130A Alternator 1800 Watts?

I’m trying to figure out what I can run in the truck with the 130a alternator.

I’ve got a great deal on an 2000W inverter (1800W continuous), stock photo below. But, I’m not planning on running anything close to that, just a couple laptop computers, phones, etc.

So, if 130a X 13.8v = 1794 watts, how much do the stock lights, ac, radio use? Trying to figure out what I can run without drawing the battery down.

 

The stock inverter is 400W max, so I would guess 800W before you see problems. 2x safety factor.

 

But, I think with the stock setup drops to 100W in drive, that’s why there’s the 400W anytime mod posted on here.

 

130w alternator peak. What rpm do you intend to be running when your inverter is running since you want no battery drop?

I’m afraid you are trying to out engineer this thing with out doing all of the math. The alternator output numbers don’t mean jack without knowing at what rpm they do this at. Your 130amps may be only 30 at idle or 70amps at 3000rpm (only guesses and have no factual data to back them up). Based on the output vs rpm this may not be a realistic solution to your AC power supply desires.

Get a generator if you need 2000 amps. Solar / inverters and the like are great when noise is an issue. Otherwise they are less reliable and cost efficient vs a generator. My solar system / inverter on my trailer is awesome at night when I need quiet. Otherwise my 3000w Honda generator does all the real work during the day. I have 400w of solar and 600ah of battery capacity. (My optima group 31 has 47ah for comparison). My solar system without mounts, battery boxes etc is more expensive than my generator and depending on the sun is less dependable unless I am running minimal loads like led lighting in which case my setup is complete overkill. If I had to do it again I would just buy the generator, batteries and an inverter. That way I would have all the power when needed but I could also keep my batter bank charged for night time duty.

I know I haven’t addressed many of your questions but in the end an inverter off a single battery isn’t good for much beyond infrequent loads and you will see a battery drop for anything beyond this.

 

1800 watts is its max rating. The inverter wont use anything close to 1800 watts with what your planning to use it for. You're talking about accessories that may total to 100 watts. Assuming 100 watts is your requirement...(Editing my math ) 100 watts is about a 8-amp nominal draw from the truck's 12 volt system. Therefore you don't have to worry too much about your alternator's output.

However, inverters have inherent inefficiency (loss). Running a bigger inverter than you need is a waste of power and space. As you said 100 watts is in the range of the stock inverter. If that's all power you need you're getting too much inverter. A 2000 watt inverter will draw more current from the 12 volt system to yield 100 watts than a smaller inverter would. I think drawing 100 watts from an 1800 watt inverter would be within the capability of your truck's electrical system but the stock 100/400 watt inverter will give you the necesary power more efficiently.

Save the 2000 watt inverter for use with a pair of deep cycle batteries and solar set up or a generator to recharge it.

Sorry if my language isn't clear. The concepts are explained elsewhere in more detail.

 

Thanks for the info, the last two posts, great information.

Well I already have a portable Honda generator which I'm a big fan of. I've really thought about this and I'm going to use the inverter on another separate project involving solar. I'll just do the 400W anytime mod and run a couple laptops, both are only 250W. Also, saves me from cutting up the truck electrical too much, which I haven't done yet.