About 10 days ago, we had a pretty miserable ice and snow storm here in the midwest that left us (and many others) without electrical power for several hours. I live quite a ways from any help, so we spent most of the day watching the thermometer drop. As luck would have it, I only had enough kerosene to get us through the sub-zero night, and I was out of white gas. Fortunately, the juice was restored early in the evening, and, as the kids rushed to the computer, satillite dish, and the Playstation, my wife and I discussed emergency alternatives. (OK, I listened as she shared her ideas of how we may address this in the future) I, being the ever tight fisted one, opted for a 350 watt power inverter to install on my pickup. I reasoned that I could power a lamp, a small T.V., and the furnace blower. Is my reasoning flawed, or did I make the right decision? The inverter was $30.00 as opposed to no less than 300.00 for an entry level generator. BTW-I have resolved to ALWAYS be stocked with kerosene, white gas, and plenty of batteries from here on out. My truck is never below 1/2 tank, so fuel shouldn't be a problem there. Thoughts?
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Power inverters as emergency power?
- Thread starter farmboy
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 27, 1999
- Messages
- 51
You never be able to handle the starting current for the furnace ...
Get a small radio (FreePlay is nice) with a TV band.
A PetroMax lantern puts out lots of light ... and quite a bit of heat.
And you don't have to run a cord from the truck (or bring the battery inside).
Mike
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Mike's Emergency Preparedness Forum
No matter what you do, some things won't work out.
No matter what you do, some things will work out.
Worry about those things that you can make a difference with.
Well first of all is that 350 continuous or peak watts? Most of those inverters put the peak watt rating in big bold print and the real rating in small print so you think they can handle more than they really can. Assuming that's a 350 watt continuous, it won't be able to hold the furnace blower. If it's 350 continuous, that would be (in most cases) 700W peak power, which on a 120V line translates to 5.83 amps, or the equivalent of about 11 light bulbs. Furnace blowers draw a LOT more than that.
Now what you COULD do if you went out and bought a good power inverter (600W continuous or better) is get a portable space heater and run it on low setting, which consumes 500 watts. This would leave 100 for a lightbulb (forget the TV - -why do you need a TV - - the storm is over when it's over and you're not in much danger in a winter storm as long as you stay inside).
Of course now you run into the problem of damage to your truck. Cars don't like to sit idling. That's a good way to overheat them unless your cooling system is very efficient. Then there's the CO buildup in the house from running the car - -even if you leave the garage door open it'll still get in the house - - -which puts your family in danger.
Also, how long would the cord be from the truck to whereever your powered stuff is? Remember that voltage drops over distance, which causes the amps consumed to rise. So, for example, if we take a 600W power supply and put 6 100W lightbulbs on it, you have to have the lightbulbs (which at 120 volts draw 5 amps) very close to the power supply. If you move them too far away, they'll actually draw MORE than 5 amps.
That wattage rating on the power supply isn't real accurate- - -it should be an amp rating, but no one knows what an amp is or how it relates to power consumption, and everyone knows what a 60 watt lightbulb is, so they label 'em in watts to try to avoid confusing the masses. so a 600 W power supply is actually good for 5 amps, meaning if the bulbs are too far away, the power supply won't be able to power them and will (assuming it's designed even marginally well) shut itself off to avoid damage.
Your power supply is good for 2.9 amps. This will run a TV and a light bulb just fine (2/3's amp for a 13" black/white TV and 1/2 amp for the lightbulb) but will leave only 1.73 amps to play with. That basically won't run jack.
What I'd do is buy a couple of emergency lights. They wire into AC power and charge themselves, then turn on (2-4 hours depending on the light) when the power cuts out. I wouldn't really worry about heating the house if the power's out even if i didn't have a gas fireplace. Unless your insulation sucks, it's gonna take a LONG time for the house to cool to the point where it's dangerous to occupy (and if it gets that cold, hop in the car and warm up on your way to the motel)
Now what you COULD do if you went out and bought a good power inverter (600W continuous or better) is get a portable space heater and run it on low setting, which consumes 500 watts. This would leave 100 for a lightbulb (forget the TV - -why do you need a TV - - the storm is over when it's over and you're not in much danger in a winter storm as long as you stay inside).
Of course now you run into the problem of damage to your truck. Cars don't like to sit idling. That's a good way to overheat them unless your cooling system is very efficient. Then there's the CO buildup in the house from running the car - -even if you leave the garage door open it'll still get in the house - - -which puts your family in danger.
Also, how long would the cord be from the truck to whereever your powered stuff is? Remember that voltage drops over distance, which causes the amps consumed to rise. So, for example, if we take a 600W power supply and put 6 100W lightbulbs on it, you have to have the lightbulbs (which at 120 volts draw 5 amps) very close to the power supply. If you move them too far away, they'll actually draw MORE than 5 amps.
That wattage rating on the power supply isn't real accurate- - -it should be an amp rating, but no one knows what an amp is or how it relates to power consumption, and everyone knows what a 60 watt lightbulb is, so they label 'em in watts to try to avoid confusing the masses. so a 600 W power supply is actually good for 5 amps, meaning if the bulbs are too far away, the power supply won't be able to power them and will (assuming it's designed even marginally well) shut itself off to avoid damage.
Your power supply is good for 2.9 amps. This will run a TV and a light bulb just fine (2/3's amp for a 13" black/white TV and 1/2 amp for the lightbulb) but will leave only 1.73 amps to play with. That basically won't run jack.
What I'd do is buy a couple of emergency lights. They wire into AC power and charge themselves, then turn on (2-4 hours depending on the light) when the power cuts out. I wouldn't really worry about heating the house if the power's out even if i didn't have a gas fireplace. Unless your insulation sucks, it's gonna take a LONG time for the house to cool to the point where it's dangerous to occupy (and if it gets that cold, hop in the car and warm up on your way to the motel)