Wiring for inverter
I am going to install a new inverter I think about 800 to 1000 watts. We are low energy users. The wiring run from the battery will be approximately 12-14 feet. What gauge wiring should I use?T This...
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I ran into same problem just needing a little bit of 120VC when camping off grid to charge a few things and run the home entertainment items...
I started out with a 150WATT MODIFIED SINE WAVE Power Inverter mounted close to my battery bank main switch. Then run two multi-tap 120VAC extension cords with one going to the home entertainment area and the second one going to the table top near the bed we sleep in my OFF-ROAD POPUP. There is not much voltage drop from the 120VAC side and probably could run a couple of hundred feet of drop cord plugged into the Power Inverter without any issues... I use 4AWG size DC cable cable for my Power Inverter for about five feet so that it is inside my trailer out of the weather. 4AWG is abit over-kill for a my Power Inverters but I have a bunch of that on hand with my bigger battery bank install a few years back... Doesn't hurt a thing using it...
As it goes 150WATTS is not all that much and we wanted a couple more items running off 120VAC. SO added a 300WATT Pure Sign Wave Power Inverter and this really did the job for us.. Used this for a couple of years but every now and then I want just a little more 120VAC power some special things. AMAZON had a good 600WATT Pure sign Wave unit on their page for a good price so went ahead and got it. Now I can run everything that we want to have on from 120VAC... AS it turns out however we usually run between 250WATTS and 300WATTS of items so we never max out the 600Watt unit. It only draws more power if you load it down with more things... My 300WATT PSW Power Inverter is installed in my truck now under the back seat. very handy there for some 120VAC things as well (Like grinding coffee beans with my MR Coffee bean grinder - hehe)... My 150WATT MSW Power Inverter is handy to use outside around the battery bank if we want to run 120V drops for some outside lighting... Sp I didn't waste much by buying two or three Power Inverters getting what i really needed to have haha...
Been running my 600WATT AIMS Pure Sine wave Power Inverter alot now that i got from AMAZON for $159 a few years back and all is well....
The big thing is being Pure Sine Wave then one does not have to worry about what others plug into it to use... My first Power Inverter was a MSW type and I burned up a sensor board, burned up a 20-inch floor fan, my 120VAC Power module for my computer always ran hot to touch, and almost did my home entertainment in using it. Anything with a motor ran really hot... My audio always had hum in the back ground and my TV set had strange lines going through it all the time... With the Pure Sine Wave model I don't see any difference running things through this Power Inverter or plugged into shore power or my generator set... Well worth the $159 I spent on it for sure...
Roy Ken
I started out with a 150WATT MODIFIED SINE WAVE Power Inverter mounted close to my battery bank main switch. Then run two multi-tap 120VAC extension cords with one going to the home entertainment area and the second one going to the table top near the bed we sleep in my OFF-ROAD POPUP. There is not much voltage drop from the 120VAC side and probably could run a couple of hundred feet of drop cord plugged into the Power Inverter without any issues... I use 4AWG size DC cable cable for my Power Inverter for about five feet so that it is inside my trailer out of the weather. 4AWG is abit over-kill for a my Power Inverters but I have a bunch of that on hand with my bigger battery bank install a few years back... Doesn't hurt a thing using it...
As it goes 150WATTS is not all that much and we wanted a couple more items running off 120VAC. SO added a 300WATT Pure Sign Wave Power Inverter and this really did the job for us.. Used this for a couple of years but every now and then I want just a little more 120VAC power some special things. AMAZON had a good 600WATT Pure sign Wave unit on their page for a good price so went ahead and got it. Now I can run everything that we want to have on from 120VAC... AS it turns out however we usually run between 250WATTS and 300WATTS of items so we never max out the 600Watt unit. It only draws more power if you load it down with more things... My 300WATT PSW Power Inverter is installed in my truck now under the back seat. very handy there for some 120VAC things as well (Like grinding coffee beans with my MR Coffee bean grinder - hehe)... My 150WATT MSW Power Inverter is handy to use outside around the battery bank if we want to run 120V drops for some outside lighting... Sp I didn't waste much by buying two or three Power Inverters getting what i really needed to have haha...
Been running my 600WATT AIMS Pure Sine wave Power Inverter alot now that i got from AMAZON for $159 a few years back and all is well....
The big thing is being Pure Sine Wave then one does not have to worry about what others plug into it to use... My first Power Inverter was a MSW type and I burned up a sensor board, burned up a 20-inch floor fan, my 120VAC Power module for my computer always ran hot to touch, and almost did my home entertainment in using it. Anything with a motor ran really hot... My audio always had hum in the back ground and my TV set had strange lines going through it all the time... With the Pure Sine Wave model I don't see any difference running things through this Power Inverter or plugged into shore power or my generator set... Well worth the $159 I spent on it for sure...
Roy Ken
