power inverter grounding question

so i'm going to be installing an 800 watt cobra inverter under the drivers seat, im curious if this method is safe, instead of connecting the grounding wire to the battery he just grounded it like so. this is the first time i've seen this method out of my research and i'm hoping its safe because itll save a lot of money on wire if it is...hoping for some electrically inclined people to chime in

 

Get good terminals and a ground at least the same or bigger than your power wire. When you attach it make sure you scuff the paint off the connection so the terminal contacts bare metal and not paint. Should be good from there.

 

What both of those dudes said ^^^

 

thanks guys i appreciate it, and yes i'm going to be using 4 awg wire with a 100 amp inline fuse as close to the battery as i can get, i'll also be using 4 awg for the ground, thanks again fellas!

 

In order to get as close to 800W, you have to put the inverter as close to the battery as possible. At least that is how it goes for aftermarket inverters. RV inverters with a pure sinewave are a different ball game.

 

maybe i'll mount it in the engine bay, then run extension cords that will be spliced into some flush mount outlets, which would be a lot cheaper on wire, cause i'd be spending money on 18 gauge wire for the remote switch rather than buying 10-12 feet or so of the 4 gauge to power the inverter, i do kind of want to keep it clean though. you think a 10 foot run would really kill the power that much? the only reason im going with 800 instead of 400 is so i can occasionally run a drill or dremel if i need to

 

If you run wire big enough it will handle the run no problem. There is a chart on the internet somewhere explaining what size wire for how many amps and how many feet you need. At 800 watts it could pull 67 amps give or take. Also to figure out amps. Do this watts/voltage=amps so 800/12=67. A good battery usually runs in the 13 volt range but this is a good place to start.

Here is a chart that you can use for reference.

 

sweet thank you, 4 gauge should handle it with zero issues, the 100amp fuse will be overkill but i'd rather be way on the safe side than create a fire hazard

 

I would back the fuse down to maybe an 80 amp. The higher the fuse rating the more power it takes to blow it if something goes wrong.

 

thats what i was thinking, all the dust and water etc doesnt sound like itd be healthy for the cooling fan

 

hmm didnt think of it that way, good point