120V Plug in

[jstim]

So I am wondering, after doing some searching if anyone has done any 120V plug in additions to their rigs. I like my rig, and its close to having to just sell it. I'm now attached to a CPAP and need to be able to plug it in....oh and so is my wife. So its more of camper life when we camp. Which sucks, but it is what it is. I would like to be able to still do it big, in the back of the 4Runner or even if I have to run the damn plug into the tent. I did a road trip last year without it, and tried, but I went terribly downhill after about 3 days. So going without isn't really much of an option.

 

[theesotericone]

So I am wondering, after doing some searching if anyone has done any 120V plug in additions to their rigs.

Second photo. That's a custom acrylic panel I made but the 300W inverter is sitting in the ashtray. It's ziptied to the top part of the ashtray mount.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/2655150-post19875.html

 

[jgue467]

I've learned quality voltage converters include a built-in cooling fan, they last much longer with one.

Next I'm guessing you already have or will install a 2nd 12V battery with an isolator? That's my suggestion to making for a rock solid trip. Luck and enjoy. :cowboy:

 

[jstim]

I've learned quality voltage converters include a built-in cooling fan, they last much longer with one.

Next I'm guessing you already have or will install a 2nd 12V battery with an isolator? That's my suggestion to making for a rock solid trip. Luck and enjoy. :cowboy:

Didn't really plan on the second battery....but I guess I will have to if its necessary.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Didn't really plan on the second battery....but I guess I will have to if its necessary.

You could try a deep-cycle battery like an Optima Yellow Top, since they can discharge quite a lot and still have some decent CCA's, but a dead battery out in the middle of nowhere is not any fun.

 

[Hopeless Diamond]

You can get 12v CPAP machines too. Might cut down on losses from an inverter a little. In any case definitely recommend a second battery set up correctly.

 

[Doc2012]

So I am wondering, after doing some searching if anyone has done any 120V plug in additions to their rigs. I like my rig, and its close to having to just sell it. I'm now attached to a CPAP and need to be able to plug it in....oh and so is my wife. So its more of camper life when we camp. Which sucks, but it is what it is. I would like to be able to still do it big, in the back of the 4Runner or even if I have to run the damn plug into the tent. I did a road trip last year without it, and tried, but I went terribly downhill after about 3 days. So going without isn't really much of an option.

You’re alive! Lol

Hope all is well for ya man.

You can get an inverter from just about anywhere, and most have some kind of low voltage shutoff or signal to let you know the battery is getting low

Not too sure about the ones that go in the acc power ports, but the others I’ve had that go straight to the battery do.

I powered a pop-up camper with one when I was out with STA for a week, and it let me know when the battery was low. Kept enough juice to crank the truck back up and let it run for a while.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jgue467]

Didn't really plan on the second battery....but I guess I will have to if its necessary.

I'm thinking it's highly suggested for any significant battery use not even considering the CPAP - like using a stereo, tv, ect.

Unless you plan to take some other device to jump start the main vehicle battery in case it drains too much? That's another way to go.

Just don't know how much drain you plan to do, that drives the whole plan to me. If it's just a couple minutes a few times a day then probably any solution including one battery will suffice. Luck. :cowboy:

 

[thenightman]

This is what I did, hardwired the inverter through a fuse, and buried it out of the way under the dash.

www.toyota-4runner.org/2750858-post34.html

I don't know the draw of a cpap machine, but this type of setup would still work with a larger inverter, and a second isolatable battery. Good luck!

 

[tcbaklash]

If you're running a single stock-size battery, I'm going to guess that your CPAP machine will drain it overnight. You might want to consider doing solar power for an auxiliary battery pack. I did one on my sister's van for lights, exhaust fan, cell phone charging, and a 120V inverter so that they wouldn't kill the main battery and be unable to drive.

If you can give us specs on your battery and CPAP machine, we can crunch numbers. Your CPAP machine will probably have a tag with electrical info on the machine itself or the power cord. Power draw and loss from the inverter is also a factor, but we can throw in imaginary values for that.

 

[jstim]

its 1.0-1.5 amps, 115 volts, and I have just a regular old yellow top optima. Hopefully that helps, I was going to do a 400/500 volt inverter.

 

[jgue467]

Using this as reference: https://www.batteryweb.com/pdf/inverter_battery_sizing_faq.pdf

500 watt inverter/12v = about 42 amps x 8 hour nite = 336 amp/hours

Your yellow top is probably 700amp? Regardless most batteries that are designed for our trucks would have enough capacity to power that One item and still start the engine in the morning for a recharge. Check my math though!! :cowboy:

 

[Bumbo]

There is no way a Yellow Top is 700 Ah capacity. 700 CCA sure, but not capacity.

Your calcs should look a little more like this…

First you need to measure the actual load of the CPAP machine, or just look on the sticker. Let’s just pretend its 5 amps for the sake of this example.

5 amps x 120 volts = 600 watts
600 watts x 8 hours = 4800 watt hours

4800 watt hours / 12 volts = 400 amp hours

Inverter Efficiency = 90% (check ur spec sheets)
400 x 1.1 (10% loss) = 440 amp hours of battery needed to run that load for 8 hours straight.

Your typical good quality / larger lead acid deep cycle is like 200 amp hours.

You never want to discharge a lead battery more than 50% DOD (depth of discharge), meaning that the usable amp hour capacity is 100 amp hours.

So really you would need 4 x deep cycle cells (800 amp hours / 400 amp hours at 50% DOD) to run that load (440 amp hours) for 8 hours in a healthy manner.

This isn’t the first CPAP project I have seen… ive seen people do a custom build setup using lithium cells, and ive also seen people use things like a Goal Zero for a more turn-key solution.

Basically figure out what much power your CPAP machine also consumes, and them do the calcs.

Also, I would look into a good 12v CPAP machine, you will pick up on conversion losses. Keep in mind that 90% efficient is a estimate, it can vary greatly depending on the quality of the inverter and the input voltage need for that efficiency %. Sometimes at low voltages, inverter efficiency can drop to 70-80%...

I would venture to guess the CPAP machine might be more efficient than this, and it would drastically change the design scope. I can help more after you get information.

Hope that helps

 

[Mgyver1]

So I am wondering, after doing some searching if anyone has done any 120V plug in additions to their rigs. I like my rig, and its close to having to just sell it. I'm now attached to a CPAP and need to be able to plug it in....oh and so is my wife. So its more of camper life when we camp. Which sucks, but it is what it is. I would like to be able to still do it big, in the back of the 4Runner or even if I have to run the damn plug into the tent. I did a road trip last year without it, and tried, but I went terribly downhill after about 3 days. So going without isn't really much of an option.

Post a pic of the electrical input on your CPAP. My dad has a Philips Repironics REMstar CPAP. The power sticker on it shows it runs on 12v and uses 6.67 amps, however I believe that is at full power with the heated humidifier.

After being in a position where the tent was too far from the truck, I got him an Antigravity XP10, which is Antigravity's biggest model and has 18ah. He tested out using the jump pack at home with the CPAP and found with the humidifier it would run less than 6 hours, however running it without the humidifier it ran 14 hours. It's a good setup as it gets used over a night or two and then can charge in the car while driving to the next destination. The jump pack is also small and portable so consider it in your many choices.

I considered dual batteries in my 3rd gen but I ended up going with one large battery, a group 31 Batteries Plus X2 in a CBI tray and having an Antigravity as my backup.

 

[Bumbo]

Since I done know that much about CPAP machines, and with what [MENTION=113639]Mgyver1[/MENTION] said it doesn't look like we are dealing with a consistent load.

Whatever value is on the machine will be its maximum load, 6.67 amps, but it may not use that 24/7

An ARB fridge is a good example... 6 amps on the spec sheet, when its running it uses on average of 3-4 amps, and idles very low when it reaches its set point. It actually averages out to 1-2 amps continuous when doing a load calc.

The best thing to do would be to measure the load with a power analyzer / watt meter. This will give you a cumulative value of the power consumed over a period of time and will help with sizing the battery if the power requirements are high.

AC Meter -
https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

DC Meter
https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Prec...1-spons&keywords=tenergy+power+analyzer&psc=1