I think I’ve broken my inverter

Wellington

Wellington

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Carthago Compact 138
My lovely new-to-me Carthago has a little inverter in the garage. I thought I’d try it our before we head off to the continent tomorrow. It’s a Streetwize inverter, peak power 1600 watts, continuous power 800 watts. So I thought I’d be ok with a 600 watt microwave. It worked for a second and then went off. It now has no lights and appears dead! Electrics look normal, and the batteries have power (the lights work anyway. It’s been plugged in all week, and I just left it unplugged today to make sure the 12v/gas systems are all working properly)

Have I killed it?
What did I do wrong?
Can it be resurrected?
 
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Quite a few have a reset button have you read manual , or examined the inverter ? :)
 
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Might have simply popped a fuse?

Does a microwave pull more than 1600w on startup?
 
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You need to look at the plate on the back where the power goes in to tell you the wattage for the microwave. Should be a fuse near the battery or sometimes there is one in the back of the inverter. You are expecting a lot from a cheap inverter. You really need a pure sine wave inverter when you are using it with electronics. A basic drill could not careless about the waveform being generated. A decent one will set you back about £200

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You may have blown the internal fuse ?

I have a 1000w version and a 600w Samsung junior micro wave ,it just about copes with it.
 

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Microwaves often take more than twice the power they are rated at on start up. Normally if an inverter trips through overload they reset once cooled down.
Probably borderline on your microwave but being mounted in the garage it would need very large 12v cables to deliver full power. If the cables are less than ½" dia they are probably too small
I expect you have blown the fuse that feeds the inverter, should be a large fuse near the batteries probably 150 amp fuse.

Also I think your inverter is modified sine wave and your microwave may not run off it anyway.
 
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QFour said:
You need to look at the plate on the back where the power goes in to tell you the wattage for the microwave.
Click to expand...

It says 1000watts. Bugger, a microwave would make my life about a hundred times easier. Wish I’d bought a 12 one now.

I was supposed to be having a fancy pants invertor, but it couldn’t be done until after we were supposed to go, and we’ve had a bit of fiscal hiccup which means funds are not in place at present. I was hoping this one would do as a temporary measure (it came with the van) even if it did mean cooking the garage.

There is no manual or reset button I can see (it’s mounted right up near the Garage ceiling, so it’s tough to examine!). I think I blew the fuse. I found it, somewhat unconventionally mounted, and it looks burnt. I’ll see if I can scare up a spare. Is it worth trying on a lower power setting, or is it a lost cause until I can get something done properly? Of course, it’s completely possible to manage without, but I cannot even begin to tell you how much easier my life will be if I can post a reheated meal into the girl-child a couple of times a day at 60 seconds notice.
 
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Bugger.

If I bought a bigger inverter, could I just swap it over? I think my level of technical expertise is pretty obvious, but if it’s just a case of unscrewing the connections and screwing in new ones, I can probably manage that with instructions. I wouldn’t dream of actual wiring!

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I think I’m with DBK here. Food always tastes a million times better outdoors anyway and both girl and boy children quite like the adventure of camp cooking. Enjoy, you’re going to have a fabulous time!
 
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From My experience of Inverters:- 1 X battery can usually cope with up to a 1KW inverter. Higher power requires 2 or more linked batteries. Modified Sine wave inverters produce a crude type of unrefined electricity that can power basic things like low wattage 240 kettles, light bulbs, etc { None PCB board type stuff. Pure Sine Wave Inverters are a purer, more refined electricity that can power delicate electronic type things like laptops, kettles etc I have bought an Edecoa Pure Sine Wave Inverter that in theory kicks out 2500W of Power with a Surge Power Output of 5000W. In reality though I would need 2 or 3 linked batteries to have a good chance of having that power. Inverters have green LED lights and normally a red LED light. Switch on the inverter wait for the green light, plug in and switch on the load { device } if the Inverter can cope the light stays green. When the Inverter starts to struggle the green light can start to flicker and the light can flash red. Inverters also can emit a buzz when they start to struggle { The supply battery voltage starts to drop below 12V. Its only a battery after all not a power station. Every electrical item normally has a wattage requirement printed on it, look at that first before trying to run it using an inverter.
Keeping the cabling as short as possible from the battery is very important as longer leads will cause voltage drop on 12V and your Inverter won't work effectively.
 
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Oh, I've done my time in a tent! Said daughter first camped when she was four weeks old. In a tent. On my own. If there’s a hard way to do things, I’ve done it. I bought a motorhome so I didn’t have to do everything the hard way any more! I don’t want to survive, or have adventures, I want a holiday. I want things to be easy, and to have five minutes to put my feet up now and again. And she won’t eat different stuff if she’s hungry. She’s just vile!

I’m going to order an inverter, if Mr Amazon can get it here. Assuming I cannot damage the motorhome or myself by straight swapping for what I have, then I’ll give it a go. I won’t be any worse off if it doesn’t just work. I’m assuming that even I cannot damage myself (much) with a 12v supply.

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I have a 1500 watt continuous, 3000 peak rated inverter and 3 batteries on it running a 800 watt microwave and it still wont work. I done some testing and it craps out at 800 watts on a hair dryer. microwaves pull big surges on the duty cycle (going on and off when cooking or start up)

Dont believe the specs on these inverters they are like VW and diesel
 
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If suitable cables are already in place it won't be difficult changing the inverter but check the existing one is genuinely dead. There could be a small blade fuse somewhere on it plus there should be a much bigger fuse on the positive cable somewhere near the batteries. But if as you say it looks frazzled then it may well be. :(

And I agree, anyone can be uncomfortable, which is why we also have a motorhome now. :)
 
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Just be upfront, I have two 100amp LGAs (or something like that. Nothing fancy, but two 100amps, definitely).

I want to power a microwave for about 1 minute, two or three times a day. I expect to be driving for at least two hours a day, and hooking up for 24 hours once a week, or thereabouts. I'm not looking for a lot of power. I have a freezer full of home cooked meals in child sized portions. That’s about two tablespoons. You can’t heat it in a saucepan, because it just coats the pan, and because at least one, and probably two of those meals will be a jacket potato. (I will bake a dozen of those in a halogen oven when I hook up, and reheat them as and when) also, I was dearly hoping to catch a break on the washing up.
 
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Camping Gaza said:
I have a 1500 watt continuous, 3000 peak rated inverter and 3 batteries on it running a 800 watt microwave and it still wont work. I done some testing and it craps out at 800 watts on a hair dryer. microwaves pull big surges on the duty cycle (going on and off when cooking or start up)

Dont believe the specs on these inverters they are like VW and diesel
Click to expand...

Is that 800 watt on the front of the micro, or the back? I’ve just bought a 2000 watt continuous, 4000 watt peak, pure sine wave. I considered 3000/6000 (as it reccomnded 3-7 times continuous power) but it won't be here on time. I should be able to test before I go and return it if it doesn’t work. We’re supposed to leave tomorrow, but can’t now because the girl child has toothache, so I need to get her into the dentist.
 
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Agree with Peterc10. Just to add, the length of the cables linking the inverter to the batteries is also a critical consideration to avoid overheating the cable, it should be as close as possible. For example, with our 1500 watt I used 18 inch lengths rated at 150 amps.
hth
 
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Post a picture of the installation and we can advise, you said it was mounted on the ceiling of the garage which sounds too fat from the batteries, which I assume are also in the garage?
 
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eddievanbitz said:
which I assume are also in the garage?
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I think the batteries in the double floor under lounge side seat probably at least 5 m of cable to inverter, never going to work for anything but very light loads unless the cables are huge.

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Wellington said:
Is that 800 watt on the front of the micro, or the back? I’ve just bought a 2000 watt continuous, 4000 watt peak, pure sine wave. I considered 3000/6000 (as it reccomnded 3-7 times continuous power) but it won't be here on time.
Click to expand...

You cannot just plug something TWICE the power into your existing wiring. The wires that are fitted are way to long for an inverter anyway. The voltage drop will be calculated on TWICE the distance to the battery. If you are not very careful you will set something on fire or melt the wiring.

Under normal circumstances the inverter should live next to the battery with very SHORT leads. You then take the output from the inverter ( 240v ) to where you want it. Ours is wired with separate 3 pin plugs. One in the back and one up front. We left the original wiring in place so just use different sockets when on EHU.

Your NEW Inverter is going to use 330 amps at 12v so it will just fry a normal fuse. You are talking really serious wiring to get this to work. The cable alone is going to cost more than the inverter.

PLEASE DON'T WIRE IT IN AND TRY IT ...
 
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I agree with the notes of caution above. It is clear that you do not understand the technology and lack the knowledge to make the modifications intended.

Please seek professional help.

Re your frozen food: with planning, you can defrost the food and heat on the stove top.

Ian
 
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If as Lenny HB says you have that length of 12v lead(cables) to inverter , that alone could be the problem .
 
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Yeah all to the above, you are really gonna need thick cables as a rough guide they will be in the region of half and inch thick, like the cables used on an arc welder and as short as you can to the main battery
 
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