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      09-03-2019, 03:37 PM   #1
itrocks4u
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Any issues using power inverters?

Hi all,

I live in an apartment complex and for some obvious reasons they have NO power outlets in the garage. Unless I run a long extension wire, I was thinking of getting a power converter like the one linked below.

However, I just wanted to make sure I'm okay to use something like this to say run a heat gun for a short while. I'm not sure if 12V DC can actually convert into the 110V AC for most items without damaging the battery?

Any thoughts or will the car be okay? Don't want fuses to be blown or battery damaged to be honest.

https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-300W-P...refix=power+in
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      09-03-2019, 08:08 PM   #2
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Using your car as a power supply is not recommended, unless your rigging the engine to run under a load whenever you have a black out. Get a generator instead and cheaper than breaking something in your car.
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      09-04-2019, 03:50 AM   #3
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What's the wattage on your heat gun?

Regardless, inverters are not a great option.

Buy a 100ft 15A extension cord on a reel.
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      09-04-2019, 08:07 AM   #4
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Do you have a light bulb in the garage? Use it to add a plug. Seen this many times at self storage place where the units dont have wall sockets but do have lights, so people tap the lights for power.

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Bulb-E2...a-610647614338


By the way, please pay attention to wattage. That power inverter is only rated for 300 watts while the heat gun is 1500+ watts. That inverter will never run a heat gun.

a 2000 watt inverter will cost $300+ and run your battery down in 30 minutes.

For a super high power draw device like a heat gun, battery and inverter is a bad choice.

Last edited by stevenc; 09-04-2019 at 08:17 AM..
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      09-04-2019, 03:09 PM   #5
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I've researched this a lot since I've been looking to add solar/battery power to my RV.

Can you run a heat gun off an inverter, yes, you can run pretty much anything of an inverter, given you have a big enough inverter and a big enough battery bank. That being said it would be incredibly expensive and not very practical to do so. Running it off a car, no.

Just run the extension cord or get power from somewhere else. If you really want power there get a small generator like a 2000 watt one or something.
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      09-04-2019, 04:18 PM   #6
itrocks4u
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Thank you, not worth the risk.
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      09-04-2019, 07:12 PM   #7
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Another issue is that cheap inverters use modified sine wave AC outputs, which AC motors do not like. The motor will overheat in short order.....
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      09-04-2019, 11:44 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by itrocks4u View Post
Thank you, not worth the risk.
Agreed. Not if you're going to pull some load. Maybe if you use it to charge a laptop or a iPhone here and there or a drone battery but for a heat gun I would say no
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