Just plug it in!

Electricians of the world - I salute you.

Apparently it takes more than just a cigarette lighter to plug in 4 cell phones, 4 rider headlights and batteries, 2 race radios, a laptop, a GPS system, a coffee maker, a hair dryer, and yellow flashing safety lights.

Last fall we sat down and figured out all the things we wanted to have in the leapfrog vehicle (mini-van) and what the electrical requirements would be. Being a creature of comforts, I included things like a hair dryer (because when I ride, my hair is perpetually wet) and a coffee maker (7-9 day endurance event without coffee -I don't think so). And then there were the "necessary" items such as cell phones and GPS units that would actually help us get across the country.

After compiling the list, crunching some numbers, looking up the specs to the van alternator, calculating battery juice, and listening to my Dad and Leary have riveting conversations about "modified vs true sine wave patterns", we finally determined that we would have to get a 1600 watt inverter to ensure we could power all the devices we wanted. Correction - power all the devices we NEEDED (my coffee maker and hair dryer got booted from the list because they would suck too much power and pretty much ensure we would NOT make it out of California during RAAM).

We ordered a Whistler PRO-1600 watt power inverter. With specs like this, we thought we were set:

"Turn your vehicle into a mobile office with the Whistler PRO-1600W 1600-Watt Pro Power Inverter. The Whistler power inverter allows you to run AC appliances, with start up loads of 1600-watts or less, right from your vehicle, boat or RV. They're great for weekend use and life on the road. They're also great for power outages. "

I would like to point out to the Whistler people that you can't have a power OUTAGE if you can't get power TO BEGIN WITH!

Leary took the inverter in to have it professionally installed 5 days before our Kerrville training weekend. We wanted to test it out and make sure everything worked. During installation they ran the cables, hooked everything up, went to test it...and....NOTHING. They moved a few wires around, retested again...and...NOTHING. This went on for 4 hours with the final determination that the unit was shot. Leary called Radio Shack who informed us that even though we bought it from RS, we would have to work directly with Whistler. Leary called Whistler who said we would have to ship it back to them because it falls under warranty and no, they could not just send us a replacement. Needless to say we didn't have the unit set up for Kerrville.

3 weeks later, new Whistler unit in hand, Leary went back to have the installation finalized and it took them less than 20 min to put it in the van. Leary went to test it and long story short, it turns out that our original plan of running 3 extension cords and a multitude of devices off the inverter WON'T WORK and that everything has to be plugged directly into the unit itself.

Are you kidding me?

So Leary is at Home Depot right now buying a bunch of those multiple outlet units where you plug one end into an outlet and then you can plug multiple things into the other end. When I asked him what the difference was between that and an extension cord (other than the obvious "cord vs no cord") he said it has something to do with power traveling through a cord and now the inverter won't allow that.

Again, are you kidding me? This device sounds like something a guy would invent.

So I have no idea how this whole thing will work and I'm beginning to think that maybe we should just buy cases of batteries and run everything off the Energizer Bunny. It seems a lot more straight forward!

UPDATE: Leary is now back from Home Depot with a completely exasperated look on his face. Imagine if you will, Leary in the Home Depot parking lot, van doors flung open, power cord wrappers everywhere...three separate trips into Home Depot (with three returns), and finally finding the right combination of cords, plugs, and wires. We are up and running!

However he did mention that when the inverter is running, there is a slight "electrical smell" that is emitted from the floor compartment (where the inverter is being stored). As he was telling me about the possibility of punching a hole in the floor and installing wire mesh so the inverter could breathe, I couldn't help but start to giggle (which turned into full on crying laughter). After I finally recomposed myself, he smiled. I think we should rename our team to "Team Sanford and Son". Bwah bwah bwahhhda....