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5000 watt Power Inverter

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bbooze

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I need a higher watt power generator for film. The biggest problems with power generators though is that they are very loud (nixes sync-sound) and hard to load onto a cargo van without a ramp. I was surprised to see that power inverters that I could mount in side the van (a Ford e-350) go up to 5000 watts, and are quite cheap... some brand called AIMS is only $419.

Has anyone ever used these? It almost seems too good to be true. 5000 watts is allot of juice and I'm skeptical that a car battery could pump that out.
 
#2 ·
I use a 2k watt 4k surge invertor in my enclosed trailer for charging batteries, running a laptop and small power tools. When it was in my last truck i could run a 13amp circ. saw as long as the truck was idling. You have to run the proper size wire recommended for it and a good size alternator too. Right now the invertor runs off a 770cca marine battery that gets recharged off the truck through the trailer harness. I had trouble with the fuses blowing in the truck for the power circuit so i installed a 30amp breaker instead. This way the invertor can draw up to 30 amps off the truck but will automatically kick off and reset itself so there is no wire harness damage. The invertor will also shut itself down if you pull to much wattage off it. I bought it through Harbor Freight for $149, well worth the money in my book. :thumbsup:
 
#3 · (Edited)
You're going to fry your alternator if you don't upgrade it when you hook up the bigger inverters. A 5000 watt is huge. You absolutely need a dual battery setup, and you'll probably need the engine at idle to keep from flattening the batteries. When you're up into the 5K watt range, it's more like an ambulance setup. They often have dual alternators. 5,000 watts from 12 volts is 416 amps. That's going to require parallel 4/0's from the battery. A total of four of these whopping cables. Parallel 4/0's for pos and parallel 4/0's for neg.

I seriously doubt that this is a "real" 5,000 watt inverter you see advertised. They play games with peak output for marketing, and it might only be a 1,500 watt continuous inverter.
 
#4 · (Edited)
First you are going to need a lot of batteries and a high amp alternator.

Now lets suppose you are only going to draw 4000 watts from that 5000 watt inverter. If you had (8) 12 volt group 27 battteries and the van was not running, you could run that inverter for 1 hour. If the van was running and had a high amp alternator you could run a little longer but not that much. Because the alternator could not keep up with the amp draw on the batteries. 4000 watts is going to draw 333 amps at 12 volts.

So it is really going to depend on how many watts you are using, the batteries, and what is going to keep the batteries charged. You could go to the expense of dual high amp alternators to get close to keeping the batteries charged as they draw down. But this whole system will get very expensive if done right and will not be as cheap and reliable as a generator.


We have a Xantrex Prosine 2.0 Inverter/Charger (2000 watt) in our motorhome with 4 group 27 batteries. The most we can usually run is around 4-6 hours just using the satellite and watching TV, and using the computer. Then we have to fire up the generator to get everything charged back up.

Go to this page below at the Xantrex website to see how long the batteries will last at whatever wattage.

http://www.xantrex.com/support/howlong.asp
 
#5 ·
For that power, you might be better off getting one of the many generators that you can mount on your truck's engine with the requisite brackets and is driven by the accessory drive belt. Saves a ton of high-dollar wiring.
 
#6 ·
I forgot about the expense of wiring.

Don't know what size wire you would need for a 5000 watt inverter, but we used 350 MCM for our 2000 watt Xantrex. And that wire is just about a inch in diameter.
 
#7 ·
Kgmz said:
I forgot about the expense of wiring.
Click to expand...
I'm certain that you'd pay the stereo shop or RV shop a good grand or more to wire up a 5,000 watt inverter in a truck or van. There's way, WAY more to consider than just the inverter. Wiring, fuses, the receptacle, battery bank, additional and upgraded alternators, etc. A generator starts to sound more appealing. Check out some of the RV generators in sound attenuation enclosures. Many of them are downright quiet, particularly the 1800 rpm models.
 
#8 ·
I use a 1000w continuous inverter for running my recip saw and hammer drill. It also functions as a charging station for my cordless tools. Hooked it up through a heavy duty starter solenoid under the hood and a pull switch in the cab. Seems to run all other tools pretty good but won't even kick over my worm drive saw.

I may upgrade to a 2000w continous but I may also downgrade to a 10 amp circular. What's the opinion here?
 
#9 ·
mdshunk said:
I'm certain that you'd pay the stereo shop or RV shop a good grand or more to wire up a 5,000 watt inverter in a truck or van. There's way, WAY more to consider than just the inverter. Wiring, fuses, the receptacle, battery bank, additional and upgraded alternators, etc. A generator starts to sound more appealing. Check out some of the RV generators in sound attenuation enclosures. Many of them are downright quiet, particularly the 1800 rpm models.
Click to expand...
In addtion it is more expensive running a vehicle engine than a generator. You may also need a way to speed up the idle to achieve your required wattage since a vehicle doesn't idle that high. Then there is wear and tear on your engine. I would rather listen to the loud noise. You could also make a barrier to block the noise as well.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Ok, it definitely sounds like any large wattage inverter is not feasible at this time. Would a 1000 watt inverter like the $90-100 ones I have seen many places be pretty "wire it and go"? Or would I even have to do a battery + alternator upgrade in that scenario too?
 
#11 ·
The engine just being at idle would probably not be enough to keep up the 5kw.

As mentioned earlier, ambulances have dual alternators, AND high idle switches. I'm a full time firefighter and we also run ambulances. We have 2 ambulances with shot alternators because the high idle switches don't work. You will need at least 2500-3000RPM probably to keep up with the demand.

I have a generator in my trailer and a 25' cord for it. I just wheel it out and around to the front so it's not so loud and I do fine. And with that, I can wheel the generator anywhere I need it and not have to rely on long extension cords which rob voltage.

just my $.02 :thumbup:
 
#13 ·
I had a bank of 4 6V golfcart batteries on my boat that would run everything for 8-10 hrs. That's all of the electronics, lights, reefer, electric head with a boat full of beer drinkers, two radios and often a small TV. You will suffer some loss due to conversion.

Boat pic.

Image
 
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#14 ·
Hey all... I need some advice. I know...dead thread. But not for me.

Looking to run 5000 watts continuouse for 14hr work days. I would be using 4 of these bad boy's: Trojan L16RE-B 370 AH Deep Cycle Battery. Need to keep them charged so I can keep working. Either solar or Genny.

Thanks,

Big AL
 
#15 ·
you should look into a honda inverter gen. mine is a 3000 watt unit and is very quiet and a lot lighter than a regular gen plus you can parrell two 3000's together for 6000 watt and very efficient on gas
 
#16 ·
ampman said:
you should look into a honda inverter gen. mine is a 3000 watt unit and is very quiet and a lot lighter than a regular gen plus you can parrell two 3000's together for 6000 watt and very efficient on gas
Click to expand...
X2, 100% agree. I have the E2000Si Honda and it works great, another friend has one and we often lend one to each other if need be so we can double them up on bigger jobs. Buy the 12 volt harness to for jump starting/charging 12 volt batteries too, its a cheap life saver.
 
#17 ·
ReallyBigAL said:
Hey all... I need some advice. I know...dead thread. But not for me.

Looking to run 5000 watts continuouse for 14hr work days. I would be using 4 of these bad boy's: Trojan L16RE-B 370 AH Deep Cycle Battery. Need to keep them charged so I can keep working. Either solar or Genny.

Thanks,

Big AL
Click to expand...
I can build an electric hybrid generator for you, using your batteries.
 
#18 · (Edited)
ampman said:
you should look into a honda inverter gen. mine is a 3000 watt unit and is very quiet and a lot lighter than a regular gen plus you can parrell two 3000's together for 6000 watt and very efficient on gas
Click to expand...
Thanks brother... looks very prommising.

woodchuck2 said:
X2, 100% agree. I have the E2000Si Honda and it works great, another friend has one and we often lend one to each other if need be so we can double them up on bigger jobs. Buy the 12 volt harness to for jump starting/charging 12 volt batteries too, its a cheap life saver.
Click to expand...
Thanks... will look into this.

buffalonyman said:
I can build an electric hybrid generator for you, using your batteries.
Click to expand...
So what are we looking at? You in Cali??? Yea... this one place was telling me I had to have 150-200 solar pannels to get the job done of charging them batteries at the some of 250k for the whole system :blink: Needless to say that option is on hold.

Looking to keep it inexpensive... otherwise it is not worth it. Just run two genny's and be done with it. Pass the gas prices on to the customers... man that sucks.

LMK brother... I had thought about a hybrid genny but am to tired to do the research on it. Being focusing on other things right now... like school on top of work.

P.S. what do you guys think of these batteries: Trojan L16RE-2V 1110 AH 2-Volt Deep Cycle Battery

Looking to run 4-6k watts an hour for 24 hrs as I have a big job coming up and need to figure this out. It is some time off but need to get started now.

How many batteries you think I will need?

Oh and I almost forgot... all those who help out will not go unrewarded.

Big AL
 
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