Inverter fuse popping with A/C

I'm learning...slowly!!

New fuse (150) and that helped!

But the a/c unit only runs for about 5 mins and the inverter "faults" due to low incoming voltage (that is my interpretation anyway).

I think that means I need more battery power but it seems like I am going to need a LOT more than I was expecting. Frustrating but also good that I'm learning a lot along the way.

At this point we are going to be looking for a campsite with power instead of relying on the battery/solar combo. And I need to continue to dial in the power requirements.

To get 8 amps on 120V side, you need wiring and fuse to handle 70-80 amps on the 12V side.

To get the full 1500 watt output from the converter you would need wiring and fuse for at least 130 amps on 12V side; I would wire for 150 amps. Then you need the battery capacity to deliver that.

Your 12V side is way undersized for 1500 watt output.

Some Pet Smarts, and other pet stores have doggie day care. If you can find one it is a great solution instead of kenneling.

My Roadtrek wrote:
Even with a generator, it would be irresponsible, and/or illegal to leave pets in a motor vehicle that relies on an A/C to keep them cool. What if the gen-set fails to restart, or in your situation the batteries fail.
Also, in many, or now most states, it is illegal to leave pets unattended in a motor vehicle.
I'm sure others will post and explain the difficulties of running an A/C unit off of a couple batteries, and solar panels.
You want to keep the van cool, but you need to park in the sun for the solar panels. :h

Well said

Given this setback we are looking at kenneling the dogs for the long events.

Thanks again for the input.

Even with a generator, it would be irresponsible, and/or illegal to leave pets in a motor vehicle that relies on an A/C to keep them cool. What if the gen-set fails to restart, or in your situation the batteries fail.
Also, in many, or now most states, it is illegal to leave pets unattended in a motor vehicle.
I'm sure others will post and explain the difficulties of running an A/C unit off of a couple batteries, and solar panels.
You want to keep the van cool, but you need to park in the sun for the solar panels. :h

Hi,

If it is MSW the air conditioner motor will not Love You for long.

The solar panels will only return a maximum of 16 amps per hour under perfect solar conditions. The air conditioner will run though 80 amps per hour.

You need far more battery bank than you have. Voltage drop may cause the inverter to fail over fairly quickly.

I would use a T class fuse (in fact I do use two).

Great info, thanks!

My math was about the same for run time of the AC.
I am hoping that we are able to run the AC for 15-30 minutes every hour or two. With the solar panels recharging things depending on sun exposure and all that. mainly just need to keep the dogs cooled off while we are off doing triathlons for 2 - 5 hours.

I have a ring terminal fuse holder and ordered the first fuse through amazon. I'll check it out.

*haven't looked into any preference settings but will*

The only real time experience I did once was with a 1500 PSW INVERTER running about 1400WATTS of HP Test Equipment on a field trip once. We hoked it up to the renatl car battery which was probably about 105AH capacity.

The Test equipment ran for about 8 minutes before discharging the battery. We also had the rental car running at the time and it all went dead.

Called the rental car company and they brought a different rental car for us. We went to town and purchased a 2KW Honda generator...

Told the rental car company we had no idea what happened to their car haha...

With this true story in mind I suspect your 250AH battery bank capacity you will see maybe 45 minutes total run time once you change out your 30AMP fuse to a 150AMP fuse. Just a guess on my part...

You will most likely have to order your fuse and holder from a company called BLUE SEA to get a FUSE ASSY that will work with 4AWG cables and ring terminals.... This can be ordered through AMAZON as well just type in the right part number.



Roy Ken

I've read 80 - 150 is safe.
But that was a car audio site...

JasonL wrote:

I didn't realize it would need a 150amp fuse! I only had a 30 amp in there. The wires are 4awg and are exactly 5ft long.

Doesn't 150 amps exceed the maximum ampacity of 4AWG?