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Hard wiring inverter
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:28 pm
by SLASH
Hi guys, i have a 300w inverter wich i would like to hard wire to my auxilary battery. Should i be fitting an in line fuse to it and should i run the earth back to the battery? Also if im fitting a 12v cigerette plug of that battery do i have to run that through a relay or is the in line fuse all i need? Cheers Loz.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:42 pm
by chimpboy
Fuse - yes.
Earth back to battery - debatable but I wouldn't bother.
Relay - no.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:42 pm
by SLASH
Thanx man. What size fuse would you recomend for the inverter? Cheers Loz.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:45 pm
by chimpboy
Was there a fuse in the wiring that came with it?
I am guessing a 25A or a 30A for a 300W inverter. But I think mine came with a fuse; I would use whatever size that was.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:41 pm
by SLASH
Mate i couldnt tell you coz its a few years old. Ive just been pluggin it in the cigerette socket. It may have come with one with the aligator clips but i may have tossed it. Ill stick with what you said,it should be fine. Thanx for your help mate. Cheers Loz.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:28 pm
by 43som
the invertor should have a fuse in it. use the same size.
Mine (350watt) has a 30 amp at the battery.
I do know invertors suffer from voltage loss on the cable.
the further away from the battery the invertor is, the bigger the cable. again start at the same size cable as what came with it (aligator clips).
Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:06 pm
by JustinW
for inverter fusing use this -
surge wattage divided by nominal voltage = approx fuse size.
Most 300watt inverters have a surge wattage of 600w, so....
600/12 = 50amp, anything under 50amp will be fine.
If using an inline fuse, use something like a midi or mega fuse, as the standard auto or maxi blade fuses handle amperages over about 30amp poorly causing voltage drop.
cheers,
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:06 am
by SLASH
Thanx for the info guys. Cheers Loz.
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:36 am
by stuee
Fuse for the cable size you are using not for the inverter. As mentioned here before, fuses are to prevent the cable from overheating and catching fire. They are often don't act quickly enough to protect electrical devices and if they do the manufacturer will usually fit one on board the device.
So don't use 10amp rated cable then fuse with a 30amp fuse. Alternatively if you are using 50amp rated cable then you can use any size fuse up to 50amps.