Question on new inverter reading

mrad wrote:
My new 1200 watt pure sine wave inverter arrived yesterday. I just hooked it up to a new group 27 deep cycle. the LED read 12.9 volts. I then plugged a fan into it and turned it on. Voltage immediately dropped to 12.6. I then plugged in a 60 watt light bulb and it dropped to 12.4. Five minutes later, it was 12.3.

My understanding is that at 11.9 volts I am 60% discharged and should disconnect the draw and recharge battery.

Do my volt readings seem low or is the LED reading on my converter most likely inaccurate.

In a previous thread, I was told to get a volt meter. Would a dedicated volt meter be more accurate?

Your battery voltage drops as the inverter 120v load increases. Called "loaded voltage" Not to be confused with "resting voltage" which is what you use for estimating battery state of charge.

If you have more battery AH in the bank, the loaded voltage will not drop so much. The idea is to be able to run your loads and keep loaded voltage above the inverter's low voltage alarm setting, perhaps 11 volts. The inverter keeps running the load but makes a noise until voltage falls to 10.5 and it shuts right down.