Vector 1500 inverter overloads on 300 watts

[hertfordnc]

I bought this inverter for $20 so i'm not holding much hope

With a pair of fully charged 100 amp gels running a samll dorm fridge the inverter makes good power for a while and then cuts out with a red overload/under voltage light.

I checked all the fuses inside, no obvious corrosion or trauma.

Anything else i can look at before i give up?

This same setup will go 24 hours on a very cheap 800 watt no-name inverter.

[NicodemusY]

CAT 1000W Power Inverter-CPI1000 up to 1000 watts continuous household AC power. It converts 12 volt DC power to 120 Volt AC household power. You can directly plug in to the vehicles 12 volts DC battery and continuous 1000 watts power. Two USB ports thats provide up to 2 amps of power to charge your smartphones, tablets and so on.

[hertfordnc]

garym114 wrote:
Your battery cables should be at least 4 AWG. Realize that a 300 watt inverter load is drawing about 30 amps from the batteries. You have to have battery cables large enough to carry the inverter load.
At 1000 watts inverter load you will be drawing about 100 amps from the batteries.
You did not say what the battery cable length or AWG size of your battery cable is. Those two make all the difference in inverter performance.

Ah Hah!

I thought the wires were adequate but i sacrificed a cheap set of jumper cables and made new leads and the thing has been working great all afternoon. Thanks

[garym114]

Your battery cables should be at least 4 AWG. Realize that a 300 watt inverter load is drawing about 30 amps from the batteries. You have to have battery cables large enough to carry the inverter load.
At 1000 watts inverter load you will be drawing about 100 amps from the batteries.
You did not say what the battery cable length or AWG size of your battery cable is. Those two make all the difference in inverter performance.

[time2roll]

hertfordnc wrote:
Anything else i can look at before i give up?

This same setup will go 24 hours on a very cheap 800 watt no-name inverter.

Are you using the same wires as the 800 watt inverter for the 1500 watt?

Otherwise monitor the voltage on the inverter 12v input terminals. You should see 12.2+ volts.

[BFL13]

Suspect the inverter to battery wiring you are using is too thin/too long/bad connection. Too much voltage drop so it is close to low voltage shutdown at first, then it gets to that after the batteries get a little lower.

Does the 800 have its own cables with clamps? If so that is the difference.

I have an old Vector 2000w 54D that still works. The specs for the 1500w 50D call for #2AWG up to 6 ft and 2/0 from 6 to 10 ft. with a 300a ANL fuse.

Of course that is over-kill for your load, but you still need decent wiring for the job.

[SidecarFlip]

landfill it and move on. Internal issues.