Quote Originally Posted by badkuk View Post
i hope some resident engineers can help out...

i've seen a few DIY pages explaining how to do this -- i.e. run car, plug in DC to AC inverter, plug appliances. Just curious:

-- Is it safe to do so, for extended periods of time(e.g. >24 hours)?

-- how can you tell how many watts the car can produce at idle? Would revving the engine pump up the wattage? This is different from the rated hp(which refers to the mechanical power) of an engine right?

-- most examples i see mention pretty lightweight devices: laptops, cell chargers, etc. Can you safely plug in appliances with motors(fans)? i think it's wishful thinking that you can plug in even a small A/C or ref?
Ref, definitely not.

The regular car-type inverters I've seen on the market aren't durable enough to run anything beyond a cellphone or laptop for extended periods of time. And it's a waste of gas... having an 80-140 hp engine powering a laptop charger when a simple 3-5 hp generator can run so much more on much less gas. (and even those small gasoline generators should not be used for such long periods of time)