My 1 1/2 year old son was diagnosed with a fatal disease at 6 months into his life. He is expected to live no longer than 2 years old.
Just recently he has been put on oxygen and has to be on it all day to breath. We used to take trips all over the Eastern Shore but now they (doctors) are telling us we can no longer do this because of his need of the oxygen pump. He has "travel" oxygen bottles but the amount he has to have, they do not last long.
I want to convert my Ranger's bed so that we may get back to letting our son see the world rather than sit in the house all day. My question is, how do rig my 1997 Ranger 4.0 4x4 truck bed for 110-120V/60 hz? Do I need a High Output Alternator and a 2nd battery? His O2 pump needs a constant 120V/60Hz 5.5 amp to run. We only need to have the truck power the O2 pump for 4/5 hours at a time ( while driving). The rest of the time will be plugged into a power source or will be using the "travel" tanks. If I do need a High Output Alternator, which is the best and most dependable?

 

I'm very sorry to hear about your son.

If you're only going to power the oxygen source while the truck is running, there's no need for a second battery and the circuitry to go with that.

You will need an inverter that can handle the wattage of the pump. Simple math, volts x amps = watts. 120 x 5.5 = 660 watts.
Inverters will have two ratings, continuous and peak. The continuous rating states how much wattage it can handle for long periods. The peak rating states how much the inverter can handle at it's maximum, which should be reserved only for the startup of a piece of equipment, as when something initially turns on there's a higher burst of wattage needed vs it's continious run state.

You'll want an inverter than can handle 700 watts continuously, for sake of a safety margin.

You will also need some very thick gauge wires to go from battery terminal + and to ground. You can ground it on the frame for sake of ease, or at the negative battery terminal.

The manufacturer should specify what gauge cable is necessary. Expect at least 4 gauge, more likely 2 gauge cable. Right at the positive battery terminal is where a fuse will be required. Again it should say on the packaging how much it will draw on the DC side. If not, contacting the manufacturer is a good idea.

You will also need a positive battery terminal that the inverter's positive cable can be hooked into. You will find several on ebay, and audio shops should have them or at least some advice, as audio equipment can draw a large amount of current.


You will definately want a higher output alternator. I honestly do not know if the explorer's 130 amp alternator will be enough. That comes down to how much the inverter draws. You also have to factor in how much current it takes to run the vehicle after it's started, including any fans and lights you have. You can buy higher output alternators (200 or more) online if you search around.

Here's an inverter from harbor freight. If you buy one now, you can get 20% off if you use the coupon on their site. 1000 Watt Continuous/2000 Watt Peak Power Inverter

Good luck.

 

Yes, sorry to hear that story

Do you have a small generator, as backup for power outages?
1,200watt units are light and quiet, 12hour run time on 1.5gal gasoline
$250-$300

And these tend to work OK with electric motors, i.e. made to plug in freezers and refrigerators

Cheap inverters may not

Like Arctic Wolf said to run a 120vAC device from a 12vDC system you will need an inverter, 700-1,000watt

It will not run off a car battery very long, 660 watts(5.5amps) at 120voltsAC is 55AMPs at 12voltsDC
Your starter motor draws about 75amps, so you might....might get 1/2hour of run time from car battery, a brand new one.
So yes it would only work with engine running, and yes you would need a higher output alternator
Most car maker spec in an alternator with 30% head room so if you have a 90amp alternator your truck should have about a 60amp load with EVERYTHING on.
This is because at idle(700rpm) an alternator can only produce about 60-70% of full amp rating, engine RPMs need to be above about 1,800rpm for alternator to produce max amps.
Find out what rating your current alternator is
multiply that by .6
Say it is 100amp, 100 x .6 = 60
Add Oxy machine amps to that, 60 + 55 = 115amps

A 130amp alternator should be OK but just barely, may want to keep RPMs up, shift to Neutral, at longer stops.
Or price 200amp alternator

But in either case I would have a back up, generator, hate to have engine trouble cause a panic.
And just running a generator in the bed while driving may not be the worst idea, no different than carrying jerry cans of gasoline as far as safety
And a one time cost for use on the road or at the house, or ?? where ever you are

 

Thank you both for the great info.
This is a fusible link, right?
Yes. We have a DuroStar 4000 Watt Gas Powered RV Portable Camping Generator. The problem with running a generator while driving is I will have my camper shell, that I have converted into a camper of sorts, on. I will, however, be taking the generator with us just in case.
I am doing some searching today for everything you both suggested.We are getting very excited to be on the road once again. We thank you both for your help with this.
I do not know if this is allowed here but, Thomas (my son) has a Facebook page where you can follow him, if you like. As of now he has more than 200 followers. It will not let me post a Facebook page link but you can search for Thomas' Troop on Facebook.

 

I suppose a fusible link could work, but I don't know if they make fusible links for that much current. I wouldn't use something like that, and here's why.

A fusible link is something that needs to be soldered in. When, or if, it gets damaged or 'blows' so to speak, the old one is cut out and a new one is spliced in it's place. There's nothing quick about it and it requires having wire, a good heavy duty soldering iron on hand and a way to power that iron.

I recommend a replaceable fuse for this application. There's a maxi-fuse type and there's also the old style glass fuse types, commonly used in audio equipment. Either of these types of fuses with a good fuse holder will serve you fine. If one of these types blow, it's easy to replace with usually no tools required, except maybe something to grab onto the fuse with.

 

As Arctic Wolf said, Maxi Fuse for sure.

And I would install inverter in the engine bay as close to battery as practical, and run the 120volt wiring back to equipment, higher voltage but lower amps so smaller wires to deal with.
Inverter should have built in 120v breaker

Use 15 to 20amp 120v outdoor rated extension cord, run it inside tubing on under side of truck, plastic electrical conduit is not expensive and easy to work with
Any place it runs through metal it needs to be grommeted so it can't chaff

Install a exterior rated plastic electrical box in the back on the end of the wire, duplex outlet rated 15/20amp
These are made for solid wire not stranded, so either use connector end or solder stranded wire to make it solid

 

^ Extremely good idea. Extension cords are cheap....er than that heavy gauge wire for the inverter.

I oughta do that to mine, actually......

 

Well in human safety terms the 12volt wiring is better, higher voltage is higher risk, current/amps/watts don't matter in that potential risk, 25-50mA, yes milli-amps, is enough to injure/kill if voltage is high enough

But in practical terms the 120v is not that much of a risk to avoid using it, and in the rest of the world they use 240volt household voltage without a problem, 240v is cheaper because wiring can be smaller gauge(cheaper) than 120v, 10amp draw at 120v is 5amp draw at 240v

One heads up I forgot about is the turning on, and off, of the Oxygen Pump.
You need to do this after engine is running, assuming 1 battery setup now.
That 55amps is a big draw on the battery, each 2 seconds it is on is the same as 1 second of starter motor cranking.
So if you have to get in the back to start up the pump, and to shut it off, you may want setup a switch or just make sure you remember to have engine running before starting pump and to turn off the pump before turning engine off

 

One other tip on putting the stranded wire under screw terminals. There is another way besides crimp on ends.

Wen you strip the wire back, instead of stripping off just what you need, go another inch, but only bare the part you need. The insulation still on the end of the wire keeps the twist in place and keeps the wire contained. We do this all the time, nothing new. It has the additional benefit keeping the hot wire insulated from the box when you use a metal box. But do as suggested and use plastic, rigid or flex, for an additional layer of protection.