Is 15' extension cord OK off inverter?

0.38A*12.6V is 10W? Your battery monitor is getting either DC amps or DC watts wrong.

Assuming the worst case, i.e. 10W number is correct, and therefore DC current is 0.7A... You can mount the inverter anywhere you want and use 15ft long #16 cable on either 12V or 110V side. Definitely on 110V side you can.

sch911 wrote:
Yes, it's fine. It's always better to extend the AC side over the DC side.

Yes, when I installed my 1000 W MSW inverter I installed the inverter right above my batteries about 1.5 ft away with very heavy wire. It is inside my dinette seat, from there I ran a 20 ft extension cord back to my 50 amp plug and that powers the whole house. Secured the ext cord snugly to the frame using HD tie wraps. In practice I mostly use it to vacuum or watch TV occasionally.

Now you spoke of the 120 volt side of the inverter. and 15' of 16Ga on that deice) less than one amp) Well the term "overkill" applies big time.. Yes that's a good plan.. It should work

On the 12 volt side of life you need cables that are BIG, HEAVY and SHORT (but not so short the batteries and inverter are in the same box)

But on the 120 volt side at less than 1 amp 15, or for that matter 150 feet of 16ga you will have a hard time measuring the voltage drop.

My setup for my 600WATT PSW Power Inverter is I have the Inverter as close to the main DC switch near the batteries as I can get it and still be inside my trailer. It is about 5-feet away using 4AWG cable on the 12VDC side of things.

On the 120VAC Side I use two 15-feet long YELLOW drop cords that run from the two 120VAC receptacles on the 600WATT Power Inverter with one going to the the home entertainment area and the other one going back to to a table top near the bed we sleep in... At the two ends of the 120V Drop cords I have those multi-tap extension cords. These also are heavy gauge 120VAC cords. These both have a ON-OFF 120VAc switch and I have these multi-tap plugs mounted on the back of the table top area. All is out of sight with the cords running along the walls or behind cabinets...






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My 600ATT Sine Wave Power Inverter stays ON all the time we are using the trailer and I can turn OFF the two multi-tap plugs if needed with its own ON-OFF switch...

This setup provides us 120VAC power all the time for our Home entertainment items and a few of the somewhat necessary 120VAC items like cell phone and computer chargers etc that we use when camping off grid... The 600WATTs capacity is more than we normally use but nice to have the extra capacity. I normally use about 300WATTS of power coming from the 600WATT Power Inverter...

This is a drawing showing my trailer layout

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Been doing this setup since around 2009 and we like to stay out off grid for several days at a time. Nice setup for me...

Roy Ken

MrWizard wrote:
your good, just make sure the 120v ext, is run safely, and the inverter will stay cool, air flow is not blocked, not sitting on carpet etc..

The inverter is located under the sofa flat on the floor, plenty of air circulation. The back of the outdoor TV and entertainment center vent to the area also along with a huge sub-woofer that we don't use. There are plenty of open air gaps at the ends and top of the sofa. The inverter is drawing so few watts, that the fan seldom goes on. The DW wants to route the 15' cord up to the cabover bunk and under the mattress. Not sure if that's a good idea. Other option is to route it on top of the mattress the the other side and the receiver.

your good, just make sure the 120v ext, is run safely, and the inverter will stay cool, air flow is not blocked, not sitting on carpet etc..

Only for the sat receiver and drawing less than 1/2 an amp 12v. No heat on extension cord.

16 gauge wire is good for 9 amps/120V. My sat receiver/DVR and LED TV draws 4 amps BUT that's at 12V into the inverter... less than 0.5 amps at 120V and I thought the weight police got carried away on here.

Will be fine. However, without looking anything up for ratings, I would go 14 instead of 16 if there is any chance you will also be plugging the TV set and DVD player into where the Sat Receiver plugs in to the 16.

EDIT--never mind the 14. Somebody has the specs for 16 being ok.

ASSumes the 400w inverter is DC wired to enough DC supply for all that and not just into an 8 amp DC socket.

Hi,

I would use an even longer cord and go around the base of the sofa. Under is not a great idea, ever.