Looking to buy a knew inverter 1500W.  Which are the best - Australian or Chinese.  Any suggestions for best buy.   Rgds gitsho

I am looking at installing a inverter myself and curious as to your need for 1500w.

Looking at all options, usage of our washing machine, toaster, blender, etc, we very rarely camp where there is power. 

Regards gitsho

gitsho wrote:

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Looking at all options, usage of our washing machine, toaster, blender, etc, we very rarely camp where there is power. 

Regards gitsho

 

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Hi

Apart from brand you should ensure it is:

a a pure SINE wave inverter not MWS

Fully isolated[ Ac from Dc]

and it's capacity is large enough to take the surge current of the motor of the washing machine start up [anything up to 7times running current]

then finally consider the safety aspects of any 240V

The Safety recommendation is to only connect one Class1 device at any time[Class1 always have a 3pin plug]

IF YOU CONNECT IT INTO THE VAN POWER INLET SOCKET, YOU WILL ALREADY HAVE THAT  ONE CLASS 1 CONNECTED ,THE VAN ITSELF!!!

Do you have sufifcient battery capacity & battery recharging  capacity ??

PeterQ

My 1500 watt  inverter peaks 3000 watts runs the washing machine a Fisher paykel  5.5 kg with ease even the freezer running and tv going, runs my  700 watt toaster, and microwave if the batteries are fully charged, the micro is 700 watts but on normal power to heat maybe a pie in 3 mins,  off the inverter takes about double the  time maybe 7 mins or so. Doesn't take much to fire up my 2 kva generator to use the micro wave.  Also 2 big  storage batteries here 2 x 280 amp hour total 560 amps in all.

Also  I buy enough bread rolls to last a fortnight then freeze them,  upon putting a bread roll in the microwave for 1 min and 15 secs is as fresh as if they just came out of the bakers oven.

The batteries I got are below, there 74 kg weight each battery, expected life can be up to10 years , but i be happy if I get 6 years.

http://www.aussiebatteries.com.au/batteries/deep-cycle-agm/280ah-12v-agm-deep-cycle-battery

  Gitsho,we have one of these,it has been faultless,very happy.   We have   3 X 100 amp/hr batteries and   3  Xx 100 watt panels,for us it's a good combination.                http://stores.ebay.com.au/SELLING-FACTORY-DIRECT.........................  Peter

Maybe Gitsho if you can afford maybe get a Honda inverter  2 kva or a 1 kva generator, great for over cast days in which i've had in SA for almost a month now.

Ive got 3 x 200 watter solar panel most often if its sunny I can make app140 amps a day,but at present I need my 2 kva generator on for 3 hrs to pump in a few more amps into my batteries, as being overcast I get app 85 amps for the day.

3 hrs on my 2 kva genny I use app 3/4 of a litre of fuel charging my batteries at 10 amps,with tv and freezer going as also my vast decoder.

S*'t lot of money just for bread roll i did the same for half the price ok

Not just for a bread roll, other items as well, washing machine, my tucker box freezer which runs 24 hrs a day 7 days a week, my sat decoder, 2 TV's, a sandwich press for toasting a ham n cheese sandwich, run my black n decker drill, a bench grinder all without starting up my generator. Oh also a sm 4 ltre still to make distilled water anytime. Gee I am happy what I can run off my batteries n iverter

Alsoi can leave the outside light on all night with a engenery  saver globe that uses 5 watts, and when cold  can use my elect blanket all night be snug in bed

-- Edited by graham (chickenman) on Monday 26th of May 2014 09:29:13 AM

gitsho wrote:

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Looking to buy a knew inverter 1500W.  Which are the best - Australian or Chinese.  Any suggestions for best buy.   Rgds gitsho

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 Hi gitsho,

There have been lots of other good replies with good information. Note that some have very large batteries to run their invertors.

A 1500w inverter will draw about 130+amps at full load(12V), more at staring surge. Now that's a lot of current and needs proper wiring and placement for it to work correctly. Also needs a big battery bank that can supply a large current for some time, to run it. Otherwise you will not get a good outcome and it will  be tripping out on the big loads. 

jaahn

jaahn, agree with you, I got 2 inverters one is a 1100 watter other s a 1500 watter I use that to run my 1200 watt vacuum cleaner but only when I have at least 20 to 25 amps going into my  560 amp batteries. I have used starter cables I got from a friend to my inverters, and from the panels to my regular is 6mm cable  bought off a auto electrician.

Always pays to use the right cable and no short cuts to save a dollar or 2 ?

Always worthwile to feel your cable now and then on a sunny day to see there not heating up from a load as to being not the right cable for the load it carries.

graham (chickenman) wrote:

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My 1500 watt  inverter peaks 3000 watts runs the washing machine a Fisher paykel  5.5 kg with ease even the freezer running and tv going, runs my  700 watt toaster, and microwave if the batteries are fully charged, the micro is 700 watts but on normal power to heat maybe a pie in 3 mins,  off the inverter takes about double the  time maybe 7 mins or so. Doesn't take much to fire up my 2 kva generator to use the micro wave.  Also 2 big  storage batteries here 2 x 280 amp hour total 560 amps in all.

Also  I buy enough bread rolls to last a fortnight then freeze them,  upon putting a bread roll in the microwave for 1 min and 15 secs is as fresh as if they just came out of the bakers oven.

The batteries I got are below, there 74 kg weight each battery, expected life can be up to10 years , but i be happy if I get 6 years.

http://www.aussiebatteries.com.au/batteries/deep-cycle-agm/280ah-12v-agm-deep-cycle-battery

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 Sorry I have to..

Expected Life can be 10years.. I love it when dealers Quote stuff like this.... But leave out the most important thing of the Lot..  How many cycles and to what Depth of Discharge you take the batteries..

Not even Full River gives a yearly time frame of battery life.. They go for Cycle Life/DoD..

Plus an added Fact which was pointed out to me today.. Weight.

Juergen

graham (chickenman) wrote:

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 I have used starter cables I got from a friend to my inverters, and from the panels to my regular is 6mm cable  bought off a auto electrician.

Always pays to use the right cable and no short cuts to save a dollar or 2 ?

Always worthwile to feel your cable now and then on a sunny day to see there not heating up from a load as to being not the right cable for the load it carries.

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HI Graham

Sadly, quoting cables in that manner means very little

Starter cable can be different sizes

6mm Auto cable means absolutely nothing, as it is in no way a guide to actual copper size

it is the outside dia[insulation included]  not the copper core

The outside dia can /does vary from maker to maker.& even cable duty[due different insulation thickness]

And you can have cables that do not get hot but are inadequate for the job due to voltage drop.

PeterQ

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PeterQ, I am happy with what I got here, no wireing even gets warm when I get 25 or more amps, but its my set up and I happy with  what I got, not going to count how many cores are in the 6 mm cable  I got other more interesting things to do here.

HI Graham

Sadly, quoting cables in that manner means very little

Starter cable can be different sizes

6mm Auto cable means absolutely nothing, as it is in no way a guide to actual copper size

it is the outside dia[insulation included]  not the copper core

The outside dia can /does vary from maker to maker.& even cable duty[due different insulation thickness]

And you can have cables that do not get hot but are inadequate for the job due to voltage drop.

PeterQ

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6mm square is used in the elect industry.. It IS the actual size of the wire itself..

This the private message Coolabah1au  doesn't make any sense, and don't send me a personal  message put it in the forum.

So what is so important what vehicle I have, a van or a bus and you cant explain the goodies? What I have is for myself not sitting here giving every details of my life ok

Oh $3993.90 cents? work that out ?

Also you don't even know me but  you   think I am lower  or higher than you? but I say wtf 

Look at a persons profile!

-- Edited by graham (chickenman) on Monday 26th of May 2014 05:04:33 PM

Thick

A  nice comment  Coolabah1au froma fellow nomad, is it my name that annoys you wanting to pick on me?

As I see it Coolabah1au seems you pick out a person by there name?

Coolabah1au May I ask have you a white beard?  Your just a boring fu@ sad to say.

Aus-Kiwi wrote:

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HI Graham

Sadly, quoting cables in that manner means very little

Starter cable can be different sizes

6mm Auto cable means absolutely nothing, as it is in no way a guide to actual copper size

it is the outside dia[insulation included]  not the copper core

The outside dia can /does vary from maker to maker.& even cable duty[due different insulation thickness]

And you can have cables that do not get hot but are inadequate for the job due to voltage drop.

PeterQ

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6mm square is used in the elect industry.. It IS the actual size of the wire itself..

 

-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Monday 26th of May 2014 04:48:35 PM

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 Hi

Well first off what size does it mean, Dia of copper, overall dia, or cross sectional area of the copper core???

BUt ,Yes, you are correct

The Ausralian Electrical industry[, Ie low voltage electric above 50V ac ] does use the ABBREVIATED  term" 6mm,"  as you point out 

BUT  WE are referiing to a cable with a CROSS SECTIONAL AREA  of 6 Sq millimeteres because we are talking in  a common language

That is not the same as AUTO cables where the quoted "X" mm is the OVERALL DIAmeter,  with no direct relationship to ACTUAL copper core  dia, OR cross sectional area of copper !!!

One needs to understand this when looking at cables,  or one could get a sad surprise when they find their 6mm AUTO cable overheats carrying 45A.

PeterQ

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Hi Allan (Gitsho), you are getting a lot of advice on cables etc. so I will leave all that alone, but I will share my limited experience with you:

I recently set up a van with a 1,600W inverter charger from MPP Solar (Good Tiawanese manufacturer), in doing so I made a decision that I would only cater for one of my major electrical items (air con, microwave, washing machine) at a time, and also leave a little bit to run other incidentals (phone and laptop chargers) at the same time.

All went well, until my inverter started to alarm, then overloaded and cut out. We measured the current draw for each device, everything was fine, all around 5 amps. Then a phantom 5.5 Amp drain appeared, took us a while but we managed to trace it back to the HWS, which of course turns on and off by itself. LESSON, make sure you consider everything, not just what you turn on and off by yourself.

The 1,600W inverter we are using is a high frequency unit, it is light, and does exactly what we were asking it to do, giving us just over 6 amps which is enough to run any one of our major units, and incidentals. This works while we keep the HWS running on gas.

I hope this helps you make your decision. 

oldtrack123 wrote:

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Aus-Kiwi wrote:

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HI Graham

Sadly, quoting cables in that manner means very little

Starter cable can be different sizes

6mm Auto cable means absolutely nothing, as it is in no way a guide to actual copper size

it is the outside dia[insulation included]  not the copper core

The outside dia can /does vary from maker to maker.& even cable duty[due different insulation thickness]

And you can have cables that do not get hot but are inadequate for the job due to voltage drop.

PeterQ

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6mm square is used in the elect industry.. It IS the actual size of the wire itself..

 

-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Monday 26th of May 2014 04:48:35 PM

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 Hi

 

Well first off what size does it mean, Dia of copper, overall dia, or cross sectional area of the copper core???

BUt ,Yes, you are correct

The Ausralian Electrical industry[, Ie low voltage electric above 50V ac ] does use the ABBREVIATED  term" 6mm,"  as you point out 

BUT  WE are referiing to a cable with a CROSS SECTIONAL AREA  of 6 Sq millimeteres because we are talking in  a common language

That is not the same as AUTO cables where the quoted "X" mm is the OVERALL DIAmeter,  with no direct relationship to ACTUAL copper core  dia, OR cross sectional area of copper !!!

One needs to understand this when looking at cables,  or one could get a sad surprise when they find their 6mm AUTO cable overheats carrying 45A.

PeterQ

 

--

-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Monday 26th of May 2014 08:29:42 PM

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Yes need to up spec on wiring rules.. I would say 240v is NOT automotive !!!

Aus-Kiwi wrote:

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[1]6mm square is used in the elect industry.. It IS the actual size of the wire itself..

 

-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Monday 26th of May 2014 04:48:35 PM

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[2.. I would say 240v is NOT automotive !!![end quote]

 

 Hi

t

[1] above indicates a very limited understanding of cable specs

&the fact that in the real electrical world 6mm is an understood abbreviation for 6 SQ  MMcross sectional area

In the Auto motive world 6mm is the overal outside DIAMETER of the cable which does not have any indication to the actual COPPER cross sectional area

[2]

The voltage limits of electrical systems is clearly stated & is easy to understand

"Extra low voltage" is anything between 0V <120v ripple free DC  & up to 50VAC, obviously that comes into the Automotive electrical field.

LOW voltage   """"""above 120V ripple free DC up to 1500V ripple free DC or above 50VAC up to 1000V AC, covers the normal domestic, commercial ,& industrial fields

PeterQ

 

Firstly my apologies for going off topic on this thread. But as said, it was to illustrate the difference between the various methods of quoting cable sizes.

Just to give you an example: