On Jan 31, 5:43 pm, "Morgans" wrote:

More information is needed, as to the current draw of the units when plugged
into a standard outlet. Buy or borrow an AC amp meter, and report back.
Also, do you have the cabin heater, or just the engine heater?

Just the engine heater. The standard Tanis for the 320 engines are 250
watts and drawing about 2-3 amps according to Tanis.


As I recall, most inverters say right on them that they are not to be used
for powering resistance heaters. They will do it, but it will strain the
power switching transistors. That seems to be the weak link. Also,
chargers for power tools and such that are constant current, variable
voltage units should not be used on inverters. I burned out a Dewalt
charger on an inverter, while trying to do what was not recommended.

Inverters usually have a rated wattage, such as 500 watts constant, 1000
watts peak. The peak is a joke. It may do that for a millisecond, but any
more will result in a very low output voltage, and trigger a reset
condition, which usually must be done manually. Not a good thing, if you
are not there.

The inverter I have can run continuously at 400 Watts with a peak of
800W. I learned my lesson about the "peak" rating when I was a
teenager buying my first boom-box...

I would think that if you do go this route, you would be advised to get one
at least twice as big, or more. If you say the heater unit draws 500 watts,
get a minimum of a 1000 watt, but a 1500 watt or 2000 watt would be better.

That's why I bought the 400W inverter. While not twice the rating,
hopefully it will be enough for a 250W heater.

Post some more specifics, if you will. My feeling is that it will be
doable, but not cheap. Triggering a small electric start generator may be a
better option.

I think the generator would be the ideal situation but I'm trying to
avoid spending ~$500 on a good generator. I did some research on
generators and there are some Chinese non-name brands out there but
the feedback has not been good. Duropower comes to mind but at less
than 1/2 the price of the Honda, I hesitate due to the "you get what
you pay for" rule.

But if there's any good feedback from fellow pilots on the Duropower
generators, I'll go and get one today.