inverter help required (1 Viewer)

[ehuplad]

I have a 2500 watt inverter in one of my side lockers, it has 2 sockets on the end 1 has a plug and lead going into the floor there is also a switch next to these, I do not know what it is for.Link RemovedLink Removed
The switch is never turned on, when i turn it on there is a bussing noise from the inverter, what can this be for, as everything works fine even with the switch turned off.

2nd issue was on hook up all night drove away from site for 10min then stopped for a bacon butty when i returned looked at the battery monitor and it showed the battery at only 12.5v,
I would have thought the batteries should have been fully charged after night on hook up, then drove for 2 to 3 hrs the batteries showed 13.6v

Now on hook up and still showing 13.6v,

How can i check the battery charger is working when on hook up, I presume it cannot be linked to the inverter.

 

[Wildman]

a large inverter left on could use almost as much as your charger is putting in. It appears the inverter may be on all the time, not a good idea. If it is buzzing when the switch is operated I would suggest it is a bad switch and arcing, not working properly, replace it with a known good one. Why do you need such a large inverter, do you have a dozen batteries in the battery bank.

 

[Fatalhud]

Its pointless guessing what the switch does and where the lead goes, The first job is to trace them, to identify there function

Alan H

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[scotjimland]

Hi

I agree with Alan .. no point in guessing .. trace the cable .

Re charging .
Check the output to the batteries with a digital multimeter, 13.6 v is the normal output from a bog standard RV power supply/charger unit.

Test with EHU unplugged, then with it plugged in, you should see the voltage change..

Re charging time, need more information, how large is the battery bank ? .. it can take several days to charge a flat battery bank.


jim

 

[ehuplad]

Right sorted the inverter quiery, The internal switch also turns this on so no problem with that.

As for the batteries, measured voltage as suggested.

On hook up shows 13.55volts off hook up 13.4volts, Iam using two 6 volt batteries, should the charger not be kicking in 14.4v or would the 6 volts make a difference.

Initually i had 3 12v 110ah batteries fitted, I changed them last year to two 6 volt at 240 ah, I also am going to add another 2 of these as i have the room for this.

So does it look like my charger is not up to the job, if so what would you reccommend for the set up i have bearing in mind the 2 extra batteries i will be fitting
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[johnsandywhite]

Hi ehuplad. It makes no difference whether your batteries are 6v or 12v. What matters is the amount of amps you have for charging against the amps you are trying to put in. Ideally a 3 or 4 stage charger with an eqaulisation phase is the best for charging. IMH&HO. :thumb:

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[ehuplad]

Battery condition

Just found this on the Trojan battery according to there information a battery is fully charged at 12.7v

50% is 12.1v
80% is 11.66v

They state it is safe to take the battery down 80% 11.66v

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Shallow discharges will result in a longer battery life​

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50% (or less) discharges are recommended​

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80% discharge is the maximum safe discharge​

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Do not fully discharge flooded batteries (80% or
more). This will damage (or kill) the battery.
Equivalent to overheating a car’s engine, extent of
damage unknown.​

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Many experts recommend operating batteries only
between the 50% to 85% of full charge range. A
periodic equalization charge is a must when using
this practice.​

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Do not leave batteries deeply discharged for any
length of time.​

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Lead-acid batteries do not develop a memory and
need not be fully discharged before recharging
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[johnsandywhite]

:Cool: Hi ehuplad. This may help you understand batteries and charging a little better:-

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[pappajohn]

a freshly charged battery will show around 13.8v for a short while then reduce to around 12.6v 'standing charge' which would indicate 90% to 100% charge.

a lot of 'chargers' arent chargers at all but merely a 13.8v power supply.

this chart should show the charge state at different voltages.

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