how many watts for how long

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Upfisk

We have NOT had the inverter alarm ever from overload nor have we had it shutdown due to overload.

That's good.

Inverter power supply wiring varies by model and by year, and of course the integrity of wiring connections varies between trailers. One trailer can easily have a problem that another trailer with the same inverter does not.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Are the wires which Escape used to connect the inverter to the battery less than ten feet long, and 2 gauge?

The wires to the inverter in my 21' are as short as they can be - the inverter is right next to the battery box and the wiring is direct. The cables are 2 gauge for the inverter wiring. Other than the crimper they use, I can't find any fault in the way the inverter wiring was done. I did modify the negative cable to install the shunt but the positive cable is unaltered.

[Upfisk]

Our run of wires, in an Escape 19, might be 7 ft one way, let's call it 15 ft round trip. They are 2 gauge wires. We have not seen under about 12.3 V at the controller. The load is 700 watts. 700watts/12.3volts=<60 amps, not 200 amps. The way we see it is there is not a problem with the wire size, the load, so nothing wrong with running 700 watts on a 1500 watt inverter.

[EdColorado]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

The wires to the inverter in my 21' are as short as they can be - the inverter is right next to the battery box and the wiring is direct. The cables are 2 gauge for the inverter wiring. Other than the crimper they use, I can't find any fault in the way the inverter wiring was done. I did modify the negative cable to install the shunt but the positive cable is unaltered.

Did you add the pro-fill battery water system or is that standard issue?

Thanks

Ed

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by EdColorado

Did you add the pro-fill battery water system or is that standard issue?

Thanks

Ed

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...ller-9641.html

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

The wires to the inverter in my 21' are as short as they can be - the inverter is right next to the battery box and the wiring is direct. The cables are 2 gauge for the inverter wiring.

Originally Posted by Upfisk

Our run of wires, in an Escape 19, might be 7 ft one way, let's call it 15 ft round trip. They are 2 gauge wires.

Excellent.
It looks like recent installations have no issue with wire gauge or length.

Is the wiring in Lynne and David's 2011 trailer the same?

Originally Posted by Upfisk

The load is 700 watts. 700watts/12.3volts=<60 amps, not 200 amps.

Yes, 200 amps is the fuse rating and worst-case for maximum load operation, but just as I said:

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

At only 700 watts, 11 volts to the inverter, and 90% inverter efficiency the current would only be about 70 amps...

... keeping in mind that Lynne and David's inverter is alarming and shutting down on low voltage, which means it's not getting anything close to 12.3 volts.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

... keeping in mind that Lynne and David's inverter is alarming and shutting down on low voltage, which means it's not getting anything close to 12.3 volts.

A voltage reading needs to be done at the DC power terminals of the inverter while under load. If that inverter voltage reading is low assuming that the battery voltage is good, then either a crimp on one of the power cables is bad, a terminal doesn't have a good connection, or combinations of both.

But without that voltage reading, we're just guessing where the problem lies.

[arniesea]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Arnie how many watts do you have with solar . We have a 6 qt but was thinking of a 3 qt . Pat

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't see your question sooner.

90W stock panel came with the 2013 19'
60W Lansun panel added last spring
90W portable suitcase panel with its own controller that hooks directly to the battery bank.

240 W total to twin 6V batteries going through 1500 W inverter to a single outlet under the dinette.

I ordered the stock 170W panel with the twin batteries and 1500W inverter for the new 5.0 TA we are getting end of April. That plus the portable will give us a total of 260W on the new rig. I figure I can always add a Lensun if I need more.

[arniesea]

Originally Posted by peter

My wife always brings her sewing machine and pieces quilts everywhere using solar. Our solar panel installed on our 2013 19 has no problem running her small Jenome or Singer Feather Lite machine.

This is good news. I keep trying to convince my wife she can quilt while camping. Thanks for the picture!

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

The wires to the inverter in my 21' ....

interesting, on my 2014 E21 with the U shaped dinette, the battery box is under the curb side bench, about in the middle, so is quite accessible. Mine was ordered with Solar but no Inverter.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

A voltage reading needs to be done at the DC power terminals of the inverter while under load. If that inverter voltage reading is low assuming that the battery voltage is good, then either a crimp on one of the power cables is bad, a terminal doesn't have a good connection, or combinations of both.

Yes... or the wires from the battery are too small for their length, because we still don't know what is in Lynne and David's trailer.

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

But without that voltage reading, we're just guessing where the problem lies.

It's better than guessing, but I agree that putting a voltmeter on the inverter input terminals and turning on the inverter and the problem load would be the best next step.

[EdColorado]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...ller-9641.html

Thank you.

Ed

[Bill and Earline]

In our November 2014 21' ETI installed 4 gauge wires to the inverter. While at the Osoyoos rally a couple of years ago, I mentioned the low voltage inverter alarm, to Reace. He went immediately to the crimp and tightened it somewhat. It lasted for a few months, but needed more crimping to hold down the alarm noise.

A few months ago, I switched to 2 gauge inverter wires from Harbor Freight #63747. "Factory" ends instead of hand crimping at ETI seems to be doing fine, even with our well aged batteries. 6 feet was the only size they had. $40-20%.

[Vermilye]

While not inexpensive, Genuine DealZ will make custom size, length, ends, and color battery cables, complete with heat shrink. I've used them with my inverter installation on my 17, and the quality was excellent.

[Bill and Earline]

Jon,
I just tried that site with two 3 foot lengths of 2 gauge with finished ends, including heat shrink.

It would be $36, so reasonable for what you'd be getting. Next time....

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

While not inexpensive, Genuine DealZ will make custom size, length, ends, and color battery cables, complete with heat shrink. I've used them with my inverter installation on my 17, and the quality was excellent.

I can attest to the quality of Genuine DealZ wire & hardware.
--
Alan

[algonquin50]

I would be worried about blowing your charge controller. 700w brings in approx 60 amps and I doubt very seriously that you have a factory installed 60 amp controller....oops, unless you told whoever installed the charge controller you would be running that much power.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by algonquin50

I would be worried about blowing your charge controller. 700w brings in approx 60 amps and I doubt very seriously that you have a factory installed 60 amp controller....oops, unless you told whoever installed the charge controller you would be running that much power.

Unless I've missed something, 700 watts has only been mentioned as the load of running an appliance, not the solar panel capacity, so this power level has nothing to do with the solar charge controller.

[Vermilye]

And, while 700 watts of solar is more than GoPower recommends with its 30 amp controller, and could very well exceed the 30 amp controller rating, I doubt you would ever see anything near 60 amps from the panels even if they were properly tilted & it was a very clear sky.

I have 480 watts of solar, 320 watts on the roof & a 160 watt portable panel. With the rooftop panels tilted at the correct angle for the winter sun here in Arizona, and the portable aimed at the sun, on a cold, clear winter day (best conditions for solar) the best I saw from the panels was 27.5 amps, no where near the 40 amps that one would suspect dividing the wattage by 12. This was while running the inverter drawing 85 amps from the batteries, so the panel & controller was doing its best, regardless of the batteries state of charge (although they were full, at least when I started).

The ratings on panels is a bit like horsepower ratings; quite optimistic.