Power Inverter purchase

EDIT: I wrote the title as Power Inverter Purchase. My mistake. It was a gift!!!


Hello Forum,

I received one of these as a gift today:




I bought this from West Marine for $29.99 which I plan to install in this location using an aluminum bracket to be able to use the threaded holes already in the inner fender & NOT drill any holes.




1) I plan to install the inverter behind the drivers seat & I will buy a 4 gauge amp kit which (I believe) comes with a 60AMP in-line fuse. Is this good enough?

2) Also, when you look at the pic of the specs you'll see: FUSE 30A*3. What does that 30A*3 mean?

3) What specs do I need to look for in an appliance to know if I can power it with this inverter?

My customer who gave me this has one on his Chevy S-10 Blazer for over 2 years & he has powered a small fridge (like the ones in some hotels) when he has had power outages. He has also powered various TV's & he is very happy with it. I hope to have the same luck.

Thanks

 

These are some basic answers to help you get started. There are a lot of other factors that I'm sure the electric gurus on the forum will help to correct.

1) A 60 amp fuse is okay, but a little conservative. At continuous full load the 800 watt inverter will (theoretically) draw about 67 amps (800W / 12V = 66.6A). Coming in slightly under that number will help protect the inverter from overheating, but will also limit you to only drawing a maximum of 720W continuously. The UL label on the inverter says that it will handle up to 1600W "startup" surge, which typically happens when an electric motor first kicks on. The inverter is protected to 90A (answer to question #2 - 30A*3 means three 30A fuses in series, equaling 90A), or 1080W. If you want to run a fridge, or any appliance with an electric motor that draws less-than but close-to the wattage that he inverter continuously provides, you may want to go a little higher with the inline fuse, like 80 or 90 amps, so that the motor can kick on without blowing the fuse every time.

2) See above.

3) Wattage = Voltage X Amperage
Amperage is mainly what you're looking for. Make sure that the appliance draws less than the UL label of the inverter (6.96A), or 835 watts at 120V. If the appliance has a motor, like a fridge, make sure that the startup surge is less than 1080W at 120V, or 9A.

Hope this helps.

 

Yes. The info is VERY helpful! Thank you very much! Do you know if the 4 gauge wire kit comes with a 60 or 90 amp fuse. I think it's 60. If so, can I buy a 90 amp fuse and place it in 60 amp fuse holder?

 

The only in-line fuses that I see online are 60, 80, & 100. Is 100 too much?
Thanks again for all the info

 

Depends on what wire size you are running. Fuses are there for wire protection really, you want to fuse to pop before the wire gets overloaded and becomes a fire hazard. Wire size is a function of amps and distance. 4ga should be ok for 100amp up to 12ft (nice charts you can look up online)

Also, mount your fuse as close to the battery as possible

 

Hello ManMan,

I measured the distance using a string and its about 11 1/4 feet. I spoke to someone who does these in a stereo shop and he told me the same thing as you did. NICE!

Oh, BTW, it will be 4 gauge wire that I use and the fuse will be close to the battery.

Thank you

 

Nice, let us know how it works out. I ordered that exact same model from Amazon last month, it's backorder and I'm still waiting for it.

 

Hello tacomaconvert,
I will keep you all posted. I should have it all installed by Thursday or Friday. I'll post some pics also.

 

OK folks. I just had the inverter installed today:

It powered my radio & my drill charger for 3 hours straight. I started the truck twice in between & there were no signs of battery drain at all. The inverter barely got warm:


I installed it using velcro, Even though it didn't hold the velcro ended up being a cushion between the inverter & the metal. I also put foam weatherstripping on the bottom to eliminate all contact with metal. I know the tie wraps don't look good but this thing doesn't even budge now. Plus, you can't see it with the seats up anyways:



Not ONE hole was drilled into the metal. This hole came threaded since thats where the plastic storage liner bolted up to. Now, it serves a better purpose:


This is the 80 AMP fuse:


I bought this at West Marine. It snaps into the base & the base is bolted to the aluminum plate that you see in the pic. I did not want power going to the inverter at all unless I was using it at the time. This helped me accomplish that. I had a piece of 1/4" thick aluminum that a friend of mine cut for me. I then drilled the holes. I used the existing threaded holes that are just there, unused so again, I did not drill any metal at all. I wonder what theose holes are for?:

 

On my inverter it said to run both the wires to the battery, also on a winch and other high drain items.

I was thinking about doing mine the same way as yours but keep thinking about it.
ANy thought on grounding like yours vs running two wires to the battery?
Cheaper with one wire.

 

Not just cheaper but less cables going to the actual battery. The person who installed mine has a Toyota Sequoia with (3) 400 watt power inverters for TV's and game consoles. All of them are grounded to a nearby metal source. I have never had an inverter before but I have had Amplifiers since I was 16 years old (the biggest was a 2000 watt unit) and I have ALWAYS seen them grounded nearby, not at the battery.

As a matter of fact, if you look on the lower left section of the picture of the inverter you will notice another black wire bolted to the metal of the cab also. That's for my Kicker 8" powered sub box. That box was installed by someone else. I would not worry about that.

I did notice that when they "ground" the cable, they scraoe the paint under the nut/washer for maximum contact. Make sure you do the same if you go this route. Good luck Mr. Gadget.