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Setting up a battery and inverter with a Carvin MB15

KohanMike

KohanMike

Los Angeles, Beverly Grove West, near Cedars-Sinai
Gold Supporting Member
Aug 6, 2014
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Los Angeles, Beverly Grove West (Beverly Center)
#1
I've changed this thread completely around, at first it was about me buying a high capacity battery and inverter to use with my Carvin MB15 outdoors when there's no a/c available, but the replies bellow jogged my brain to realize that before I go that way, I have to test using my Phil Jones Double Four with a battery and my Carvin 115MBE box. If it works, I'm done.

Thanks to all who replied to my original post.

Edit: I went back to this post being about using a battery and inverter with my Carvin amp.
 
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#2
So, what charger do you plan to use? I assume you read the warning about not using lead-acid charger? Or is the resultant pyrotechnics going to be part of the show ;) ?

Dunno what all that will cost you but a battery powered amp probably would have been cheaper - and certainly lighter and less of a hassle.
 
#3
I have two battery powered amps, a Crate TX50 Limo 50w and a Phil Jones Double Four 70w, but neither can handle an outdoor event like I do, I've tried.

I also bought the matching charger, neglected to show it. The entire setup is about $500, which is less than buying another battery amp that might handle the gig.

Hey, you made think more about this and I just realized something, I also have a Carvin 115MBE extension cabinet that I have to try with the Phil Jones, crap, now I have to cancel the order, but thanks for jogging my brain (as knee jerk as it is).
 
#4
I would not recommend any modified sine wave inverter for an audio amp. Not all will deliver the same AC peak voltage, which is what the amp's internal power supply and DC voltages depend on. The risk of damage is very real without knowing the actual AC peak voltage of the inverter's waveform.

Pure sine wave inverters are a better and safer choice IME.
 
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#7
I use to power a 1x15 combo amp on a converter it was 100 watt amp and I used a typical 300 watt converter with no problem. used it at a drum circle and people when nuts when I played they loved it.

I wouldn't mess with lipo batteries or led acid car starting batteries. just bungie cord a marine deep cycle to a 2 wheel dollie. if you run a led acid starting battery dead more than 2 or 3 times they get damaged.

I don't know if switch mode power supplies are sensitive to converters nor do I care. I don't use amps that have them and never had a problem using cheap converters
 
#8
BogeyBass said:
I use to power a 1x15 combo amp on a converter it was 100 watt amp and I used a typical 300 watt converter with no problem. used it at a drum circle and people when nuts when I played they loved it.

I wouldn't mess with lipo batteries or led acid car starting batteries. just bungie cord a marine deep cycle to a 2 wheel dollie. if you run a led acid starting battery dead more than 2 or 3 times they get damaged.

I don't know if switch mode power supplies are sensitive to converters nor do I care. I don't use amps that have them and never had a problem using cheap converters
Click to expand...

You may not care, but that's not the point of my comments. There are others here on the forum that might indeed care more than you do about their own gear, and they might have a very good reason to care.

All amps can be sensitive to modified sine wave inverters, it depends on the specific MSW algorithm used. They are not all the same, some use a higher peak voltage and different time ratios between steps. I mentioned it because I have seen the damage that CAN be caused over the last 25 years that they have been popular. Not just bass amps, but pro audio too. Pure Sine wave inverters do not suffer from this problem, and tend to be much quieter as well.
 
#10
all I know is if you bring a small microwave with you. it's kinda fun enjoying a hot pocket in the middle of nowhere. And likewise have done recordings in some very very strange places on battery power using a computer and old crt monitors. never had a problem. then again I'm really weird lol. I use to do ambient recordings where murders took place or any morbid places such as graveyards or haunted houses. literally have thousands of hours of recorded material using digital and analogue equipment. And ran amps, pedals, reel to reels, toasters , microwaves, computers and monitors on cheap harbor freight converters
 
#13
You are talking about an inverter attached to your car battery or a gasoline powered inverter? I have had decent success powering a show with a Kipor inverter. It's a Chinese knockoff of a 2000 watt Honda generator. It seems to make good stable power and it's also far quieter than just about any other type of generator. All things being equal, I would have bought a new Honda or Yamaha inverter, but things aren't equal and this one turned up used when I needed a generator. 1/3 the price for essentially the same thing is hard to say no to.
 
#14
All of the engine powered inveter generators are sine wave type. The main differences between the Chinese copies and the Honda/Yamaha is the reliability of the engine and the inverter, as well as the serviceability.
 
#15
KohanMike said:
I just did a test with the Carvin box going to the Phil Jones and it doesn't work. Apparently the Phil Jones can't Line Out to the Carvin box. So I'm going to just use the Phil Jones by itself as best as it can be in the circumstances.
Click to expand...
Line out is at line level. It cannot drive an unpowered speaker. Line level is for driving another power amp or a powered speaker.
 
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#16
I'm back with the results of using the Phil Jones at the gig. The gig was bigger and more open air then we thought, it couldn't cut it. Now I'm determined to get the Carvin on a compact battery/inverter setup. The battery is from BatterySpace.com, I talked it over with their tech and he recommended their LiFePO4 12V 25Ah 300Wh, 50A rate for $260, with correct charger for $73 (see below).

With all the conflicting info, I want to be sure I get the right inverter, not gas powered but a simple small but properly matched one for the battery. The inverter I'm looking at is also below.

These are statements from above, I don't know what they mean. Someone please point me in the right direction.
• "typical 300 watt converter with no problem... don't know if switch mode power supplies are sensitive to converters..."
• amps can be "sensitive to modified sine wave inverters, it depends on the specific MSW algorithm used... "

z Lithium battery.jpg

Xantrex inverter.jpg
 
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#17
The inverter is not a good choice IMO, you should look for a pure sine wave, not a modified sine wave inverter. The difference in cost is small, a 500 watt PSW inverter would be plenty.
 
#19
That should work. Be sure your DC input cables are large enough, you will probably need to use ~#8 or maybe #10 AWG because the input current is 10x the output current (because the input voltage is 1/10 the output voltage)
 
#20
agedhorse said:
That should work. Be sure your DC input cables are large enough, you will probably need to use ~#8 or maybe #10 AWG because the input current is 10x the output current (because the input voltage is 1/10 the output voltage)
Click to expand...

It came with #6 AWG, isn't that even thicker than #10 AWG, isn't thicker better?
 

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