# Can 2 leisure batteries power a 1000 watt inverter?



## adam_l (Jan 21, 2008)

I delved into the battery system on my oldish van recently and discovered that instead of a engine battery and 2 leisure batteries that I thought it had, it actually has 3 90 AH starter batteries wired in parallel.

There is a huge cable connecting the battery in the engine bay to the 2 other batteries under the drivers seat.
There is no split charger that I can find.


The wiring wouldn't have been like that originally, and I began to wonder why it had been changed? At first glance it seems that traditional split charging system would be better.

However, the previous owners have added a large inverter and then I wondered if the reason for the 3 batts in parallel was to deliver sufficient power to the inverter?

I am think about putting it back to a 1 engine batt + 2 leisure batts with split charging. 
Would that be sensible considering the inverter or should I leave it as 3 engine type batts wired in parallel? 


Any thoughts gratefully received..

Thanks - Adam


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## gnscloz (Oct 4, 2008)

hi i would certainly put back as origional, on my old van i had 2 110 amp leisure batteries connected to my 1000 watt inverter, all was ok, now have it connected to 3 x 110 amp batteries


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## pieterv (Feb 3, 2009)

I would go back to split charging to avoid possibly draining your engine battery.

A 1000W inverter will draw roughly 100A since it isn't 100% efficient. Since you really don't want to discharge beyond 50% (less would be better) you could run the inverter at full load for about 1h off the two batteries (assuming no further loads) and keep your engine battery charged.


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

I have a 1000W inverter connected to two 110amp leisure batteries which seems to operate without any problems.


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## adam_l (Jan 21, 2008)

OK, I agree that a split charge system is the way to go.

I did some research and the 2 best options that I can find are:

1. A Sterling split charge diode pack 
(http://www.sterling-power.com/products-diodes.htm)

2. An "intelligent" dual charge relay 
(http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/100A-DUAL-SEN...cles_Terminals_Cabling_ET&hash=item3effd6ff21)

The advantage of the diode seems to be that its solid state.

The relay also offers leisure -> starter batt charging, which is great if you have a onboard battery charger that activates when on hookup as I do. I dont think the sterling diode does this.

Any views on what is best?


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## pieterv (Feb 3, 2009)

Diodes will give a voltage drop, which means slower charging (smaller current) and possibly not fully charging.


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