Hi everyone, looking for some information about inverters , we have 3 x 135w solar panels and 3 batteries - so we decided to try out how long we could survive off the Mains supply. The aim was to use the normal items we would use mains power for. I have a 650w bread maker so tried it and it shut down after about 20 mins - blew a fuse at the battery - so replaced with a bigger fuse BUT the actual intervert still flashes with the red light and beeps. We could not find a reset button so took it to an auto Electrican and he could not find the reset button either. What is the problem with the intervert - help
600/1200W inverter is probably only 600W continuous & 1200W peak int. 650W bread maker is overloading it, Inverter is probably hadit now, as they reset when disconnected from the power suppy & then reconnected.
Sounds like the alarm going off would be the low voltage alarm. Remember a 650 Watt load at 12 volts would equal to several 100's of amps out of your battery's.
Just remember that with that size of inverter and even with that type of load on your battery bank, your battery's sound like they are under sized for the load that the inverter would draw.
What size fuse??. What size is the 12 Volt cable, is it undersized ??. With all loads removed from the 240 Volt side will the inverter then run a small lamp ? ( 25 ~ 40 Watts ).
Maybe the inverter has been damaged !! ( hope not ). If your battery's are recharged could you repeat the exersize and mesure the battery voltage under load. And finaly what is the AH size of your battery's and also the type, EG heavy duty, deep cycle, agm and how old are the battery's
I'm currently "in discussion" with the Ebay supplier of a 2000watt inverter that died within a month. I has 12 months warranty so in theory there is no worry - don't you believe it!
I've had over a dozen discussions with the Australian supplier (biggest on Ebay) and have reached the stage where the manufacturer in China is sending me parts to repair it. This has taken 2 months so far and they are experts at trying to wear you down. They even want you to shoot a video of the problem for them to diagnose!!!
I've found that opening the inverter voids your warranty even if it's done by an electrician. (mine wasn't) I haven't given up on the warranty yet, so I'm still unsure if they are outright rogues or just inefficient.
If your inverter is still sealed then I'd claim on your warranty, but be prepared!
Hako, I have a 2000/4000w inverter that kept blowing one of the 50a internal fuses, it turned out that during the manufacture in China they had placed one of the internal heat shield screws about a mm in the wrong direction and it was shorting, we replaced it with a plastic screw and everything has been perfect for the past 8 months, might be worth a look.
I'm currently "in discussion" with the Ebay supplier of a 2000watt inverter that died within a month. I has 12 months warranty so in theory there is no worry - don't you believe it! I've had over a dozen discussions with the Australian supplier (biggest on Ebay) and have reached the stage where the manufacturer in China is sending me parts to repair it. This has taken 2 months so far and they are experts at trying to wear you down. They even want you to shoot a video of the problem for them to diagnose!!! I've found that opening the inverter voids your warranty even if it's done by an electrician. (mine wasn't) I haven't given up on the warranty yet, so I'm still unsure if they are outright rogues or just inefficient. If your inverter is still sealed then I'd claim on your warranty, but be prepared!
Good Luck.
Name and shame the Australian supplier so all of us can avoid the pitfalls you have encountered
I'll hold back for the time being re 'name and shame' as we are still in discussion plus I know they monitor forums, however I will update when resolved.
(They dont have A Great Reputation MACHINERY-wise if you get my drift.)
This mob have a feedback score of over 200,000 so they are not fly by nights (neither are us customers!).
TizTom - Re a screw shorting internals - possibly was that on mine but it didn't blow any internal fuse - just crackled and sparked internally like cracker night from one end to the other. I'm not opening case till resolved with seller.
Good Luck.
We have had the caravan approx 15mths / installed by previous owner / we have read the manual but it does not make sense - translation is terrible - Chinese to English
It is HIP-600 Australian Distributor Bit MB Pty Ltd 600w /1200w power inverter pure sine wave --- it has worked for us with running computer, running TV, phone charging and running Chestcold 50 litre 3 way fridge for short periods - and the only other thing I would use on it if possible was the bread maker. We don't use an electric toaster, jug or heater .
The bread maker is from Aldi's about 2 years old
The batteries are full, the van is only 19.6 ft so cable runs about 5m to boot of caravan
Batteries are 3 x Del Kor Calcium MF Deep Cycle DC31 Ahrs 100 each - hope that make sense
15A fuse is way too small 600watt pulls around 60Amps. Bread maker is too much for continuous use as its only 600watt, the 1200 is only peak for a few seconds.
You will need to find out the maximum wattage of your breadmaker - we have a Sunbeam and it draws 650W when baking.....had to ring Sunbeam for this as the specs do not include that data.
Personally, with a draw of 650W I'd buy at least a 1000watt pure sine wave inverter, and buy it from a dealer who you personally can see - my Ebay inverter failed and I'm still trying to claim. Buy from a dealer and then if it fails you have a better chance of getting it fixed.
Regards breadmakers - when at home we bake all our own bread and love it, so we thought long and hard about taking it with us in the van on this trip. Decided against it in the end and find we can manage if we don't buy supermarket bread....only buy from bakeries. You can live without a breadmaker, but only just.
Good Luck.
