Quote:
Originally Posted by live4fun
Sorry to getting back so late. I was away for the month in Big Bend with poor service coverage. But home now. My solar system is working great and I average 7amp/h use per evening, so have plenty of battery capacity. I have a few lasting questions about the inverter.
1. If I located my new 2000w inverter <2 feet from my batteries, what AWG would you recommend for this 65-80amp load from my microwave? #2 or #4 wire at 12v?
2. Do I need to fuse protect the inverter along this circuit?
3. I’m planning to run 12g wire (to a new receptacle )or extension cord to the microwave 12 ft away for the 700w load. Do I really need to plug the microwave into a regular 120v receptacle (and unplug the inverter receptacle) when on shore power even if I only run it less than 5 minutes per day? It seems like I should be able to keep running off the inverter receptacle if my 5 min use per day doesn’t change.
Do you see any conflicts? Thanks Kurt
|
Welcome back.......
A 2000W true sine wave inverter is a good choice.
1. Your microwave will require about 100A while running and about 200A on start-up. If you total run from the battery terminals to the inverter terminals is 2', your total run (round trip) is 4'. This will require a minimum of 2G wire but that would be pushing it (never wise with electrical). I run 1/0 wire and all is well.
2. Proper fusing for lithium batteries is important. Proper protection for a lithium battery is a "T-Class, fast acting" fuse that is attached directly to the positive terminal of the battery and the positive cable attaches to a HD busbar, then a 1/0 battery cable to your inverter. I used a 350A T-Class fuse.
3. An extension cord or a separate outlet will work. However, you may want to wire your inverter to activate ALL of the 120V circuits in the camper. That would require an automatic transfer switch (ATS). If you're interested in doing that, let me know and I'll walk you through it, if you'd like.