Running a fan on an inverter

larryw · Jul 8, 2009

At max power, I don't see it pulling more than a couple amps, say three, for eight hours is only 24 AH, and if you have a moderate house bank, I think you'd be OK, but know that in general any time you turn a motor or heat an element, power draw must be taken into account.

Hermit Scott · Jul 8, 2009

Why don't you want to run 12 V fans and skip the inefficientcy of inverting?
The design of the blades count for alot when it comes to how much power is consumed vs how many cubic feet per minute of air is moved. And that's where you will find the price difference in 12 V fans.
Do you already own one of those honeywell fans?

Seattle Scott · Jul 8, 2009

I run a "house" fan with a diameter of about 8-10 inches thru a plug in inverter from the cigarett lighter type 12v outlet when away from the dock. So I don't see a problem.

paulj · Jul 8, 2009

If the fan is white then .45 amps + .12 amps = .57 amps

.57 amps x 8 hours = 4.56 amh

If the fan is black add 10 %.

20 fans x $ 70 = $1400 :+1:

I think the Honeywell is just fine....it just depends where you are standing.

paulj:troll:

sailingdog · Jul 8, 2009

Umm... first, that is a 110 VAC fan, and if it draws two amps, that means it is a 200 watt device...which I doubt. That also means it draws 20 amps at 12 VDC.... not accounting for inverter losses, and running it for eight hours is 160 amp hours.

I'd guess that the fan probably draws more like 55 watts, or .5 amps at 110 VAC... based on a fan here in my office that is about the same size. That means it draws 5 amps at 12 VDC or 40 amp-hours for an eight hour run overnight.

Compare that to a Caframo Bora fan, which draws .25 amps at 12 VDC, and you could run 20 of them for what that Honeywell fan would draw.

Whether this is okay or not, really depends on the size of the battery bank and what kind of charging equipment you have.

larryw said:
At max power, I don't see it pulling more than a couple amps, say three, for eight hours is only 24 AH, and if you have a moderate house bank, I think you'd be OK, but know that in general any time you turn a motor or heat an element, power draw must be taken into account.

Don12364 · Jul 8, 2009

I have a small 6" oscillating fan on my desk right now and the plate on the underside reads 19 Watts so this would mean a couple of amps from the battery plus whatever the inverter draws when unloaded.

Maine Sail · Jul 8, 2009

It draws a LOT

javaprog said:
Does anyone know the power consumption of one of these Honeywell table top fans?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DJ27M

I've search and even downloaded the owners manual but I can't find anything.
I don't have access to the actual fan; it's on the boat.

Does anyone have an opinion about running it on a inverter over night?

It would certainly not be my first choice. The Honeywell fan you show draws 3.6A at 12 volts running through a very small 150 watt inverter. On a bigger inverter you'd likely see less efficiency.

3.6A X 10 hours of run time is 36Ah per night. Now multiply times two nights at 72 ah's and you've used nearly the entire capacity, to 50% depth of discharge, of a 200 ah bank while out cruising.

Remember that when cruising, and charging via alternator only, you'll rarely if ever put back in any more than 80-85% of charge state so a 200 ah bank with 100 usable to 50% becomes a 60 hour bank when away from the dock for any length of time.

200Ah X .80 (or 80%) equals 160 available usable Ah's at an 80% re-charge. If the bank is only say 200 ah's, and you don't want to discharge below 50% for battery life/longevity, then you'll have only 60 available real usable ah's per charge unless you run the motor for hours and hours on end to get back to 95-100%..

3.6A is a lot of current for a fan. My Bora Caframo can run 10 hours and burn only 2.5Ah's and your is consuming 3.6Ah's for every hour it is run. Is the Bora expensive? Yes, but less than a battery bank upgrade..

RV fans tend to be slightly less money but do still draw more than the Bora..'

Oops almost forgot the proof... Here's the pic..

Maine Sail · Jul 8, 2009

javaprog said:
Hopefully it will only draw about 36 watts on low.
3 amps over 8 hours, 24 Ah
Hmm, that's alot

I wonder if this D cell battery powered fan would move enough air for us to get to sleep?

Caframo Minimax Portable Fan
http://us.binnacle.com/product_info.php?cPath=199_271&products_id=2408

2.8 amps on low but this fan is a lot weaker than the Bora on low. Medium was 3.1.

seadaddler · Jul 8, 2009

Walmart

Walmart has cheap fan with a clap that plugs into 12v cigarette lighter plug for about I think $9.00 or $12.00

Franklin · Jul 8, 2009

seadaddler said:
Walmart has cheap fan with a clap that plugs into 12v cigarette lighter plug for about I think $9.00 or $12.00

Yes, and it's a lot stronger than the $60 marine fan out now days (I have both). Bad side is it only has one speed.

Chuckbear · Jul 8, 2009

Get one or two Caframo open face fans, Home Depot for about $30.00, Worst Marine about $50.00, and you can plug it into a 12 volt outlet or hardwire it. Runs at about 1/2 amp, has two settings and moves a lot of air. Ours last for about 5 years but they get used a lot. Chuck

Hermit Scott · Jul 8, 2009

You can get a 12V fan from Home Depot? the same one that maine is talking about?

Glenn G California Delta · Jul 8, 2009

12 Volt Fan

I just purchased one of the Ocean Breeze fans from Camping World for $60. While that is expensive in my book for a fan, when it was 111 out and I was having that warm air blast me it was worth every penny. I also have the Hella for localized air movement in the berths, since they are so power efficient and can run all night. While the Hellas are great in the berths, I found them inadequate in the salon. While you could run your 110 volt fan on an inverter, what is the reasoning for not wanting to switch to 12 volt? If you're only going to have one fan, why not make it 12 volt so you could use it while docked or out?

As for power consumption, the Ocean Breeze is a pig, consuming 3 amps on high. When my friend ran his on high all night it drained his 2 battery house bank by the next morning. The upside is it took longer for this powerful 12 volt fan to drain the batteries than it took when he a had a house fan wired through an inverter.

One more item, I think the Ocean Breeze will move substantially more air than your Honeywell. My guess is if it's a short night, and you start with fully charged batteries, you should make it through the night with the Honeywell or the Ocean Breeze, but you might be well advised to have an isolated starter battery.

Chuckbear · Jul 8, 2009

Hermit Scott said:
You can get a 12V fan from Home Depot? the same one that maine is talking about?

MS is referring to the battery operated portable. Here is the one carried by Home Depot

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|6880|8130&id=46808

Chuck

MrBee · Jul 8, 2009

javaprog said:
Yeah, I already have one of those fans. That's part of the reason for asking.

I looked at some 12v fans and they seem a bit over priced to me. Especially if the word "marine" is anywhere near them.

My boat is pretty small and it's alread becoming a bit cluttered. I'd prefer to have just one fan. Not one for the dock and one for the hook.

Don't buy the 12V at a marine store get the one at an auto store. I bought a fan at Pep Boys for less than $16.00 and it can be permenantly mounted or Clamped on with a spring clamp. Has an inline switch and can be pluged into a cigar lighter plug...or cut the wires and direct wire.

Bee

Tom Spohn · Jul 8, 2009

Here is the one I use. The D cells keep it going for quite a while. Also have the Ocean Breeze when it is just too hot.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...Primary Search/mode matchallpartial/0/0?N=377 710&Ne=0&Ntt=battery fans&Ntk=Primary Search&Ntx=mode matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=battery fans&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=5002&subdeptNum=12&classNum=36

Running a fan on an inverter

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Glenn G California Delta

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