[C38] Invertors

[Les]

Bad form to reply to your own, but...

	The inverter also needs good ground return.  Make sure the ground will
also carry the 180 or so amps (for 1800 watts).

	Also check the surge rating.  Some have 0 surge tolerance.  Motors or
high power circuits (like coffee pots) often draw quite abit more
briefly before the actual draw begins.

Regards,
Les H
On Fri, 2009-01-23 at 11:26 -0800, Les wrote:
> Hi, Paul,
> 	Nancy and I have an 1800 watt inverter.  It is a modified sine wave
> type (the signal goes 0,120,0,-120,0 to create sort of a stepped
> sinewave.) This type is OK, but the newer real sinewave types are much
> easier on electronics, because that stepped waveform really beats the
> heck out of modern powersupply transformers and input circuits, in fact
> some devices just plain won't work on it.  If I had to do it over (and I
> do someday) I will get the real sine wave type of inverter.  They are a
> tiny bit less efficient, but the difference is worth it.  Another note
> is that using it with my new engine running the fusible link blew and I
> lost charging ability.  It was a major job to replace it and the
> mechanic charged quite a bit (I thought I had blown the alternator).  So
> there are some caveats about inverters and engine usage I guess.  I will
> be looking at a better solution shortly.
> 
> 	Before I replaced the engine I had a 100A alternator on the engine, so
> it was no sweat to run the inverter while the engine was running.  I
> will probably reinstall that alternator this year.
> 
> 	Make sure the leads from the battery to the inverter are short, and
> HEAVY.  the inverter draws about 11.5 times the current from the
> batteries that it is required to produce.  Thus with a load of say
> 1000W, (my coffee pot, one must have priorities) the current is about
> 8.5 A at 120 and about 93.5A on the 12v side, give or take a bit.  
> 
> Also cooling is vital.  Another annoyance to Nancy is that I have bad
> hearing , but Nancy says the inverter "sings" at a very high frequency,
> worse when the battery voltage falls off.  I have 420A of house battery
> (4 t-105 Trojans).  Make sure you have plenty of house reserve.  High
> demand eats the battery even faster, check out the 100A cycle on your
> battery bank.   If  you don't know the curves, check the website for
> your battery manufacturer.  Trojan makes it easily available on theirs,
> some you really have to hunt to find the discharge characteristics (and
> the worse their discharge characteristics, the harder you have to hunt).
> 
> Regards,
> Les H
> On Thu, 2009-01-22 at 21:46 -0800, PAUL NOTTE wrote:
> >  
> > Hi All :
> >  
> >   Iam going to buy an invertor for Impulse in the 2 to 3 thousand watt
> > range ,any input from any one would be appreciated as I am suffering
> > from info overload and a great fear of making the wrong choice.
> >  
> >  
> >  
> >    Paul
> >  
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> 
> 
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