Rbertalotto wrote:
I have a Xantrex ProWatt 1000 installed in my trailer......4g wire less than 18" directly wired to the two 12v, group 31AMG batteries wired in parallel ....250a Circuit breaker between the batteries and the inverter
The "house" main wire is 4g to the circuit breaker / charger panel in the trailer with a 30a circuit breaker at the battery....the run is about 12'
I just bought a Keurig K130 Hotel/Commercial version coffee brewer. I went this route because this unit only draws 700 watts as opposed to all the other Keurig machines that draw up to 1500 watts. Many hotels have insufficient wiring in the rooms so this unit is designed just for them.
So....With trailer disconnected from "shore power"....running just on batteries with 280w solar panels.....when I turn on the coffee machine, drawing AC current through a "Kill-A-Watt" it shows I am using 5.6 amps......But my "TriMetric" battery monitor is showing a drain of -45 AMPS!!! In fact, at start up it goes as high as -52 AMPS.........AND..It is a sunny day and the solar panels are outputting 7 AMPS so those numbers are really -52 and -59 AMPS......
In fact, during one test I tripped the 30a "house" circuit breaker...............Very strange since the Xantrex is not drawing current through this circuit at all. It is directly wired to the two batteries.
I can't figure it out.....Why would the house breaker trip? The only connection between the Xantrex and the house wiring is both are attached to the "+" terminal on the battery and both "-" are connected to the TriMetric's shunt.
Any ideas?
I tripped the 30a "house" circuit breaker
This says it all. You still have your converter plugged in, and are charging the house batteries from the inverter? That is my guess.It is a good thing that you have a Tri Metric. It will indicate your problem.
Normally if you have a 5 amp load on the inverter, then 50 amps in at 12 volts = 5 amps out at 120 volts (if it where 100% efficient - and it is not, so perhaps 110% more input amps than output amps?)
What I would do is if someone says it is a 600 watt load, I would drop the last 0, and call it 60 amps input to the inverter. If it is slightly less than this - good for you!
Anyway do not plan on making much coffee, especially after the sun goes down. Your pair of batteries is way to small for a 60 amp load for 10 minutes. If you can add warm water (say 90F but not much warmer, the coffee makers says cold only) it should reduce the heating time, and amount of overall power consumed.
Each group 24 battery is only good for about 50 amp hours. While a pair of golf cart batteries is 220 amp hours, or good for about 180 AH per day. I would recommend 4 golf cart batteries, and you could make coffee even at night, and still use all the lights you wanted, and run the TV as well. .
Have fun camping!
Fred.
