800 Watt Inverter

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nicka

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Hi All
I have a 800 Watt inverter which is fitted to my Beneteau and runs the 220Volt frdge when the engine is running.
I have a 2 bank battery equating to 220 Amp Hours - When I start the inverter all seems fine and the fridge runs for say 2 mins and then the warning notice comes up saying low amps and the fridge stops.
The alternator has been checked and all working well!
Any views anyone or do I need more batteries to run this?

Thanks
 
Or perhaps a bigger alternator.....

Its quite likely that your fridge is using more amps than the alternator can produce.... and hence you are discharging the batteries.... if they are at all weak, then you will quickly drag them down to a level where they won't provide enough extra grunt to run the inverter....

Do you know what wattage the fridge is rated at?.... if your alternator is producing a typical 50/60amps, then the max wattage of the fridge can be 600/700 Watts at a mx without using the batteries to supplement the alternator.... in fact it will use more than this to start with as it will be a much higher wattage for a second or two upon staring... typical 50% more than its rating...
 
nicka said:
Hi All
I have a 800 Watt inverter which is fitted to my Beneteau and runs the 220Volt frdge when the engine is running.
I have a 2 bank battery equating to 220 Amp Hours - When I start the inverter all seems fine and the fridge runs for say 2 mins and then the warning notice comes up saying low amps and the fridge stops.
The alternator has been checked and all working well!
Any views anyone or do I need more batteries to run this?

Thanks
Click to expand...


Maybe a little more information. Is the inverter a budget one or sine wave type?

What is the power taken by the fridge.?

What is the battery voltage when the warning comes up and where is the warning dispalyed...On the fridge...The Inverter or elswhere?

Is the warning low volts or low amps???? Just checking :D
 
nicka said:
Hi All
.......warning notice comes up saying low amps and the fridge stops.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Low volts I think you'll find. if this is an old existing installation I'd work from the inverter back to the battery, disconnecting all the teminal connections, clening them up and re tightening them. If the wires are corroded you might be getting a high resistance at a terminal somewhere.

Get a voltmeter across the DC input as near to the inverter as possible if it dips significantly under load then work backwards towards the batteries. If the voltage dips still at the batteries then the batteries are shot. If the volts are not up around 13.8 then the alternator is not getting its charge to the batteries running the inverter.
 
nicka said:
Hi All
I have a 800 Watt inverter which is fitted to my Beneteau and runs the 220Volt frdge when the engine is running.
I have a 2 bank battery equating to 220 Amp Hours - When I start the inverter all seems fine and the fridge runs for say 2 mins and then the warning notice comes up saying low amps and the fridge stops.
The alternator has been checked and all working well!
Any views anyone or do I need more batteries to run this?

Thanks
Click to expand...
If the fridge runs for two minutes then we can be fairly sure that the inverter is man enough for the job. Where does this "warning notice" appear? On the inverter? Does it really say "Low Amps" or does it say "Low Volts"?

What is the load from the fridge and where is this message actually appearing? If you run the engine or the mains charger does the same thing happen?
 
Inverter

Thanks for the very quick replies;
The fridge is a standard Beneteau fridge but dont know any of the wattage outputs but all I can say is the inverter is Factory fitted when new and is dedicated to the fridge. Basically it does not run anything else and is fused separately for the compressor, pump etc on the inverter.
I believe that Beneteau and Jenneau had this configuarion and was very popular with charter boats to stop battery drain when the engine was not going to save on emergency call outs in the middle of no where with no battery power -
I have just fitted a new Hitachi alternator 80AMPs and is working well!
 
An AC mains induction motor briefly takes quite a few amps to get started. Are you sure your fridge does start properly? The inverter may be unable to supply this peak current, with the motor remaining stalled, and consequent high drain on the battery.
 
I can confirm that the message appears on the inverter and says LOW AMPS.
I read with interest the post above about the terminals not being cleaned; I think I will clean them all at the weekend and see if that helps - I currently have two 12 volts 110 Amp HR slaved together with 12 volt cable as perscribed by the boat builder -
Alternator is pushing 13.90 Volts in to the batteries but maybe the cables from the battery to inverter are breaking down dur to dirty connections!
 
nicka said:
Thanks for the very quick replies;
The fridge is a standard Beneteau fridge but dont know any of the wattage outputs but all I can say is the inverter is Factory fitted when new and is dedicated to the fridge. Basically it does not run anything else and is fused separately for the compressor, pump etc on the inverter.
I believe that Beneteau and Jenneau had this configuarion and was very popular with charter boats to stop battery drain when the engine was not going to save on emergency call outs in the middle of no where with no battery power -
I have just fitted a new Hitachi alternator 80AMPs and is working well!
Click to expand...

There is some misunderstanding. Nobody would fit an 800W inverter dedicated to a fridge on a small yacht. The Danfoss units take about 2.5A to 3A at 12V and are capable of freezing a large box. Can you check exactly what you have, because it does not sound right?
 
If that is the case, then i'd go back to suspecting battery condition as the main culprit.... could be loose/dirty terminals... but would start by take a good look at the batteries.... how old are they, and what voltage do they maintain at rest etc etc
 
Batteries show charge or around 13.8-9 when the alternator is running and then settles around 12.6-8 when the alternator stops -
I will clean the terminals at the weekend and ensure that they are clean etc--- also tighten the linking cables from one battery to another
Thanks
 
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