hardwire an inverter?

My INVERTER setup is for a 600WATT PSW AIMS INVERTER (AMAZON) which is hard wired to the battery bank just a few feet away using 4AWG size cable and proper BLUE SEA FUSE setup.

Then I run two extension cords from there with one going to the home entertainment area and the other one going back to bedroom night table area.

This is all we really need. I also installed a 1500W AIMS PSW INVERTER much the same way with the thoughts of occasionally plugging the Trailer 30A Shore Power into it using a RV30A-15A Adapter (WALMART) but this doesn't get used much. I was just wanting to power up all of my 120V Receptacles around the trailer but in order to use it I have to shut down alot of things from the 120VAC Power Panel.

The 600WATT PSW Inverter setup is my duty work horse and is always ON. Doesn't draw much parasitic power if nothing is being used on it. I started out with only a 150WATT PSW INVERTER then went to a 300WATTS model and finally ended up with the 600WATT model. Once you find out how neat there are to have around you finally decide you can't live without one haha...

Like 2OLDMAN says I too use my 2KW generator in the morning to make up my fresh ground and brew bean coffee when I am recharging my batteries after my one day/night run off the batteries.

It all becomes a daily routine - been camping off the power grid this way since around late 2009...

For us it was you just can't plug in an inverter and all works like you want. It took some planning to reduce the overall power drain of the trailer as much as possible and add enough battery capacity to support what you are wanting to do.

Did a whole lot of camping in the back yard and at a local closeby Westmoreland State Park at first to get all of the problems figured out... Not fun having all the lights go out at 10PM at night haha...

We are just now thinking about adding SOLAR PANELS to keep us from running the generator so long each morning.

Just some thoughts here
Roy Ken

danimal53 wrote:

also, 10 gauge wire direct to battery?

would the on/off switch on the inverter in the link be enough to kill parasitic load? or do i need something else wired in?


Kind of a new subject for me, I'm trying to research but sorry for any ignorant questions

More like 00 gauge wire. A 10 gauge wire would maybe be adequate for a 200 watt inverter.

Yes, turning off the inverter would eliminate the load on batteries.

No, you get what you pay for. A little shopping around will show you that inverter is poor quality.

See what you can glean from these:

Don Rowe site Inverter FAQ
Inverters by Phred
inverter thread
MSW v. pure sine
Inverters and MW thread

2oldman wrote:

danimal53 wrote:
Would it be silly to tap off the light? wiring not heavy enough?

Yes, yes. Inverter wiring the 12v side almost always requires larger wires directly connected to the battery.

Smaller inverters are not usually pure sine wave, and the msw ones can heat up chargers and put interference in your tv and sound. That's not a guarantee, it's a distinct possibility.

thanks for the reply...so this one is probably not the way to go?

also, 10 gauge wire direct to battery?

would the on/off switch on the inverter in the link be enough to kill parasitic load? or do i need something else wired in?


Kind of a new subject for me, I'm trying to research but sorry for any ignorant questions

danimal53 wrote:
Would it be silly to tap off the light? wiring not heavy enough?

Yes, yes. Inverter wiring the 12v side almost always requires larger wires directly connected to the battery.

Smaller inverters are not usually pure sine wave, and the msw ones can heat up chargers and put interference in your tv and sound. That's not a guarantee, it's a distinct possibility.

i would only use it to run a TV, charge a laptop or cell phones.

Come to think of it, maybe to make coffee too, so i should probably look bigger.

Would it be silly to tap off the light? wiring not heavy enough?

Go big or go home. Hard wire a 2kw unit to the ac panel.

That's not much of an inverter....it will have a parasitic load so I would either have an on/off switch or use a cigarette plug.