Inverter

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Dragon461

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I have just bought an TBE 1200w inverter designed in USA made in China.

It's just about gets a 650w drill going but me 850 w angle grinder it can just about get the disk to turn.
Batteries are showing 13.6 v..

I expected better it wasn't cheap.
 
The start up wattage of an electric motor can be X3 times the running wattage.

Running , or rated watts are the continuous watts needed to keep items running. Starting watts are extra watts needed for two to three seconds to start motor-driven products like a refrigerator or circular saw, this is the maximum wattage the generator can produce.

This links may help.

https://www.homelite.com/pdf/wattage_worksheet.pdf
 
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I've installed a 3000W (continuous) 6000W (surge) so hopefully I won't have your problem.
If you are going to get a bigger inverter make sure it is "Pure Sine Wave . A lot of appliances have trouble working on "modified sine wave"
 
Just had a read of the institutions as you do if it doesn't work as expected.
Supplies 1200 watts of AC power and2400 watts surge power, modified sine wave.
I expected it to start an 850w angle grinder.
 
Dragon461 said:
I have just bought an TBE 1200w inverter designed in USA made in China.

It's just about gets a 650w drill going but me 850 w angle grinder it can just about get the disk to turn.
Batteries are showing 13.6 v..

I expected better it wasn't cheap.
Click to expand...

This should run your drill or grinder. What size cables are you using to connect it to the batteries ?
 
Just had a read of the institutions as you do if it doesn't work as expected.
Supplies 1200 watts of AC power and2400 watts surge power, modified sine wave.
I expected it to start an 850w angle grinder.
PaulRainbow said:
This should run your drill or grinder. What size cables are you using to connect it to the batteries ?
Click to expand...
The ones that came with it about 3mm od
 
Dragon461 said:
Just had a read of the institutions as you do if it doesn't work as expected.
Supplies 1200 watts of AC power and2400 watts surge power, modified sine wave.
I expected it to start an 850w angle grinder.

The ones that came with it about 3mm od
Click to expand...

That's too small, no chance of it working with those cables.

Rule of thumb with inverters, every 10 watts of AC power needs one amp of DC input. So your 1200W inverter will draw 120A at full power, the 650W drill will draw 65A and the grinder will draw 85A. Depending on whether your quoted 3mm diameter is for the OD of the insulation or the OD of the copper, your cables could be around 4mm to 6mm CSA, which would be 40-50A. 16mm CSA cable is typically rated at 110A, so that's the bare minimum you should be using.

Would be better if the inverter was pure sine wave, but modified should work for short use with the drill/grinder.
 
PaulRainbow said:
That's too small, no chance of it working with those cables.

Rule of thumb with inverters, every 10 watts of AC power needs one amp of DC input. So your 1200W inverter will draw 120A at full power, the 650W drill will draw 65A and the grinder will draw 85A. Depending on whether your quoted 3mm diameter is for the OD of the insulation or the OD of the copper, your cables could be around 4mm to 6mm CSA, which would be 40-50A. 16mm CSA cable is typically rated at 110A, so that's the bare minimum you should be using.

Would be better if the inverter was pure sine wave, but modified should work for short use with the drill/grinder.
Click to expand...

Spot on! I bought a 2000W inverter a couple of years ago and tried it at home first using the supplied battery cables. It just struggled to run a vacuum cleaner, then sounded a low voltage alarm. On the boat, with meaty battery cables powering it, there's no problem.
 
Dragon461 said:
Just had a read of the institutions as you do if it doesn't work as expected.
Supplies 1200 watts of AC power and2400 watts surge power, modified sine wave.
I expected it to start an 850w angle grinder.

The ones that came with it about 3mm od
Click to expand...

Victron advised 70mm2 cable for my 1600W inverter
 
byw ,,, looking for decent dia wire the other day i bought what looked like a decent set of jump leads , took them home and cut the clamps off ,,, the wire inside was about as thick as a match stick ,, it would nt start your watch let alone jump a car ,,,,,,,,,,,, moral ,, dont be fooled by overall / apparent size .
 
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