Trying to put a inverter in Our Hockey Teams Bus

[mcurtola]

Hey Guys I have a MCI 102a2 That is now gonna be the bus for our local hockey team.  I had a Xantrex marine 30 inverter for a great deal that i wanted to use! but it is so confusing to me how to do this!

Basically we would like to have 3 LCD 23" or 27" tvs, 2 Game consoles (xbox,ps3) and i would like to have maybe 6-8 ac outlets so people can run laptops and cell phones etc!  can this inverter work ? the bus i believe is 24v system and the inverter is a 12v one is there a way to make it work ? should i just find a 24v inverter?  The tvs and stuff will rarely be used like almost never when the bus in not driving.  Im a very handy guy but when it comes to the volts and converting, 12v system 24v ..... and battery banks  and alternator etc im just getting lost!!! Please help someone.  Can Some one walk me through what i have to do? Or give me a EASY System that will do what i need


Thanks For you help in advance!

mike

[James77MCI8]

Get   a 24V inverter un less you want to spend a lot of $$$$$$. To many components to buy and install to make  a 12V inverter work on a 24V system.

[Tom Y]

If you give up on the 12v I may be intrested.  Tom Y

[eagle19952]

UMmmm,all you need and probably want is a separate battery bank for the house inverter system,add a 12 v alt somewhere and your good to go.
More knowledgeable folks might have better advice but I would call xantrex and ask them if this option,or what other option might work best.

[buswarrior]

I agree, go 24 volt.

You also have to consider how you are going to keep all of what you want to plug in, under the capacity of your equipment.

I don't know many hockey players or parents who can do as they are told...

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[bevans6]

With that wide range of different electronics and chargers, you should plan to get a pure sine inverter.  I am awaiting delivery of a 24 volt 3000 watt Samlex inverter, once I get it and do the install I will know how it goes.

Brian

[chris4905]

I have a ProSine 3,000 watt pure sine wave inverter I will shortly be posting on the Spare Tire section.

I had it in my bus for several years, worked perfectly, in excellent shape.  Owners manuals included.

I'm parting out our bus, nothing whatsoever wrong with the inverter.

$500.00 (firm) and you pay shipping.  If interested please email me at chrisc.idaho@gmail.com

Chris

[BG6]

I have a ProSine 3,000 watt pure sine wave inverter I will shortly be posting on the Spare Tire section.

Email sent.

[BG6]

Mike, you are going about this backward.

First, determine your basic electrical load.  Add up the wattage of everything that you KNOW you will be using. 

Then add your guess as to how much you will run from the outlets that you want to put in.

NOW, take another look -- anything that uses a wall wart power supply doesn't actually run at 120 volts.  It's possible that some of the stuff you want to use runs at 12 or 24 volts DC.  If so, you can subtract those load from the inverter.

Once you know what your loading will be, then you know what size inverter you need as a minimum.

There is no real advantage in having way too much inverter -- you may discover that, say, your load is 700 watts.  A 1000 watt inverter would be good.  If the load is 1500 watts, 2000 to 2500 would be good.

You may also break the loads down into smaller bites and use separate inverters. 

Your coach has a Vanner equalizer, maybe two, which puts out 12 volts.  Take a look and see what the output is, and have your mechanic check to see how many amps are being used by the coach itself.  Double that number for a margin, and whatever is left over you can use to run 12 volt stuff, maybe even an inverter. 

REMEMBER TO TURN THE INVERTER OFF when not in use.  It will suck the batteries dry.

Your best setup would be to put in deep cycle batteries and a battery isolator, leaving the coach batteries to run the coach.  Next best would be to put the inverter directly off the other side of the isolator, with no batteries at all -- it won't run when the coach isn't running, but will never kill your coach batteries.  The alternator puts out over 6000 watts at 24 volts, so when the engine is running you will never run short of power.

Where are you located?

[mcurtola]

Hey Guys so thanks for the help It makes sence to go 24v i guess.  BG6 i like the idea of going off the isolator that sounds easy here is what i will be running at one time max

3 LCD-Average LCD (standard): 111 watts
2 PlayStation 3: 197 watts

6-8 outlets for only laptops or cell phones so Average PC: 118 watts

total watts being drawn at once this is if all is going !

1671 Watts att one time,  i would like to put like a little fridge if posable for food and drinks but i heard there a big draw and dont want to get to complicated. what is  good inverter to go with

mike

feel free to email me  guys mcurtola@telus.ner

[buswarrior]

I agree that you need to put the cart back behind the horse, do your planning, then see what it might take to meet your dreams.

I also agree that breaking the system into smaller bits with their own dedicated pieces, versus one big system, can open up the flexibility in purchasing a wider variety of new/used equipment from cheap online sources.

Then, hold on, this is still a seated coach?
May we assume it still has stock HVAC?

If so, there is NOT a limitless supply of power. There are somewhere around 3 HP of electric fans that need to run just for the A/C. You may discount the condenser fan load for the heating system. As well as battery charging and lighting.

And there is far from full power available in city type driving.

A Vanner is not a good way to feed an inverter.
Ignoring losses, the Vanner would have to equalize 100 amps just to get 10 amps at 120V out of a 12V inverter. The stock equalizer install wasn't intended for big loads.

So, there's more research needed for this interesting project.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

ps, typed at the same time....

[BG6]

Hey Guys so thanks for the help It makes sence to go 24v i guess.  BG6 i like the idea of going off the isolator that sounds easy here is what i will be running at one time max

3 LCD-Average LCD (standard): 111 watts
2 PlayStation 3: 197 watts
6-8 outlets for only laptops or cell phones so Average PC: 118 watts

Dump the cell chargers onto 12V, with a couple of 3- or 4-gang cigarette lighter sockets (about $10 each).  Anyone wanting to run their laptop should go get their own adapter.

This will discourage casual use of power.  You don't have a whole lot of it, as mentioned above.

1671 Watts att one time,  i would like to put like a little fridge if posable for food and drinks but i heard there a big draw and dont want to get to complicated. what is  good inverter to go with

Forget the fridge.  Get a GOOD ice chest, throw in a bag of ice and save a couple of hundred bucks.

[buswarrior]

mcurtola, where on the continent are you?

Your profile leaves no indication.

Might be some good help right next door!

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[mcurtola]

im in Vancouver Canada

[bevans6]

So are a number of inverter importers or manufacturers, including Samlex America, and Go-Power (and possibly Xantrex still).  No shortage of helpful people who know inverters inside and out.  I spoke to tech support at both companies when choosing my inverter.  Obviously they have manufacturing  done off-shore.

Brian