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Oasisbob's avatar
Oasisbob
Explorer
Aug 16, 2016

SAFE WIRE GUAGE ?

Bought a pure sine wave power inverter to run a 20 inch box fan. Works fine. I added three 12 volt DC outlets running off nearby light fixtures. Then I wondered if the wire for the light is thick enough to not over heat inside the wall if I run the inverter? Have no idea what the wire guage is. Should I be concerned ? I am kind of DC ignorant. What are your thoughts?

24 Replies

  • You should be concerned, but in my opinion not completely terrified of overloading the wiring as some here seem to be. For sure overloaded wiring is a significant fire hazard, but there are protection devices installed (and legally required) to prevent such conditions precisely because it can be a fire hazard.

    The wiring is protected by fuses in the DC distribution panel. If it's properly designed and installed (which are not givens with RVs), then the fuse will blow before the current level is hazardous in the wire. (For this reason, don't replace blown fuses with larger ones.)

    A typical household box fan uses somewhere around 100W on high; the inverter with that load would be consuming about 10A of current. That should not be a real problem. Note that in this case the inverter size is mostly irrelevant; a 1000W inverter and a 300W inverter would behave more or less similarly. If, on the other hand, you were powering something that required a lot more power (like a microwave or a space heater), then the wiring to the inverter becomes a much more significant concern and the existing wiring would not be at all adequate.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    How many watts is your new PSW Inverter. Divide this number by 12.3VDC and this will give you an idea how many DC AMPS it will draw when fully loaded...

    My 600WATT PSW Power Inverter which is always ON will draw around 50AMPS DC current if fully loaded down.. I have it wired directly to my main battery switch wich is less than three feet away from the battery bank and use a 75AMP Fuse block to protect it and the wiring. I use 4AWG ANCOR Marine wiring for my install which is abit overkill but I already had the wiring to use...

    Problem with just getting it for the box fan is once you start doing this like me then momabear all of sudden wants more things to run like the Home Entertainment Center etc etc etc... I started out with a small 150Watt PSW Power Inverter, then went to a 300WATT model and finally been pretty steady now with the 600A PSW AIMS model...

    I ran two drop cords from my Power Inverter to go behind a cabinet near the Home Entertainment Cent items and the second one to run back by the bed where all of our cell phone and computer chargers are located..

    Even tho I have a 600WATT model we usually only use around 250-300Watts between 6PM and 11PM each night running all of the toys. This relates to drawing 20-23AMPs DC current from the Power Inverter... During the winter months we can sit around the wrap around seating with 12V lap blankets and be nice and cozy with it and not have to run the loud Propane Furnace.

    Got my 600WATT AIMS PSW Power Inverter from AMAZON back in 2009 for $259 and it is still available being sold now for $129 I think I saw the other day...

    Works good for us...

    Roy Ken
  • No!
    Inverter needs to be hard wired directly to the battery. Remember, if your fan draws 10 amps @120VAC the inverter will draw approx 100 amps @12VDC from the battery. You need to size the battery/converter wire to carry the maximum amps the inverter can handle.

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