# inverter fusing



## kbsserv (Jul 18, 2006)

Hi all

I have bought a 2000w silverline inverter for our new to us van,& have some questions


Our van is 2005 so old fiat, should i connect to leisure batts (200ah)
(built in charger electroblock ebl99) or engine battery, run engine when in use ?


regarless of which battery what size fuse should i use in cable. and lastly, what size cable if say a 3mtr run from engine battery.

I should say its to run a 1200watt haidryer

:roll: 

Ps selling our old van IH SAVANHA TIO R in classifieds in anybody interested.

thanks for the help

Karl :roll:


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## Addie (Aug 5, 2008)

I always run 0AWG cable for our inverter - but 3m is a long cable run for such a powerful device. Can you not mount the interver under the cab seat? You could maybe run 1AWG cable at a push - but I did try this and found it got a bit warm for our liking. It needs to be capable of 186 Amps!

You can use a 200 or 300 Amp fuse in-line:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400395506483

This is our install old install: http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/hairdryer-from-12v-in-motorhome.html


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Not the old hairdrier conundrum again!

Using an inverter to power a hairdrier is a VERY expensive way to dry hair.

The 12V cables to the inverter will need to be as thick as those to your starter motor.
That makes them very unwieldy.
Don't forget that you will need two cables.
One to the +ve and the other to chassis.

Ideal place is next to the alternator or the engine battery but that is likely to be impracticable.

The existing cables feeding the Electroblok and the leisure batteries will NOT be man enough for that sort of current.

The Electroblok will not handle that sort of load either, you will need a HUGE relay to pass that current safely.

The general advice from many discussions on this subject is to get whomsoever needs a hairdrier to get a short back and sides!

Hope this helps in some sort of (negative) way.


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## VanFlair (Nov 21, 2009)

Hi Karl

I have just re run all the cables to our inverter 2000W it was about 7 metres run from the batteries (85 ah x2) and was run in 50mm Square cable which I think is about 0AWG. I have removed 5 metres of each +- from the run as the voltage drop was enough to set the alarm of on the inverter when the batteries were anything less than 100%, now putting 3 more solar panels on to keep the batteries at 100%.

Just in case it is not clear our inverter is run direct from the batteries with at big fuse 200 amp at a guess, I only use it for microwave and coffee machine so dont try to get the maximum 2000W only about 1200W.

Our inverter is a Merlin M Power pure sine wave as the Nespresso machine would not run on the old modified wave one that was fitted (expensive coffee)

Martin


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

My 1800 watt continuous Sterling is supplied by it's own 375ah battery bank and located right next to it by the cables supplied. I have fitted a 250amp(recommended) fuse inline.
The bank is charged by 300 watts of solar or mains or battery to battery depending on the position of my battery selector switch.
The inverter has a wired remote control supplied with a 10 metre cable.
The AC sockets in my van are powered from the inverter via an auto changeover relay of my own concoction.
It happily rapid boils a 2kw kettle.


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## camallison (Jul 15, 2009)

Techno100 said:


> My 1800 watt continuous Sterling is supplied by it's own 375ah battery bank and located right next to it by the cables supplied. I have fitted a 250amp(recommended) fuse inline.
> The bank is charged by 300 watts of solar or mains or battery to battery depending on the position of my battery selector switch.
> The inverter has a wired remote control supplied with a 10 metre cable.
> The AC sockets in my van are powered from the inverter via an auto changeover relay of my own concoction.
> It happily rapid boils a 2kw kettle.


What was the total cost of that lot?

2nd question - do you do installs of the same in Yarm?

Colin


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

About a thousand not including the BtoB plus quite a bit of my spare time. It's not really something I could nip up and do in a day and it wouldn't fit most vans or fall comfortably within their payload


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## eddievanbitz (May 1, 2005)

pippin said:


> Not the old hairdrier conundrum again!
> 
> Using an inverter to power a hairdrier is a VERY expensive way to dry hair.
> 
> The general advice from many discussions on this subject is to get whomsoever needs a hairdrier to get a short back and sides!


Pippin! I have three 130W solar panels, a 6 Kva built in Genset, a 100amp six stage charger/2500 watt pure sine wave inverter, and now, six 135 amp batteries with an alternator to cope! Why?

If my wife cant dry her hair with a hair dryer on demand, anywhere we simply would not have a motorhome! One of the conditions l :lol:

I don't think that I would fancy her with a short back and sides :lol:

Eddie


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## kbsserv (Jul 18, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback guys,

so if i'm drawing 186 amps ,using a 200amp fuse be ok?


 

also is it best to connect to van starter battery or habitation batteries?

karl


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Habitation (at least theres TWO of them !!!) I bet you flatten them before her hair is dry as well !!!!


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Yes Karl, 200A fuse is OK.

As for which batteries - well the answer lies in the size of the cables linking the leisure batteries to the EBL and the capability of the relay that is operated by the EBL when the engine is started.
The relay connects the engine battery and alternator to the leisure batteries to charge the latter.

As in my original post - seriously thick and seriously capable.

Do you really need to go to all this trouble just for a hairdryer?

One suggestion is to run the gas blown air heating and connect an elephants trunk to one of the outlets and use that as a hairdryer.

Not as daft as it sounds - cost? Couple of quid at the most!


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

Of course you can make this system work but it is hardly the best way of doing the job. If you have blown air heating why not make an adaptor to connect the output of one of the vents to the hairdryer? Anything that requires significant power needs to be gas or mains electric operated if possible.
You will probably find that if you are taking 200A from your battery regularly it will have a short life. 20A is a more reasonable maximum.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

_One suggestion is to run the gas blown air heating and connect an elephants trunk to one of the outlets and use that as a hairdryer.

Not as daft as it sounds - cost? Couple of quid at the most! _

I just said that SafariBoy!

Glad that somebody agrees with me :!: :hathat36:


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## eddievanbitz (May 1, 2005)

safariboy said:


> Of course you can make this system work but it is hardly the best way of doing the job. If you have blown air heating why not make an adaptor to connect the output of one of the vents to the hairdryer? Anything that requires significant power needs to be gas or mains electric operated if possible.
> You will probably find that if you are taking 200A from your battery regularly it will have a short life. 20A is a more reasonable maximum.


Depends on the size of your battery bank

Eddie


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

kbsserv said:


> Thanks for the feedback guys,
> 
> so if i'm drawing 186 amps ,using a 200amp fuse be ok?
> 
> ...


I bought this one, you can specify the size of the fuse to be included. price is a fraction of the likes of RoadPro
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ANL-FUSE-...8?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3a60cd6882

Realistically your leisure batteries are a no go, not enough capacity and if you connect to the engine battery you may need to uprate your alternator. Do you know it's output now?


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## Addie (Aug 5, 2008)

I think the alternator on a Fiat X250 with Air Conditioning is 140Amp.

A hair-dryer running at 1500 Watts is going to be comparable to that (without doing the maths).

We used ours most days for about 6-7 months (not required in Greece!) without any issue at all. You'll find the revs increase on tickover as the power is drawn, but that isn't an issue and is just the engine management sensing the battery is under heavy load and compensating.

Motorhoming is all about compromises - but we all choose which compromise we want to make. We've never had a TV in a van before, certainly never consider a satellite system.

You can install a hairdryer inverter system for under £170. The inverter may have a 3 year warranty and will always be saleable and have a value after its use is no longer required - just like a gaslow kit etc.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400314143451


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## kbsserv (Jul 18, 2006)

no don't know alternater ouput its a 2005 fiat with air con.

I had another idea, we will have two new 110ah batts, which means i have the orginal batt spare 80ahr gel.

I also have a seperate mains 20amp charger from old van.

so what if i connect inverter to old batt, we may only need to use dryer say twice before we have some hook up which could then charge batt with inverter connected.

also batt & inverter would be next to each other.
also thought about buying 1000watt hairdryer.


I answer to the question about is it really worth it, well its better than ear ache   

Karl


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## kbsserv (Jul 18, 2006)

addie thats the same inverter i have bought, also our van is x244
not x250



karl


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

A little tip Karl :wink:


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Karl.

1000W is 4A at 240V but 83.33A at 12V (more because of inefficiency in the inverter).

1200W ain't that much different at 240V but is >100A at 12V.

Batteries of the type fitted in MHs simply don't like that sort of current.

An 80Ah battery will last about a minute (perhaps 2!) before the voltage drops below the inverter minimum.

As I said before, a visit to the hair salon will be a] cheaper and b] more practicable.


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