Coffee Machine driven by Inverter

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ShortyNavros

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Hey guys, quick couple of questions, Im sure Old Tony will chime in.

I want to run an espresso machine when I go camping. Its a small sunbean picollo https://www.sunbeam.com.au/Coffee-and-Beverages/Espresso-Machines/EM2800-Piccolo-Espresso.aspx

It says it draws between 1350-1450W, does this mean Ill need a 1500w inverter at a minimum, I currently own an aldi 600w/1200w surge one but I take it this wont be enough juice to run it?

Also what sort of gauge cable would I need to run from the battery to the inverter to power it safely? By my calcs the inverter would be drawing close to 100amps at max? What gauge cable could handle this load from the front of the car to back (3m in length there abouts)?

Not too flash with auto elec stuff so after some help.

Cheers,
Shorty
 
For 100 amps You'll need something fat. I would say about 4 gauge. If the coffee machine is not to flash and doesn't have any wizzy micro processors in it you'll get away with a modified sine wave inverter. But you will need a 1500W job. Heating elements are virtually a dead short :)

Use a stove top expresso thing here, with a freshly ground bean it's not to bad. Less expensive to.
 
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Id be more worried about the battery. That will suck plenty of power so you will maybe need to run your motor when making coffee. Do you have a generator?
 
At 1450W (let's call it 1500W) you really want to clear that by a little. Get your hands on a 2000W inverter and as Tappet says, a MSW unit will do the job. I kinda think here that if you're shelling out for that much, maybe getting a pure sine wave might be worth it so that you can run other stuff, because frankly that coffee maker might only get employed 8 times a day for 5 minutes each = 40 minutes = 2/3 of an hour at 1500W or 125A = 82Ah. You're obviously considering a decent power pack to support it - something that can survive that many amps going out (AGM preferred but wet cell cranker will do, it's just the longevity that's the killer). Jaycar sell an appropriate unit here.

125A draw - or a potential 166A draw - is goint to require something better than jumper leads, which can only handle that current for a short time. 4G is good for up to 3m, but beyond that you'd want to go heavier. This is where playing a smarter game comes in.

Don't get long cables. Grab some 4G stuff, connect your inverter close to the battery and just run a 240V extension lead to where the power has to be. At those voltages, line loss is minimal, so make the 240V the long run, not the 12V.
 
I've got a 2000w inverter mounted on the top of my battery pack connected via short 4G cables.
I use it to run a 700w mixing drill at work, but have used 1200w of equipment off it fine.
 
Fark $1000 for a pure sine wave inverter screw that, cheers for the info about making the 12v short cable and the 240v long. I have been looking at Sunyee as I know their lights are good so I assume there inverters must be decent.

They have this pure sine wave 1500w/3000w for $209 which is seems like good value http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pure-Sin...AU_Boat_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35de34bc0e

Or this 1000w/1500wmodified sine wave inverter for $80.

I bought the aldi one (600W/1200W) for $70 as they were on special and thought it would come in handy but then realised it wouldnt have enough kick for the coffee machine. I also plan on running this off a dual battery system with a 105aH AGM and will most likely just brew the coffee with the engine running to be safe.
 
Just check there duty cycle as some are rated at peak or peak time limited for motor start ect, and some are rated constant. But the pricing seems pretty good.
Enjoy your cuppa.
 
I've been using my 8zed brand modified sine wave inverter for around 3 years now used pretty much every work day for around 8-10hrs a day... when this one dies ill definitely buy another one.
 
That's cheap for a 5000W unit. Peak 10000W - that's 833 amps. You need a bank of batteries to do that, a single deep cycle battery would die under that load (except the spiral wound AGMs).

And don't skimp on the cables!
 
This is quite interesting info as I have an aldi coffee machine and a sandwich press in my trailer I would like to run off 12 v. If for instance we assumed a 100 ah battery fully charged 2000w inverter what would you estimate the run time on the op coffee machine to be.
 
Legend. That's a few coffees. But geeze might not be a goer if I need massive batts and a huge inverter to save carrying the machine onto site.
 
There's definitely something to be said for the ol' cafe press (plunger).

Not only would 166A need a large battery bank, but also large cabling. The best way to avoid that of course is to invert @ the battery and run normal 240V leads out.

Just a word on jumper leads for those that thought of it: 400A jumper leads can NOT withstand high current for long periods of time. Have a look at the inner conductor on some next time - they're relatively small. Then go look at some 8Ga cable - it's considerably heavier than the 400A leads - yet it's only rated for 56A continuous.
 

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