Hi all,
I am a Matco Tools Distributor in San Diego (Kearny Mesa 92111). I use a Freightliner Mt 45 Box Truck for this business. I started this business recently, in September.
I have been successful and COMPLETELY functional using a Coleman brand 800 watt low cost MODIFIED sine inverter to power my laptop computer, thermal and laser jet printers,my flat screen monitor and some florescent drop lights that are product to be sold. I light those drop lights so customers shopping on the truck can see how they function. This inexpensive inverter is mounted on the thick-stout 4" wood protection wall that separates the driver from things like the tool boxes and other inventory. This inverter is mounted on the wall side just behind the driver seat just above the house battery charging units. Its a bit of a pain to reach behind the seat to turn it on and off each time.
Wanting my computer and printers to have cleaner power so they could last longer, last month I bought a 2500 watt continuous power with a 5000 watt Hi-surge power PURE SINE wave inverter made by Power Express(model PE-2500PSW).
Yesterday I drilled an access hole through the lower corner of the 4" thick protection wall at the truck's wall body and the floor so I could run connection wires from where the connection heat sink is(same side of the wall as the driver seat) to the other side of the wall where the desk that contains the items that need electricity are. I used 4awg wire to connect the new inverter to the heat sink strip. This strip is where the large 1awt battery cable connects. This 1awt cable comes from two new 12 volt floating type deep cycle house batteries that are positioned in the showroom area about 10-14 feet away from that heat strip(Yes that means there is about 14' of 1 awg heavy battery cable from the batteries to the heat sink strip). Also connected to that heat sink strip are the battery chargers and the inexpensive Coleman inverter. All of this is on the side of the wall nearest the driver's seat. The other side of the wall where the standing work station type desk is had no electronic charging stuff in that area until I positioned the new inverter on the floor there. I drilled that hole and ran those cables so the new inverter could be on the other side of the wall to the old inexpensive inverter and be close to the apparatus' that needed its power. I also decided to put the inverter on the opposite side of the wall to the other one because I didnt want to see unsightly wires sticking around behind the drivers seat. I also wanted to gain accessibility to the inverters on or off switch abilities--the new inverter has a remote switch to do that. Additionally, customers walking into the truck see the drivers seat and what is behind it first when entering the truck to go into the show room area of this truck. I like the idea of a nice first impression. The wires that were there were not that clean looking.
Now the issue. The new expensive inverter powers up all the things the old inexpensive one did. However there is obvious interference from this new expensive pure sine wave inverter where there was none from the cheap one. I CAN NOT use the credit credit card swiper that is connected via usb to my Dell Lap-Top. With the new inverter in play the card swiper/reader wont detect the credit card's. It is critical that I take credit cards this way. I also can not play the radio on any AM station due to intense static. The radio is an issue ONLY when I plug in the cord that connects the wall outlets. If I unplug that cord the radio plays fine even though the computer and everything which is connected through a separate power strip plugged directly into the new inverter is still working. Clearly the new inverter is transferring interference to this outlet connection cord that has most of its wire in the walls and this is causing the static to travel from the attached outlet cord/wall wire to the radio. It was a real pain to pull those 4awg and the two wires that make the electric outlets on the walls work through the hole I made in the protection wall. As a point the power wires and the wires that connect the outlets are in close proximity to one another. Maybe I have to move the cord for the outlets out of that access hole so they don't sit right on top of the welding type 4awg wire I have used as power cable. I dont want to pull all this wire to test and see if the wall is what is keeping the interference from reaching the credit card reader. I think the cord is transferring the static to the radio, I wonder if the thick protection wall provides a deflective barrier so the credit card swiper reader doesn't receive any interference? I am doubtful that the wall is needed to make sure no interference from the new inverter reaches either the credit card swiper/reader.
Is anyone aware if there some kind of a filter or other device any other suggestions? Any other idea's before I undo what I really would rather keep in place?
All help is gratefully accepted--
GaryZ
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