Power inverter

[Meanman]

About to install a power inverter and am on the fence as to best location and mounting. Anyone care to post pics of their install location.

[lrp374]

How big is the inverter ( watts ) you are installing and what will you use it for.

[delicat]

Meanman,

It's not that complicated but there's a better way to do it and Jay would come very handy to tell you how... What can I say, he's the LMD electrical Guru.

[Meanman]

OK, I'm not new to accessory wiring or electrical for that matter.....part of my regular day job.
so far:
I've pre-wired from battery through a circuit breaker as opposed to a fuse, mainly so I don't need replacement fuses, I just wait until the circuit breaker cools down and the load or short is removed, and just coiled the wires in the engine bay for now until I decide on best location.
I just bought a 700w (1000w peak) inverter that was on sale at KMS tools and am using a 50a circuit breaker.

What I'm not sure is whether to mount against the hump or on the right side wall under the passenger compartment heater controls, and orientation (receptacles up, forward, or rearward).

[delicat]

We've put mine behind the driver's seat on the vertical part of the hump so that gives me easy access for both front and rear use and made for easy cable routing. It also doesn't interfere with daily use. The plugs are facing towards the sliding door (so the inverter is "laying on it's side"). It's been working very good for me. I couldn't have considered your other option as I have the coolbox in there.

I like the idea of a breaker... probably much cheaper than a fuse.

Cheers!

[Green1]

I just bought a 700w (1000w peak) inverter that was on sale at KMS tools and am using a 50a circuit breaker.

Just a quick note... 700w translates to just over 58A at 12V, 1000w translates to just over 83A at 12V. Your choice of circuit breaker has limited you to the equivalent of about a 600w inverter. It would also be interesting to know what gauge of wire you chose, and how long a run it is...

[FalcoColumbarius]

I have a neat little 400w inverter tucked in behind the glove box (five screws). it runs off of the batteries, with an in line fuse, running the leads under the passenger strip (between the door and seat) and up behind the glove box. The space is limited, so if you are going to run something bigger then it may not fit and perhaps Delicat's idea may be better. What application are you using it for?

Falco.

[after oil]

mines like delicat's, behind the drivers seat, on the vertical part, plugs facing the slider. its 1000w. i almost never have passengers, it aint a big deal. i routhed the cable from the battery compartment along the back of the engine compartment and into the glow relay area. theres a fuse there.

[DeliTan]

Hi Folks

I am in the process of putting in an inverter. Thanx to someone on this site mentioning the 1000 watt Xantrex sale at china tire.

I will install this and a battery somewhere behind the driver's seat in my 400 after I have done the final installation of the bed (today). I believe most, if not all inverters need to be mounted horizontally for proper cooling and to keep crap out of the receptacle and fan.

I choose to go with a separate battery to keep my starting batteries for starting and to keep the #2 cables as short as possible. I will install a 100 amp fuse at the battery for safety. The inverter has an auto resetting shutdown when overloaded.

I will run a #8 or #6 cable to the alternator thru either an isolater (if I can adjust the alternator's voltage) or a time delay relay. Also a #8 wire to ground from the battery and the inverter.

Tomorrow I will go see Rob at Polar to pick up either a Gel Cell or AGM battery (no outgassing).

john

[Meanman]

I couldn't have considered your other option as I have the coolbox in there.

I like the idea of a breaker... probably much cheaper than a fuse.

Cheers!

I meant the passenger heating cooling controls for the rear , I also have hot/cool box.
The circuit breaker I used is a factory Harley breaker rated at 50a but they are "slow burn" so they need 50a for extended period to open. They'll open at about 55a on a quick draw. Then take about 30 seconds to reset. Using 10guage wiring over a 5-6 foot run. The 700w inverter is overkill for what I'll use it for so the 50a circuit breaker creates better safety for my needs.

[Green1]

Using 10guage wiring over a 5-6 foot run. The 700w inverter is overkill for what I'll use it for so the 50a circuit breaker creates better safety for my needs.

I would personally use a thicker wire for that load, normally 10 guage wire is listed as having a max rating of 30a which is smaller than your breaker... (now it will probably carry the higher load, however it will likely get quite warm, and you will have significant line loss)

[Meanman]

I would personally use a thicker wire for that load, normally 10 guage wire is listed as having a max rating of 30a which is smaller than your breaker... (now it will probably carry the higher load, however it will likely get quite warm, and you will have significant line loss)

curious....that is the guage of wire in the inverter's Packaged harness.

I thought 10 ga wire was rated to 55a in open air single run but dropped to about 35a when bundled. Something to do with cooling. Either way I will uprade to a minimum 8 ga or even 6 ga if I can find some around the shop.
Thanks for the info.

[Green1]

but dropped to about 35a when bundled.

in our applications you pretty much have to consider it "bundled" because of the extreme conditions experienced in automotive applications, ambient temperature fluctuates over a wide range, and other things tend to cover the cable preventing it from loosing heat to ambient air (things like the carpet etc)

It's also generally good practice to over-engineer rather than under-engineer any electrical system...

personally I use 10gauge for up to 30A, but after that I look at larger wire.

[Meanman]

I'm with ya on the over engineering. This whole setup is to simply charge my laptop, or run a small compressor, or run a small tv/dvd for my Daughter. I really only require 300w max for the compressor that I have which is the largest drawing appliance I'm designing this for. Oh well might as well make it capable of backfeeding my house if required...

[tonydca]

If over-engineering is your game (a good thing IMHO!) then consider dropping the extra cash for a "true-sine wave" inverter. Most of the ones for sale at the big box stores output what's called a "modified sine-wave"; in simple terms, a true-sine wave is what comes out of the wall in your house, and looks like the waves on an ocean; smoothly cycling up and down. A modified sine-wave is distinct steps up and back down.

http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewab ... inverters/

Basically, the modified sine-wave will, over time, be much harder on your AC electronics, particularly those with switching power supplies (like laptops, DVD players, etc.).

I am looking into an inverter for my L400 in the near future, and my plan is to spend money on good, stranded, high-capacity wire, an inline breaker/resettable fuse, and a smaller good-quality truesine inverter with its own internal breaker.

These inverters tend to be physically larger than modified sine wave ones of comparable output; my plan is to get the inverter capacity I think I will reasonably need (leave the toaster oven at home), and way over-spec on the wiring.


Tony.