wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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The max capacity of the outlet is 100 watts. With any inverter save for those 75 watt "All one piece" lighter plug & inverter in one jobs mount the inverter as close as you can to the battery without being in the same air-space and run 120 volt wires to the TV.
You are very simply overloading a 100 watt circuit
And for inverters, even a 75 watt might be overload on THAT outlet
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
John is Near Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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gouldc
Edmonton, Alberta Canada
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Now that is interesting and would explain why I've been so baffled. 100W max? Kinda useless if you ask me.
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smkettner
Southern California
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My 12 volt outlet powers my 150w inverter running a 19" LCD TV/DVD combo.
The voltage drop is significant in the small wires.
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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gouldc wrote:Now that is interesting and would explain why I've been so baffled. 100W max? Kinda useless if you ask me.
Well,, I have a couple fused at 200 watts max in my rig (I added them)
But 100 is the GM standard, I think Ford is 150 (10 an 15 amps) and they are far from useless
I mean my computer draws a peak of about 110 but an average of less than 75 so they will run it. An electric shaver is just a few watts. My 12 volt "Dremel" (Not really a dremel) is under 20 watts. My cell phone charger is under 10 watts.
So they have lots of uses
Just don't plug in a a multi-hundred watt inverter and expect it to work
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nbounder
Arizona mountains
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John - I get that when you are saying 'plug-in' you mean the cig lighter socket - am I correct? I got a bit corn-fused reading thru the posts. An aside - when installing a serious (IE:2KW) inverter, do you not always use the frame for chassis gnd and simply run one big mama (IE#2) positive cable?
Joe
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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Re-reading the original post.
The only problem I see is that not all televisions and/or digital converters play nice with a MSW inverter.. The inverter goes close to the battery, run 120 volt cable to the sub panel
Suggestion.. Route a new line from the main breaker panel to an outlet box near the inverter, Leave some extra wire (A foot or so) in this line (just coil it and zip tie it) use 10ga wire (More on this later) Now if you wish you can move the plug from the inverter to the outlet (Poor man's transfer switch) and power the TV off the original breaker.
Why 10ga wire, I mean that's kind of overkill for a 15 amp outlet line
Because if you later replace the cheap 400 watt with a Xantrex Prosine 1800 or 2.0 or another inverter with built in transfer switch such as those.. You will need that line,, Also use 10Ga back to the sub panel, again leave a bit of extra wire (Coiled and zip tied) I'd run the 10ga into a junction box and use a short power cord (appliance cord) to plug into the inverter.. Same reason, when you upgrade the inverter you will need that 10ga cord line so you might as well install NOW instead of putting in something too small and having to replace it later.
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smkettner
Southern California
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I am not sure I would put in the sub panel. Just run the circuit direct from the inverter. By the time you add a larger inverter your needs and design may change and render the improvements inadequate or obsolete.
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riddellr
Belleville, IL, USA
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My TV 12v outlet is rated at 6 Amps Max. I'm sure your 400 Watt inverter was exceeding that rating. If memory serves, my outlet is serviced with a 14 or 16 gauge wire and that is quite inadequate. My solution was to run a 12 gauge wire from the distribution panel up to the TV outlet and not use the "horse hair" wire provided by the Mfg. I also went a step further and wired in Anderson Powerpoles to connect my high draw 12v appliances. http://www.powerwerx.com
Good Luck,
Bob
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gouldc
Edmonton, Alberta Canada
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Good suggestions and exactly what I was thinking. I want to install as much as I can now to support a larger inverter when it comes. I'll be tracing out the circuit this weekend to find out what else is hanging off of it. As far as I can see, the installation of the sub panel should be pretty straight forward. I'll be going with 2ga DC and 10ga AC, or would thicker DC be suggested?
I like your idea for a cheap "transfer switch". The only problem is the device, i.e. tv that I'll be using is no where near where the sub panel and inverter will be installed. Well, I guess it's close if you drill up through the floor and bedroom cabinet.
Side note. I finally hung up my manhood and read the inverter manual. It clearly states that for devices requiring more then 150w, the inverter must be connected directly to a battery with the supplied cable. I'm sure the supplied cable is a lot thicker then the******run to the cigarette style 12v plug.
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smkettner
Southern California
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gouldc wrote:I'll be going with 2ga DC and 10ga AC, or would thicker DC be suggested?
How big of an inverter are you going to go? What is the 12 volt wire length?
My Prosine 1800 calls for 4/0 minimum.
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