Power Inverter Suggestions

[JJ Campbell]

My Rotax 912 ULS has a Reiff 150w Pre Heating System. Can anyone recommend a good power inverter for me to use from the cigarette lighter socket on my car?

[Sling 2 Pilot]

Will the car be parked unattended, with motor running at the plane? Reiff heat systems work over time, do you plan on sitting for a couple of hours? I’ve got the Reiff system on my SLING, it’s plugged into a SwitchBox remote switch. I turn it on from home the night before or at least 2 hours before arrival at the airport. The colder it is out the longer I let it cook.

[JJ Campbell]

Will the car be parked unattended, with motor running at the plane? Reiff heat systems work over time, do you plan on sitting for a couple of hours? I’ve got the Reiff system on my SLING, it’s plugged into a SwitchBox remote switch. I turn it on from home the night before or at least 2 hours before arrival at the airport. The colder it is out the longer I let it cook.

I am in a tie-down with no access to AC. So, yes, I plan to park the car next to the plane and sit in it with my Kindle. I'm hoping an hour will do the trick, if not I guess I'll have to read longer.

[Sling 2 Pilot]

Will the car be parked unattended, with motor running at the plane? Reiff heat systems work over time, do you plan on sitting for a couple of hours? I’ve got the Reiff system on my SLING, it’s plugged into a SwitchBox remote switch. I turn it on from home the night before or at least 2 hours before arrival at the airport. The colder it is out the longer I let it cook.

I am in a tie-down with no access to AC. So, yes, I plan to park the car next to the plane and sit in it with my Kindle. I'm hoping an hour will do the trick, if not I guess I'll have to read longer.

Yeah JJ, all depends on the temps, colder=longer. I used forced air back when I was tied down with no power source. Had a SureFire propane heater. Usually got the oil thin enough on a cold day for an easy start in half an hour.

[3Dreaming]

Will your cigarette lighter provide enough amperage to power the inverter to heat the engine?

[drseti]

I'd suggest a small, portable gasoline powered electric generator. This one's only $125:

https://www.harborfreight.com/electrica ... 63025.html

[JJ Campbell]

Will your cigarette lighter provide enough amperage to power the inverter to heat the engine?

I don't know but the pre heater is only 150 watts and I see cigarette lighter ones anywhere from 150 to 500 watts. I figured I'd get a 300 watt one if someone has one they recommend.

[JJ Campbell]

I'd suggest a small, portable gasoline powered electric generator. This one's only $125:

https://www.harborfreight.com/electrica ... 63025.html

Thanks, Paul. I'll look into that one. If it will fit in the storage box I have under the tail, that would mean that I wouldn't need to gave the car near the plane and I could also hang out in the FBO with my Kindle. (Generator chained to the anchor point of course!)

[JimParker256]

This Generac 1200-watt unit from Amazon ($369) is just about the least expensive small generator I've seen. I believe just relabled the Wen generator with their name, as it looks exactly the same as the Wen, which is highly rated. (I have no first-hand experience with them, however.)

I own a Champion 3000-watt generator we use with our RV, and I've become partial to that brand, so I would probably spend a few extra dollars ($429) and purchase this Champion 2000-watt unit instead. Both are "inverter" type generators, and produce smooth, reliable power.

You can sometimes find these at CostCo (or online at CostCo.com), which is nice because they have a no-questions-asked return policy.

[JJ Campbell]

I'd suggest a small, portable gasoline powered electric generator. This one's only $125:

https://www.harborfreight.com/electrica ... 63025.html

Thanks, Paul. I'll look into that one. If it will fit in the storage box I have under the tail, that would mean that I wouldn't need to gave the car near the plane and I could also hang out in the FBO with my Kindle. (Generator chained to the anchor point of course!)

The Harbor Freight one was 2" too tall for my storage box but I found this on Lowe's web site:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sportsman-1-00 ... lsrc=3p.ds
It looks perfect to me and only costs $173.

[JimParker256]

I cannot tell from a quick review of the web site, but I don't see any claim that the inexpensive "Sportsman" generator from Lowes is an "inverter-type" generator. Inverter generators provide much more stable power, and if you ever want to hook up anything to it that needs "clean" power, the old non-inverter (cheaper) type generators are all over the place when it comes to both voltage and maintaining 60 Hz. Also, did you notice that it's a 2-stroke engine (likely have to add 2-stroke oil to the gas) and is rated at 65 dB noise rating? That's pretty loud for a small generator.

Here's a similar generator (even the same "Sportsman" brand) but it's an Inverter-type generator with a 4-stroke engine for $219. The one you found at Lowes uses a 2-stroke engine, so you probably have to pre-mix the gas). This one is rated as 56 dB (so about 1/2 the volume of the 2-stroke one you found at Lowes.

[JJ Campbell]

I cannot tell from a quick review of the web site, but I don't see any claim that the inexpensive "Sportsman" generator from Lowes is an "inverter-type" generator. Inverter generators provide much more stable power, and if you ever want to hook up anything to it that needs "clean" power, the old non-inverter (cheaper) type generators are all over the place when it comes to both voltage and maintaining 60 Hz. Also, did you notice that it's a 2-stroke engine (likely have to add 2-stroke oil to the gas) and is rated at 65 dB noise rating? That's pretty loud for a small generator.

Here's a similar generator (even the same "Sportsman" brand) but it's an Inverter-type generator with a 4-stroke engine for $219. The one you found at Lowes uses a 2-stroke engine, so you probably have to pre-mix the gas). This one is rated as 56 dB (so about 1/2 the volume of the 2-stroke one you found at Lowes.

My storage box is only 14" tall so this one is also too tall.

[chicagorandy]

IMHO the Harbor Freight and Sportsman (same machines) are NOT very good. Had negative experiences with several of them.

However, the Harbor Freight Predator 2000 (a $450 Chinese knockoff of the Honda) is superb. Yes it's also too tall to fit in your storage box but it IS light enough to just transport to the site in your car before each winter flight and store it in that while you're in the air?

[fatsportpilot]

I own a Champion 3000-watt generator we use with our RV, and I've become partial to that brand, so I would probably spend a few extra dollars ($429) and purchase this Champion 2000-watt unit instead. Both are "inverter" type generators, and produce smooth, reliable power.

A generator with an inverter is only important if you need true sine wave output instead of square wave because square waves have a high THD (total harmonic distortion) which is bad for sensitive electronics. If your load is just a heater then there is no need to waste money on a clean power source. Just buy any old generator that has enough power (the heater must not use more than 80% of the generator's rated power).

[JimParker256]

A generator with an inverter is only important if you need true sine wave output instead of square wave because square waves have a high THD (total harmonic distortion) which is bad for sensitive electronics. If your load is just a heater then there is no need to waste money on a clean power source. Just buy any old generator that has enough power (the heater must not use more than 80% of the generator's rated power).

You're right, as long as you're 100% positive you will NEVER want to use that generator to provide power to your avionics while you test something, or do anything else with it where "clean power" would matter. Personally, I'll never own another non-inverter generator after experiencing the difference.

The other point (and possibly equally important) is that the inverter-type generators are "mostly" very quiet. The "other" generators are cheap power, and usually a whole lot less "neighbor-friendly" when you're using them. I would think it would be a good idea to NOT bring a bunch of attention to what you're doing...