coffee machine I'll look into. But I need something fast to cope with stressed riders who roll in earlier than their predicted lap time demanding coffee....
Put it in a good quality thermos, used to do that when I went fishing in winter.
 

Freediver

I can go full Karen
Microwaves are surprisingly inefficient, but it doesn't matter that much as they're never on for long anyway.
Microwaves are the most efficient way of cooking or heating. See how long it takes to boil a cup of water in a 700W microwave compared to an 1800W kettle or on your stove.
 

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
Microwaves are the most efficient way of cooking or heating. See how long it takes to boil a cup of water in a 700W microwave compared to an 1800W kettle or on your stove.
And at 700w I'd still doubt it's pulling more than 1500 on startup.
Strange how many people ask you to heat things at a 24 when they know you have a microwave. One of our racing mates said he bought spag bol banking on we'd have it...
 

Minlak

custom titis
And at 700w I'd still doubt it's pulling more than 1500 on startup.
Strange how many people ask you to heat things at a 24 when they know you have a microwave. One of our racing mates said he bought spag bol banking on we'd have it...
"Short summary: Home microwave ovens are typically 40–60% efficient. So if your 700W microwave oven is really generating 700W, it should draw between 1200 and 1800W or 10 - 15A at 120V."
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
"Short summary: Home microwave ovens are typically 40–60% efficient. So if your 700W microwave oven is really generating 700W, it should draw between 1200 and 1800W or 10 - 15A at 120V."
That is it! He has too many voltages. Big resister needed.
 

Fred Nurk

No custom title here
Microwaves are the most efficient way of cooking or heating. See how long it takes to boil a cup of water in a 700W microwave compared to an 1800W kettle or on your stove.
Yes, as I said, because they're so fast the overall efficiency being shit doesn't matter so much. It does matter when you're sizing the supply for the microwave to dump up to 700W into the load.
As per below...
"Short summary: Home microwave ovens are typically 40–60% efficient. So if your 700W microwave oven is really generating 700W, it should draw between 1200 and 1800W or 10 - 15A at 120V."
 
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