Power outage inverter recommendation.

mb167204 · May 31, 2018

Hey guys.

Power went out for a few hours last night which led me to realizing how unprepared I was for this.

In the meantime before I buy a generator I would like to have a power inverter that I can run from my car to at least run a powerhead. Can I just pick up any power inverter I find online or is there a specific one I should be looking at. Walmart has many diffent options and varying prices and I’m not sure what’s the difference. Thanks again.

flowflezy · May 31, 2018

What about a battery backup? Eco tech sells them I have 2. I live in Florida so with the hurricanes definitely need to be prepared. Plus 2 generators one for the house and a small tailgater generator one for the tank and football games.

mb167204 · May 31, 2018

Yeah I don’t have an EcoTech pump. Really just looking for recommendations as far as a car inverter for now.

RobZilla04 · May 31, 2018

Any car inverter will do. I wouldn't expect it to run for very long before killing the battery though. Even the expensive computer battery backups don't last long considering how long the power could actually be out. Generator is the only safe way to go.

mb167204 · May 31, 2018

Wouldn’t just turning the car on or leaving the car on run it continuously?

MSOEME2009 · May 31, 2018

In theory yes.

Not very efficient because you're powering a huge motor for a tiny alternator and overcoming all of the losses associated with running a car; or feasible depending on where the tank is relative to where your car is.

Figure out how many Watts of power your equipment takes which you want to run and go from there.

Make sure you look at running or continuous load ratings, not MAX load.

o00brandon00o · May 31, 2018

flowflezy said:
What about a battery backup? Eco tech sells them I have 2. I live in Florida so with the hurricanes definitely need to be prepared. Plus 2 generators one for the house and a small tailgater generator one for the tank and football games.

+1

flowflezy · May 31, 2018

Try hobby lobby. They have a small generator 100$ it’s a tailgater cheaper then messing up your car

cracker · May 31, 2018

I bought a simple inverter from an auto parts store. How long will it run a small return or power head not sure. I used it to run a tv & dvd player lasted about 5 hrs. on a car battery. Last year when Irma came thru I had a 6500 generator. It run 2 fans, . fridge
Tv & all. Sure it could have run more but that's all I needed.

radiata · May 31, 2018

mb167204 said:
Hey guys.

Power went out for a few hours last night which led me to realizing how unprepared I was for this.

In the meantime before I buy a generator I would like to have a power inverter that I can run from my car to at least run a powerhead. Can I just pick up any power inverter I find online or is there a specific one I should be looking at. Walmart has many diffent options and varying prices and I’m not sure what’s the difference. Thanks again.

Unfortunately, you and your car probably won't be available for the next outage. Murphy says that the outage will occur when you are both away on vacation...