Power inverter tips
 

I went to walmart today and got my self a 750 watt power inverter and some "monster wire" thats used to wire up amps and what not to a car battery. Now before I install it into my truck Im looking for tips on how to. I will be mounting this behind my drivers bench seat. Any tips or tricks on how to wire and mount it? Any ideas will be nice to have thanks

Brandon

I did this a couple weeks ago. I don't know if the wire kit came with a 150 fuse. I went to a local radio shop and got myself a 150 circuit breaker since I didn't want to worry about fuses. It's straight forward and very easy. Comes in very handy.

Ok very cool yeah it came with a fuse. Which is nice but I think you using a circuit breaker would be much better very cool :thumbup:

Brandon

Just keep it in the open so it doesn't get hot when in use.

I mounted mine under the driver seat and hard wired it into the battery as well. But I decided to mount a switch that turns it on and off from the center console. The switch is protected since it is only turning on/off the ground wire to the inverter. Now my next step is to run two outlets to the center console as well to make connecting things easier.

Ok well Im going to use this dam thing for every thing so im gonna try and use the sub box that im building as a mounting place. I think that im gonna ground it to the seat but im not sure. Thanks for the tips guys maybe I can get this thing in when I get home wensday :D

Brandon

Check out my build thread in signature. Some good locations for outlets :) on one of the last pages.

one thing to make sure of is to shrink wrap your connectors whether they are soldered on or crimped on. you dont want the carpet to be a conductor and set fire

Make absolutely sure the ground is well connected. If you can bolt to the frame rather than a body panel it would be better. At the place you will bolt the ground to, scrape all the gunk off to bare metal before bolting the ground to it. Use some battery terminal protect spray to prevent corrosion.

Many if not most power inverters have a low voltage alarm but if not it would be a good idea to get a low voltage alarm.

I ran back to the battery to make sure I got a good ground. I didn't want to have problems with it.

Thanks for the tips. I will make sure to wrap all conectors with tape. And I was going to ground it to my front seat by having one of these http://www.autotoys.com/New_Tech/DIY...rity/atl11.jpg

Around the stud of the seat bracket and the nut over it. That should work great for a ground. Also your mounting ideas were nice but I drive a Comanche not a cherokee so that place you mounted yours, well I dont have. Thanks again ill be trying this over the weekend! :D

Brandon

thats a pretty little wire. is that just a switch ground or is the wire for the inverter that gauge?

What gauge is that wire? What size fuse do you have for that inverter?

I know the inverter says 750W but that is likely the peak draw. What is the constant rating? It is usually listed in it's specs.


750 watts in a 12V system is almost 100 amps! You don't want anything melting or catching fire...

I have a 800W inverter in mine using 2G wire and a 150 amp circuit breaker. I called the company that makes mine and this is what they recommended. I don't think that's for his inverter. He's just showing the kind of connector he is going to use.

Agree back in my stereo days we were running 8awg and larger for amps, depending on the size. Some inverters pull major juice so make sure the wire is large enough. There are charts on line and possibly your manufactures website.