DBK
LIFE MEMBER
In this thread I asked for comments on a 1500W pure sign inverter. As the comments were favourable I went ahead and ordered one.
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/thoughts-on-this-inverter.155627/
When it arrived I tried it for size in my chosen spot in the PVC.
This is very close to the batteries, which is good, but the space is very confined but I thought if it overheated I could add some PC cooling fans.
However, just before I started drilling holes I had a sudden realisation this wasn't going to work. The reason is this space is filled by the seat back cushion when it folds down to make one of the beds. Doh!
So back to some head scratching and after looking at other alternatives I decided the best option was to put it where all the other electrical stuff is in the space behind the wardrobe. This allowed me to mount it correctly but the cables going to it from the batteries are now very long at about two and a half metres which will create about a 3% voltage drop, which is high but at the upper limit according to what I could discover on the Internet. I am using 25mm cables and 35mm would be much better but they are considerably more expensive and stiffer.
In the picture above you can see the two bits of wood I have screwed to the right hand side of the services space. The panel they are fixed to is 16 mm plywood, forming one wall of the bathroom. The left-hand side would have meant shorter cables but this is only very thin ply and not strong enough for the weight. The reason for the wood strips is because there is a ventilation opening right where I wanted to put the inverter. This ventilates the cupboard under the sink so I needed it to be kept open.
The inverter fits quite well in this new spot and is now mounted as the instructions suggest with the fan at the top. I could have mounted it the other way up which would have reduced the length of the negative cable a bit but I wanted to fit an isolating switch and the best place for this means there would not have been any saving in the length of the positive cable by mounting it upside down. It is mounted a bit close to some water pipes but I think the risk is manageable.
This is where the isolating switch goes. It's the big red thing and isn't exactly discrete but it is easy to get at.
This photo shows the positive cable routed through a 150 amp fuse. I'm not sure why I ordered a 150 amp fuse now as 1500W at 12 volts is 125 amps so I may change it later. These fuse ratings are slightly odd in that the stated current is their continuous working current, they blow at twice this. You can also see that I could have saved a bit of cable by mounting the fuse horizontally but it is a bit neater this way. I have some cable clips to add later to secure the cables in place.
Following the discussion in the other thread and the very helpful advice from Eddie Vanbitz I bought a latching RCD which I will connect to the output of the inverter. Screwfix do one for less than £15 which I have fitted on one of the panels at the back of the wardrobe.
You can see it above the 13A socket in the picture above. And yes, it doesn't quite line up, a bit more chiseling required. The box with the upside down yellow triangle is where the cables goings to the 13A sockets are. I will cut into these cables and add extra cable to reach the RCD and power relay using some junction boxes I've ordered.
My plan is to mount the power relay, which will automatically select the inverter if we are not on EHU and feed it's output to the 13A sockets in a pattress box behind the RCD. It fits, though the wiring is going to be a bit tight.
The 47mm box isn't quite deep enough but Screwfix do a 10mm thick spacer which should give me enough room to include all the necessary wiring. You should be able to see the spacer in this picture of the back of the panel.
I've successfully tested the installation using the sockets on the inverter with a 1200W hairdryer and I am now waiting for the bits to arrive for me to sort out the 240v side, which will be this weeks job.
More to follow, hopefully.
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/thoughts-on-this-inverter.155627/
When it arrived I tried it for size in my chosen spot in the PVC.
This is very close to the batteries, which is good, but the space is very confined but I thought if it overheated I could add some PC cooling fans.
However, just before I started drilling holes I had a sudden realisation this wasn't going to work. The reason is this space is filled by the seat back cushion when it folds down to make one of the beds. Doh!
So back to some head scratching and after looking at other alternatives I decided the best option was to put it where all the other electrical stuff is in the space behind the wardrobe. This allowed me to mount it correctly but the cables going to it from the batteries are now very long at about two and a half metres which will create about a 3% voltage drop, which is high but at the upper limit according to what I could discover on the Internet. I am using 25mm cables and 35mm would be much better but they are considerably more expensive and stiffer.
In the picture above you can see the two bits of wood I have screwed to the right hand side of the services space. The panel they are fixed to is 16 mm plywood, forming one wall of the bathroom. The left-hand side would have meant shorter cables but this is only very thin ply and not strong enough for the weight. The reason for the wood strips is because there is a ventilation opening right where I wanted to put the inverter. This ventilates the cupboard under the sink so I needed it to be kept open.
The inverter fits quite well in this new spot and is now mounted as the instructions suggest with the fan at the top. I could have mounted it the other way up which would have reduced the length of the negative cable a bit but I wanted to fit an isolating switch and the best place for this means there would not have been any saving in the length of the positive cable by mounting it upside down. It is mounted a bit close to some water pipes but I think the risk is manageable.
This is where the isolating switch goes. It's the big red thing and isn't exactly discrete but it is easy to get at.
This photo shows the positive cable routed through a 150 amp fuse. I'm not sure why I ordered a 150 amp fuse now as 1500W at 12 volts is 125 amps so I may change it later. These fuse ratings are slightly odd in that the stated current is their continuous working current, they blow at twice this. You can also see that I could have saved a bit of cable by mounting the fuse horizontally but it is a bit neater this way. I have some cable clips to add later to secure the cables in place.
Following the discussion in the other thread and the very helpful advice from Eddie Vanbitz I bought a latching RCD which I will connect to the output of the inverter. Screwfix do one for less than £15 which I have fitted on one of the panels at the back of the wardrobe.
You can see it above the 13A socket in the picture above. And yes, it doesn't quite line up, a bit more chiseling required. The box with the upside down yellow triangle is where the cables goings to the 13A sockets are. I will cut into these cables and add extra cable to reach the RCD and power relay using some junction boxes I've ordered.
My plan is to mount the power relay, which will automatically select the inverter if we are not on EHU and feed it's output to the 13A sockets in a pattress box behind the RCD. It fits, though the wiring is going to be a bit tight.
The 47mm box isn't quite deep enough but Screwfix do a 10mm thick spacer which should give me enough room to include all the necessary wiring. You should be able to see the spacer in this picture of the back of the panel.
I've successfully tested the installation using the sockets on the inverter with a 1200W hairdryer and I am now waiting for the bits to arrive for me to sort out the 240v side, which will be this weeks job.
More to follow, hopefully.