What inverter is your agency using in your vehicle drone set up?
We are looking to add an inverter to our hazmat recon drone set up. We are curious about the pros and cons of what others have used or are using. Good points and bad points. Appreciate any advice members can offer.
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I'm using a Samlex 3000 watt inverter (Model PST-3000-12). The inverter is run to two XS Power XP3000 12V AGM batteries. We've found we can charge two TB60 cases if the vehicle is running and one TB60 if the vehicle is not running for about an hour (obviously this can handle smaller batteries like those from a 30T or Avata with no issue). The vehicle running the inverter is a Ford Transit 250. We're looking into Ford Trucks with built in inverters from Ford for all future vehicles if possible.
I've been very happy with this setup, no issues out of it over multiple years of use. Weather wise, we see very hot summers and snow during the winter and it hasn't given us any trouble. If you're charging drone batteries I would absolutely recommend that the inverter be a Pure Sine Wave inverter to protect the batteries. We've also run the inverter to two outlets that are installed at the rear of the vehicle that keep you from having to plug directly into the inverter. Those outlets give a total of four standard outlets and four USB-A outlets.
If you're going to the LEDA Conference in St. Louis, Jon Yeast, one of the LEDA Board Members, has a great setup if he brings his work vehicle to the event.