Adding Inverter

theoldwizard1 wrote:
I have no idea how your house batteries are wired, but I would NOT assume that the engine will charge them.

x2, or very quickly.

DrewE wrote:
If your crock pot does not have digital controls there is absolutely no reason to need a pure sine wave inverter for it.

While that statement is correct, I would still recommend a pure sine wave inverter just so that the OP can run electronic devices without issues.

Microwave ovens struggle on modified sine wave inverters but run fine on a pure sine wave inverter.

westend wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Use #12 wire (or #10) from the inverter to the outlet you wish to install. Look for a 20 amp outlet at Home Depot.

#12 is overkill for a 2000 watt inverter. 14/2 Romex is fine.

If you would believe the NEC and best residential wiring practices, 12 AWG is the size of wire for that load. The load can be greater than 15 amps at 120V. Pianotuna is correct.

Then the OP should be sure to buy a 20A rate outlet (5-20R).

Thanks for all the info. This isn't gonna happen before she goes into winter storage, so I'll have some time to scope things out further.

Cables to batteries can easily be short and heavy. As for outlet wiring, I grew up in the residential construction business and was always told 14-2 was OK for lights, but 12-2 w/ground for outlets.

Tal/IL wrote:
Thanks for all the info. This isn't gonna happen before she goes into winter storage, so I'll have some time to scope things out further.

Cables to batteries can easily be short and heavy. As for outlet wiring, I grew up in the residential construction business and was always told 14-2 was OK for lights, but 12-2 w/ground for outlets.

It's a little different, actually. Either one could be used for outlets or for lights. 14 gauge wire can't be used for circuits greater than 15A (as determined by the breaker or fuse), and 12 gauge wire may not be used for circuits over 20A. The code does generally allow 15A outlets (i.e. standard ones with parallel flat prongs) on a 20A circuit provided there is more than one socket. Since virtually all receptacles are duplex receptacles, this is not a hard restriction to meet. All circuits these days should have a ground. (These are the general rules; there are some exceptions in esoteric circumstances that one is not likely to find in residential wiring.)

It is perhaps more common to find 15A circuits on lighting circuits than on circuits for outlets, if indeed the two are separated that way. At least around here, it's probably more common to have lights and outlets mixed together on 20A circuits in whatever manner is convenient and sensible.

BFL13 wrote:

No, the first thing to go would be the fuse correctly sized to protect that wire. Also running the bigger load with the thinner (but properly fused) wire would cause the inverter to shut down at low voltage from the big voltage sag.

If you are going to give advice, you need to make it complete.
You said nothing about adding a fuse or changing fuse sizes.

And the voltage drop would occur at the load end of the thin wire.
The inverter end would be just fine.

Sam Spade wrote:

BFL13 wrote:

No, the first thing to go would be the fuse correctly sized to protect that wire. Also running the bigger load with the thinner (but properly fused) wire would cause the inverter to shut down at low voltage from the big voltage sag.

If you are going to give advice, you need to make it complete.
You said nothing about adding a fuse or changing fuse sizes.

And the voltage drop would occur at the load end of the thin wire.
The inverter end would be just fine.

Agreed. Although I did mention the fuse. You make a good point.