Installing an inverter

Hello All,

I have purchase a Streetwise DC to AC 1000w (2000w Peak) inverter to power various items. I was about to install it, but the cable supplied are a joke at only 2 feet long, if that. Ideally I would lake to place the inverter in the boo of a Freelander 1, ideally screwed behind the nearside back seat.

I did some usual research on google, youtube etc, as to what sort of installation and cables I need and now a bit more confused than ever as there are so man types and some advise that looks good, reading various comments says its now. I would like to have the inverter connected most of the time, even if it switched off and nothing plugged in to it, unless this a bad idea then please tell me.

I have heard there is lot of things to consider on width, heat, and amps and length of cables, but also I like to consider cost. The usually items that will be plugged in to will be small electrical items and a laptop, with the occasional use of maybe a power tool up to about 700-800w.

Just wondering before spending money on the wrong things if someone can please point me a good reliable direction to order the cabling and battery connectors, and fuses if required. There is 3 35amp fuses on the rear of the inverter. When its comes to the ground wire, the instructions do not mention about any type suitable, so again advise on this please would be great.

Much appreciated

Nigel

Grab yourself a 0 AWG amplifier fitting kit and use that. It will give you the required cable and fuse etc.

1997 Discovery said:

Hello All,

I have purchase a Streetwise DC to AC 1000w (2000w Peak) inverter to power various items. I was about to install it, but the cable supplied are a joke at only 2 feet long, if that. Ideally I would lake to place the inverter in the boo of a Freelander 1, ideally screwed behind the nearside back seat.

I did some usual research on google, youtube etc, as to what sort of installation and cables I need and now a bit more confused than ever as there are so man types and some advise that looks good, reading various comments says its now. I would like to have the inverter connected most of the time, even if it switched off and nothing plugged in to it, unless this a bad idea then please tell me.

I have heard there is lot of things to consider on width, heat, and amps and length of cables, but also I like to consider cost. The usually items that will be plugged in to will be small electrical items and a laptop, with the occasional use of maybe a power tool up to about 700-800w.

Just wondering before spending money on the wrong things if someone can please point me a good reliable direction to order the cabling and battery connectors, and fuses if required. There is 3 35amp fuses on the rear of the inverter. When its comes to the ground wire, the instructions do not mention about any type suitable, so again advise on this please would be great.

Much appreciated

Nigel

Click to expand...

Read more... Each metre of cable is a massive hit... always rule of thumb is

1. Cable as short as possible.
2. Enough to take the load.

Don't ever consider you will be able to leave it on as it will just drain your battery. I must admit you just reminded me I haven't earthed mine 3 years after fitting it.

1000w 12 v isn't too bad to be honest. I personally opted for a shorter cable to the inverter and an extension on the 240 AC side. Which made more sense and took it to the boot.
I don't want to worry you but read up on Pure Sine Wave vs Modified sine wave for electrical items (computers spinning motors/pumps etc)...You may be ok depending on what you run and I have ran laptops/chargers and some tools off a cheap modified wave inverter, but its good to know.

if you just run you laptop get a small inverted it will us less power to run it.
As a big inverted even if you draw 80 watts will us more power because its made to power 1000w

Already got the 1000w, as it will use heavier required item to.

Thanks about suggesting the kit, I have a look into that to

The way mine caught fire when I had a grinder connected, I was glad I had it on a standalone frame using Anderson plugs to connect, would have said goodbye to any vehicle it was bolted in!!

freelance said:

The way mine caught fire when I had a grinder connected, I was glad I had it on a standalone frame using Anderson plugs to connect, would have said goodbye to any vehicle it was bolted in!!

Click to expand...

do tell.. what happened ?

Hi I've got some experience with inverters but I'm no expert in general the longer your cable the thicker it needs to be you inverter instructions should offer some guidance . If you get a cheap inverter then get one with far more watts than your biggest tool ie double .Most are fan cooled and do generate a fair amount of heat so leave an air gap between the inverter and it's mounting location your inverter instruction s should give you guidance on all of this .lastly it will very quickly drain your battery when in use but some put an extra battery in the boot that's charged from your engine but won't be drained by the inverter . It all depends on how much your going to use it .drills etc will soon use the batt laptops etc not as bad .modified sinewave won't always work for computers etc but pure sinewave will this costing more though .

I have purchase a Streetwise DC to AC 1000w (2000w Peak) inverter to power various items. I was about to install it, but the cable supplied are a joke at only 2 feet long, if that. Ideally I would lake to place the inverter in the boo of a Freelander 1, ideally screwed behind the nearside back seat.

I did some usual research on google, youtube etc, as to what sort of installation and cables I need and now a bit more confused than ever as there are so man types and some advise that looks good, reading various comments says its now. I would like to have the inverter connected most of the time, even if it switched off and nothing plugged in to it, unless this a bad idea then please tell me.

I have heard there is lot of things to consider on width, heat, and amps and length of cables, but also I like to consider cost. The usually items that will be plugged in to will be small electrical items and a laptop, with the occasional use of maybe a power tool up to about 700-800w.

Just wondering before spending money on the wrong things if someone can please point me a good reliable direction to order the cabling and battery connectors, and fuses if required. There is 3 35amp fuses on the rear of the inverter. When its comes to the ground wire, the instructions do not mention about any type suitable, so again advise on this please would be great.

Much appreciated

Nigel[/QUOTE]

1000w watt inverter at full load and 100% efficiency will draw about 85 amps from your battery. As with most things you wont get 100% efficiency, if you work on 80-90%, want to add some cable length and a bit of spare capacity then you need to be looking at cables rated for 170+ Amps at minimum. Ideally inverter as close to battery as possible and extend the 240v lead to where you want it. The 3.35 amp fuse (probably a 3.15amp fuse in reality) will be for the inverter output not the input. Also use big Anderson connectors for the battery leads

We have inverters in the trailer and a new, bigger one going in the Mercedes conversion.

Kwakerman has given good info above, we used 50mm welding cable for the feed from the battery with a fast-blow semiconductor fuse at the battery end. Our batteries are 225AH in two 12V banks so plenty of grunt, but inverters will drain that pretty quickly, PLUS the available capacity of the battery decreases as the current you are taking out increases.

In practice, a 110AH battery will only give 70-80AH at these high discharge currents, so don't work on the 20 hour discharge rate for capacity.

The other problem is that thin cable will drop the supply voltage and trigger the inverter low battery alarm earlier.

Our new inverter is pure sine wave.

Peter

I put a small inverter behind the driver's seat in my defender about three years ago and have managed not to flatten the battery with it yet. The main thing to remember is to switch it off when the engine is not running. Even without anything plugged in it draws about an amp or so, so could flatten the battery over time if left switched on. It has its own cable from the battery box with a 60A fuse inside the battery box itself, in case the cable chafes on anything. As above, use the thickest cables you can so as to minimise voltage drop over long runs. If you need to run things while the engine's not running you can't beat a twin battery split charge system, so you can only flatten one battery and are therefore less likely to leave yourself stranded.

Sorry for the late reply, it has been one of those months.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, yesterday I managed to get round and start/finish the installation, the inverter has been fitted behind one of the rear seats with success, though nearly couldn't put the seat back in to position due to the parcel shelf being in the way, good thing I checked first.

Not sure if this is the best way to install the inverter but it certainly works, with no warming up at all. The guy who professionally installed the subwoofer and amp in the boot, suggested due to the types of cables that he used to power the amp, they would be more than enough to work the inverter to. So I used the supplied cables which were the perfect length and attached them to the power and negative sources from the amp. The inverter will not see use over 700w as it mostly be used to run a laptop or equivalent.

So far it works wonders