Inverter not working for some appliances?

[Tim Good]

I have a Freedom 20 system (now owned by Xantrex). It has a 2kw inverter which feeds all my AC sockets. It works fine and I can control it via a Link 2000 control panel.

It works for a 1kw kettle, power tools and laptops fine. However I can't get it to engage when I use an 1700w induction hob that I just bought even on lower powers like 500w - 1kw. I have also found that it didn't work when I tried to use an electric blanket, more out of curiosity than anything haha!!!

What in the induction hob or electric blanket is preventing the inverter outputting the necessary power and is there anything I can do?

 

[Murv]

You may find this thread helpful

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?462785-Tassimo-won-t-work-on-inverter&highlight=

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

I have a Freedom 20 system (now owned by Xantrex). It has a 2kw inverter which feeds all my AC sockets. It works fine and I can control it via a Link 2000 control panel.

It works for a 1kw kettle, power tools and laptops fine. However I can't get it to engage when I use an 1700w induction hob that I just bought even on lower powers like 500w - 1kw. I have also found that it didn't work when I tried to use an electric blanket, more out of curiosity than anything haha!!!

What in the induction hob or electric blanket is preventing the inverter outputting the necessary power and is there anything I can do?

Your inverter has a modified sine wave output and an idle circuit cut out feature.
I suggest that the hob and electric blanket when fed with a modified sine wave appear as no load and trigger the power saving idle cut out.
To test this try powering an item that it does work with as wells the one that It doesn't.

 

[Tim Good]

Your inverter has a modified sine wave output and an idle circuit cut out feature.
I suggest that the hob and electric blanket when fed with a modified sine wave appear as no load and trigger the power saving idle cut out.
To test this try powering an item that it does work with as wells the one that It doesn't.

Yeah I thought that too but idle is set to only 4w. The induction hob does turn on and the fan draws 15amps from the batteries. The 240v meter comes to life when the hob is powered but when I turn in any heat setting it just doesn't they hot. Same as the electric blanket. It lights up and shows it as "on" but nothing heats.

 

[Tim Good]

You may find this thread helpful

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?462785-Tassimo-won-t-work-on-inverter&highlight=

Thanks. Yes so it appears as my modified sine wave inverter is not compatible then with the induction hob. Either I need to find a job that does work with a modified sine wave (which could be difficult), or I need to test the max output of my high power 12v kitchen sockets to see if I can plug in a portable 2kw intverter capable of giving a pure wine wave.

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

Yeah I thought that too but idle is set to only 4w. The induction hob does turn on and the fan draws 15amps from the batteries. The 240v meter comes to life when the hob is powered but when I turn in any heat setting it just doesn't they hot. Same as the electric blanket. It lights up and shows it as "on" but nothing heats.

Ah, I misunderstood your post, by "can't get it to engage" I thought you meant no output.
So, let's go for the second option.
Many devices with power control rely on timing from the zero crossing point of a sine wave (thyristor/triac) dimming. A modified sine wave does not have a zero crossing point and ad such the power control circuits that rely on one won't get the trigger they require.
The hob fan doesn't use a power control and so runs, the heating part does.. Is there a temperature control on the blanket?
As an experiment try blanket and hob set to low power (just over 1/4) of maximum. If my guess in the not quite dark of the electronics in those devices is right, that will give full power in both cases.

 

[Tim Good]

As an experiment try blanket and hob set to low power (just over 1/4) of maximum. If my guess in the not quite dark of the electronics in those devices is right, that will give full power in both cases.

Sorry could you explain what you mean by "blanket"?

Edit: electric blanket of course sorry.

 

[Murv]

Thanks. Yes so it appears as my modified sine wave inverter is not compatible then with the induction hob. Either I need to find a job that does work with a modified sine wave (which could be difficult), or I need to test the max output of my high power 12v kitchen sockets to see if I can plug in a portable 2kw intverter capable of giving a pure wine wave.

I suspect you might struggle, at full load the cables will be delivering the best part of 200 amps, that needs a hefty piece of wire!

If it's of interest, I did resolve my problems by buying a rather fancy pure sine wave inverter (2nd hand) off somebody on here. It worked faultlessly, then burned out one day a few months later.
A new replacement simply wasn't worth the cost, so I fitted a Chinese one from ebay which was a fraction of the price. Not had it that long, but it's been absolutely fine so far and powers everything without issue.
I did, however, wire an isolator switch inline, just in case I do want to shut it down in a hurry!

EDIT: I'm assuming he's referring to your electric blanket?

 

[Tim Good]

I wonder if anyone has tried or uses a standard electric hob? Pretty cheap and within the Wattage range:

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/3328600

 

[matthewriches]

Wave form and frequency I’m afraid. My Nespresso machine doesn’t work on the modified sine wave inverter but on the pure sine I have installed, now functions fine.

If you hadn’t mentioned the electric blanket, I’d have said check the pans as when I bought my house, it had an induction 6 burner job in which I couldn’t get to heat up...... wrong type of pans

 

[Insert]

Apologies for bumping a slumbering thread, but it's new to me.

This discussion reminds me of a YouTube video I saw posted online just a couple of days before the last post here. I will not link to the video here as I expect AvE's language and innuendo would be considered inappropriate but it is titled "Diesel Engine Weirdness | Sailor's Delight".
He could only get his picky appliance to work on an inverter if the blender was running. The suggested reason was that the motor was a large inductor and smoothed the output enough to satisfy the electronics. This wouldn't be a very good solution for something like a cooker that has to run for a significant period of time, but might provide additional data if you're not sure if the problem is the supply or the appliance.