Inverter Location

[yankeebloke]

Following on from my pervious thread, i read a guide or two on installation and they say put the inverter as close to battery as possible, and run the longer wiring on the AC side which makes sense.

But then i get confused.......it mentions a good location close to battery in the engine compartment, but surely the engine compartment gets hot and this is bad for the inverter?

Also as my compartment is below decks, i would not be able to see the inverter and i thought it should be where you can see the warning lights etc?

Where is your inverter?

Will it be ok in the engine compartment? i worry about petrol fumes and sparks etc when inverter kicks in?

all advice will be most welcome...i dont want to cock this up!

BTW it is a 300 watt inverter, going to run a TV that draws 70 watts

i await guidance!

 

[Monique]

Mine is located under the nav table seat. Gets my fanny toastie warm It is a very serious power draw though and I try to avoid using it; instead I fire up the engine and use the engine driven 220Volt generator. More efficient for my needs.

But, joking aside, the unit is about 3 feet away from the house batteries.

GL

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Cupboard under the nav table less than 2 feet from house batteries for 1Kw inverter no problems.

 

[yankeebloke]

thanks for the replies

i dont have a nav table near the batteries...........in fact i dont have a nav table

i have a sealine 218..........so it will either have to be in the engine compartment, or about 6 feet away from battery somewhere????

 

[rivonia]

thanks for the replies

i dont have a nav table near the batteries...........in fact i dont have a nav table

i have a sealine 218..........so it will either have to be in the engine compartment, or about 6 feet away from battery somewhere????

Just a thought, would it be possible to move the battery and then re-connect using thicker cable. Then perhaps you would not have to put the inverter in the engine compartment. You realy do need to have the the inverter so you can see it and to be well ventilated as they get VERY hot. Good luck.

Peter

 

[yankeebloke]

no both batteries are connected to a split charge system so moving would be more complicated than the inverter issue! LOL

i might have to drill a hole and mount the inverter on the rear deck area under one of the seats or something, i am really in a quandry.

 

[pampas]

Mine is plugged into a socket that has a 8foot run of cable. Works well, mounted on a shelf in order to keep away from compass. four gang sockets wired for max load of 25 Amps.

 

[Anthony]

It can be mounted further away, there is just a relationship between distance and cable size. The longer the cable runthe larger the cable area required to achieve the same voltage drop.

Ants

 

[tel1]

It can be mounted further away, there is just a relationship between distance and cable size. The longer the cable runthe larger the cable area required to achieve the same voltage drop.

Ants

I agree, think of it logically, your house should be wired into a 240v ish system, And you have seen the size of them cables. They aint that big. Now i know the voltage is not really the issue, its the amps, more amps more heat. But as you will only be running something that you would normally run in your house then i cant see the distance would be a problem, providing you use at least the same thickness cable your normal plug sockets use.

On the other hand, thinking about it, your inverter is going to be sucking up a load of amps from a 12v system, so the heat could be a real issue, whereas your house is 240v so the amps are more evenly spread. I have just bought a new 1800w inverter and i have a large battery bank, im thinking about mounting it with my batteries under my aft bunk, now the disadvantage is i cant see the lights unless i mess my bed up, but the big advantage is its next to the battery, From the inverter i can then run a normall household size cable from the inverter to the galley area where the microwave will be The normal household cable from the inverter will be ok as at this point all the amps are being pushed along with 240v behind them, thus keeping the heat issue down.

Hope that made sense!

 

[William_H]

Inverter

Being realistic 6ft is not going to make much difference to 3ft of wire providing that the cable is heavy. Perhaps what is more important is switches fuses and other connections that all will drop voltage.
I suspect the average power distribution system on most small boats is not up to the current requirements of an inverter. good luck olewill

 

[halcyon]

Following on from my pervious thread, i read a guide or two on installation and they say put the inverter as close to battery as possible, and run the longer wiring on the AC side which makes sense.

BTW it is a 300 watt inverter, going to run a TV that draws 70 watt

Take your power taping from the service battery isolator, not battery side, allows for isolation with batteries off.

Wire the negative side to the central earth stud, normally on the starboard bulkhead, all the boat earths go to this point, then to the battery. Stops stray variations in voltage around the boat.

Fit a fuse / circuit breaker at this point to protect the feed cable, you are only drawing around 10 amp, so 10 / 20 sq mm cable should be ok, your run will not be that long.

If you fit relay in the feed to the inverter, and wire the relay into the power lock-out terminal on the split charge relay. It will drop out the inverter at low battery volts, stop the kid's killing the batteries.

Watch the battery status lights on the panel, recharge when the yellow comes on, running down to red will reduce your battery life. Flashing red will turn the inverter off if the relay is fitted.

Brian

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Should be fitting one next week, so I can get my Karen Gillan (sorry dear, Dr Who) fix. Under the cockpit coaming in a little sheltered area where the battery charger sits for good ventilation.. While not in a sealed compartment I theorise that if that area is getting wet then damage to the inverter etc is not going to be high on my list of current troubles!