Arthur Hood thank you so much. Appreciate you taking the time. ✌🏼

Bill Dozer thank you! 🇨🇦

Mikestime22 great feedback. Thank you!

Can anyone else weigh in here?

That is what caused it to arc, correct? I have heard before that things should not arc when you connect a battery to an object, provided you do things in the correct order.

That is incorrect. The negative cable should be disconnected first to avoid short circuit with chassis and when connecting the Negative cable should be connected last. You will almost always get a spark when connecting the inverter to the battery as it is energizing the the inverter, this can be avoided by installing a breaker inline which can be turned on once the connection is made.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!. Just the opposite. Read Randy Anderson below.

NEGATIVE BATTERY WIRE SHOULD BE TAKEN OF FIRST, AND NEGATIVE WIRE ALSO SHOULD BE INSTALLED LAST! U SHOULD NOT MESS AROUND WITH ELECTICAL WIRE MAN U DON'T HAVE KNOWLEDGE. PLEASE STAY SAFE

Fernando Fernandez thank you so much! ✌🏼🇨🇦

NoSunBeach generally it is not advised to install in the engine compartment due to heat, moisture and contaminants, unless the inverter is IP66 rated or sealed with no fan. Inverters that are CSA or UL458 approved will have over temp or high temp cut off but there are many inverters on the market with no certification, check the specifications before purchasing. Hope that helps. ✌🏼🇨🇦

Ralph Jansen No they should be same Gauge and Length.

cawag98 thank you so much. We really appreciate that.

@@CanadianEnergy Another question for you: Can this inverter be connected to domestic wiring via a transfer switch, meaning: is all the voltage only on the hot wire and is neutral/cold not bonded to ground? I have a Vector which would work, but it puts out voltage on hot and cold. Thx.

Ric777888 As we like to say, there is never an issue until there is an issue! I believe it will depend on the manufacturer of the inverter whether they recommend connecting a chassis ground, generally if the product is CSA or UL approved they will recommend a chassis ground. Xantrex inverters and inverter/chargers are all CSA/UL approved and as per Pg 14 of the attached install manual, recommend chassis ground www.xantrex.com/documents/Inverter-Chargers/Freedom-HW/Freedom%20HF%20Installation%20Guide%20(975-0395-01-01_Rev-F)_ENG.pdf

I have a small solar set up with a 2000 watt inverter, is a ground cable required? Is a fuse block required? Thank you

Yes, you can use a regular car battery but its life will be shortened if you are continually discharging and recharging it. No, you can connect the inverter directly to the vehicle starting battery but there is a strong possibility you will discharge the battery to the point that it will not have enough power to start the vehicle. Hope that helps.

Sqor Geek Yes you would connect the battery positive to the positive terminal of the inverter, ideally there would be a fuse in between as well, then connect the battery negative to the inverter negative terminal. The battery and inverter are compatible because they are both 12 volt but you should should not expect much run time with a 10Ah battery, maybe only a few minutes depending on the size of the load. Hope that helps.

How did the inverter work out for you? I'm currently going thru similar circumstances and was wondering if you could give me any tips for doing mine.

Sqor Geek you'll a deep cycle battery bank to support the inverter powering a heater with the car engine off.

If you can, park near an outside ac outlet and run an extension cord. Without your engine running the current draw of a heater can kill your battery in a few hours.

Reggie Smith yes, that’s correct, as close to the battery as possible. ✌🏼

What size cable and fuse should I use for a 3500 watt inverter to go in my big rig thx

I have a 200amp circuit breaker on a 1700 watt inverter. Inverter has short circuit protection but I'm paranoid. Is 200 amp ok for 1700 watt inverter? Any reply appreciated

@@dragan3290 I understand your paranoia, car batteries can provide currents at shorts which are really spectacular, and potentially dangerous. Your protection sounds OK to me. 1700 W at 12 V means 1700/12=141,7 A. If your circuit breaker disconnects at 200 A, this means that you the threshold for the circuit breaker is approximately +40 % above the maximum 141,7 A. If you get a short circuit, the inverter's short circuit protection will hopefully kick in first, protecting the inverter. If that one would fail, the circuit breaker will kick in at 200 A. It all sounds reasonable to me. It is worth mentioning that all fuses and circuit breakers have different tolerances, so I would not expect the circuit breaker to kick in at exactly 200 A, but you are in the right ballpark in my humble opinion.

@@inber thanks for the reply ! Highly appreciated! 🙂

Dave Galligher 1000 Watt inverter 2 gauge cable maximum 5 feet and the 2000 Watt inverter 2/0 cable maximum 5 feet. Hope that helps! ✌🏼🇨🇦

Co Rin The inverter doesn’t care what type of lead acid battery it’s connected to but an automotive battery will have a shortened lead life in a cycling application.

Chuck Eastman We prefer to keep our advice limited to DC wiring, so you can certainly connect your 2 Lithium batteries to the inverter, assuming they are the same DC voltage and there is an appropriately sized fuse in between. My opinion of the AC connection is, it is not the ideal way to connect an inverter to a fuse panel but it’s your TT.

Canadian Energy thank you for your advise!

Chuck Eastman Our pleasure! 🇨🇦

Pennie Capo You will want to use Deep Cycle batteries to power your inverter. The size and quantity of batteries will depend entirely on how much power your inverter is outputting, this can be determined by adding the power in watts that each AC appliance uses then multiplying by the number of hours each device will operate. Hope that helps!

Use AGM batteries or lithium. Thinking about car batteries for inverters is so wrong, they are not made for that purpose and die very quickly when in use like that.

Travis Weaver Connecting the the AC to the inverter is completely dependent on what type of inverter you have and the wiring configuration of your vessel ie. is there an existing AC distribution panel that powers the circuits that you can connect to. Almost all battery chargers are regulated and will control how much charge goes into the battery, most inverter/chargers will have multiple settings for charging different types of batteries such as flooded, AGM or Gell. We recommend that you refer to the inverter installation and operating manual to determine how and where to connect the AC to the inverter and how to set the charger to the appropriate battery type. Hope that helps.

3 AC outlets.. Just hook them up in parralel and put a power plug on the end if the cable that goes into the inverter. Everything except that power plug on the end of the cable is probably already in the boat. And inverters don’t charge batteries. You need a seperate battery charger which do their own job totally seperate from the inverter.

Creatchture Thank you for the feedback. We’re glad you enjoy the videos!

Eric Scherzinger because every application is different and depends on the configuration and ventilation it is difficult today what is a safe distance, the other option is to install sealed batteries that do not vent. The recommended cable size for a 3000 watt inverter is 4/0 with a minimum size of 2/0 so you should be ok if running 3 feet but we always recommend you refer to the inverter manual for the proper sizing. Hope that helps.

The inverter is a cheap Canadian Tire 3000 watt modified sine wave inverter. The manual is way below par in specs on wire gauge. Cheers

Markycutey Cutey you are very welcome. Let us know if you want something specific! 🇨🇦

Great idea!

Rudy Barrios i have a 6000watts inverter with built in charger and automatic change over switch , it's a royal power brand, my problem is when I plug in to my Ac outlet to charge my battery the Ac outlet on the inverter will shut down and when I plug out it will work could u say what's the problem

Not all inverters are created equal. Your inverter choice may be the problem REPLY

Gary Ickes connect the positive cable to one battery and the negative to the other battery. Hope that helps.

thanks

James Nobles You’re welcome! Glad that we were able to help and provide helpful content to you.

THE GAMING HEAD are you referring to the chassis ground or the battery ground? Most CSA or UL approved inverters or inverter/chargers will provide adequate installation instructions with the equipment. Without knowing the exact type of inverter, location of installation and type of vehicle or chassis it is almost impossible to provide an accurate answer. 👍🏼🇨🇦

Nestor Asuncion Unfortunately we are not able to provide that information as it will be dependent on the vehicle make model, type of alternator, pulley sizes, ambient temperature, etc, etc. Remember, in addition to the 200 amps you will require to operate the inverter the alternator must also supply the vehicle electrical loads, battery specs are not as important as it will only sustain the inverter load for about 30 seconds if the alternator is not operating.

Maher A It’s best to refer to the inverter manual when dealing with internal components.

I could be wrong, but the fuse in the line is a mega fuse right? its to protect the cable, and not relevant to any internal fuses?

Typically you size the battery pack to the requirements of your inverter draw and the recharge sources available. Most inverters will shut down at 1.75 VPC or 10.5 volts on a 12 volt battery, depending on the rate of discharge this could mean 100% depth of discharge which is not good for a lead acid battery. Higher end inverters have adjustable cut off voltage settings which can lower the depth of discharge, but you would have to consult your inverter manual to see if your unit has this functionality. Hope that helps!

agreed but the inverter in your video, and most other retail inverters have no such adjustability on LVC.. There is a separate component that will perform that function, but I wonder how practical it is since there could be considerable voltage droop under load. I think you're right though.. Size the battery bank so the DOD is less than 25% or 50% every day... For those of us who just want a standby emergency power source, need some other method.

There are Low Voltage Disconnect devices available but most will not handle the high amperage draw of an inverter, this would mean you need to connect the LVD through a relay which becomes a complicated wiring job and more costly. With a good quality, properly sized deep cycle battery, you should get several hundred cycles out of the battery even if you are reaching the low voltage shutdown point of the inverter. Hope that helps.

AnNam Viet Nam sorry. Not sure what you’re asking? 🤷🏼‍♂️

Priest Elisha we recommend one of our CanadaProof Batteries which can be found on our site at CDNRG.com.

booty pirates inverters are powered off 12, 24 or 48 volt battery packs while converters are powered by 120 Volts AC. Hope that helps.

thanks

ScubaTony Anschutz It’s not needed because we are working with low voltage but doesn’t hurt if you want to install one. Hope that helps.

Albert Zion The power supplied by the national grid in North America is 120V 60Hz AC (or alternating current). The current effectively 'switches direction' 60 times every second. There in no positive or negative like there is with batteries. The waveform is smooth and gradual conforming to what is called a 'sine wave'. Pure Sine Wave inverters such are the most efficient and highest quality inverters available. Pure Sine Wave inverters produce little distortion and are able to run even the most sensitive electronic equipment. Designed to roughly emulate a sine wave waveform, modified wave inverters are cheaper than their pure sine wave cousins. They mimic the sine wave shape in large steps. Most simple appliances like power tools, light bulbs, heater elements and electric motors will run with a modified wave inverter...although they will get hotter and use more power. As these inverters don't produce clean sine wave power, they are not recommended for use with electronic equipment like TVs, stereos and computers. Clocks and other timing devices (like digital washing machines) can run either too fast or too slow.

cleanse sine wave or pure is 60hz mostly use for lights, TV and other sensitive electronics appliance. modified wave are inverter that been modified from a square wave inverter 50hz mostly use for motors and other industrial things

Jerry Cruz t must be able to handle the max draw of the inverter, this would be 500+ amps for a 5000 watt inverter (refer to inverter manual), the cable should also be sized to handle this load.

5000 watts divided by 12 volts equals 416 amps. And the inverter has a lot of losses and things might fluctuate a bit. So yes, 500 amps should be ok.

www.solar-wind.co.uk/cable-sizing-DC-cables.html 12v, 500 amps, 5% loss, 2 meters cable length, 185mm2 wire required. Thats 23.5mm diameter!

Thank you sir I was also thinking like waaaaay not in hell is pulling 49 amp. that is half of a one family house pull. I agree only 0.49amp

500W / 11.5V = 43.4782608696 A P= IxV

@@kenncct The load is a 500 watt halogen lamp running on 120 volts. 500W/120v=4.1666 amps

49A is correct, because remember this is *the current flowing out of the 12V battery* which is powering the AC lamp. @kenncct calculates 43.5A, and if you assume 90% conversion (inversion?) efficiency, that's 43.5/.9 = 48.3A.

mary barton the purpose of the fuse is to protect the cable and power source from short circuits so the fuse should be as close to the battery as possible. There are some styles of fuses that can mount on the stud post of a battery but your configuration may not allow that, always a good idea to have a fuse in the system but not always possible. Hope that helps.

Yes it does and thank you very much. I'll be putting it on the battery side :)

Tim Johnston the inverter DC amp draw and cable size determines the size of fuse, it is recommended to refer to the inverter install or owners manual. If you want us to ballpark it, 1000 watt inverter 100-150 amp fuse, 2000 watt inverter 200-250 amp fuse, 3000 watt inverter 300-350 amp fuse. Hope that helps! 🇨🇦✌🏼

nick diaz Copper is one of the best conductors and readily available so it is industry standard. If you choose to use a different material for your cables you will want to check the manufacturer specs to ensure it has the proper voltage and amperage carrying capability for your application, as well as its compatibility with terminal connectors. Hope that helps.

thank you for such a fast response i was wanting to ask you where did you get that little box that you attached the cable to before attaching it to the battery & is that necessary to do it that way what is the purpose ??

There are several manufacturers of DC fuses, this particular one is manufactured by Eaton and can be purchased through Canadian Energy as well as other companies who supply inverters and DC components. It is highly recommended that there be a fuse in between the battery and inverter to protect the circuit, with no fuse in the circuit there is a great possibility of a cable overheating and causing a fire should there be a short circuit in the system. Hope that helps.

Switch it out! :)

@@CanadianEnergy gotta get a battery isolater and get a second battery. Dont be a dumbass and that was a half amp not 50 amp 😂😂😂

HIGH GRADE it’s 49Amp /41.6 amp out of a 12v battery Low volts = high amps 500w~12v = 41.6 Yes 4.1A at 120v going to the 500w lamp

Yes thats correct. The formula is watts/volts=amps so 800 watts/110 volts=7.27 amps AC (we’ll round up to 8). For every 1 amp AC it will draw about 10 amps on a 12Volt DC battery, so 8 X 10 = 80 Amp DC draw. We prefer to use fuses on the DC circuit as they will blow faster but you can use a circuit breaker, fuses or breakers should be sized to match the DC cable in the circuit and should be rated at enough amps that meets the surge capacity of the inverter.

Is the formula for size amp fuse versus watts like you used so 80 amp for 800 Watt? Also see 100 amp circuit breaker. Better than fuses?

timothy790110 read your instruction booklet. Every inverter and inverter/ is different.

Jose Garcia Your inverter manual should say what size cable and fuse is required, it is important that the cable be sized to handle the maximum amp draw of the inverter and can vary in size depending how long the cables are. There are many websites that will calculate cable size based on all these variables.

Cable size: www.solar-wind.co.uk/cable-sizing-DC-cables.html .. Google is your friend 🙂

Our pleasure. Thanks for watching!

I think his fuse is a little to much for that size wire

@@armourofgod6310 if its 2000W usually you divide it with the battery V so 2000W/12V = 166,66A. You multiply it with 1.5 and you get 1.5 x 166.66A = 250A This would actually mean that the good fuse for a 35mm2 cable with a 2000W system behind it would actually need something from 250A to 275A

Samt1958 thank you. We really appreciate the feedback! 🇨🇦👌🏼☀️

Danan Coleman you will need to purchase an inverter that is hardwire capable, the Xantrex HF and HFS models have this capability in both the 1000 & 2000 models. Hope that helps!

Canadian Energy thanks so much!

Danan Coleman I used stranded 12/2 with a plug on the inverter side. hooking stranded up to an outlet might not be the best idea but I've had zero problems.

paul mryglod The inverter must have the provision for hardwiring AC receptacles, Xantrex has several models available that are hard wire capable so if you are looking for a modified sine inverter the X power or the Pro Series are good options or if you are looking for a Pure Sine the Freedom Xi is hard wire capable.

paul mryglod I ended up getting a Sunforce 1000 pure sinewave inverter installed professionally.

Not only is it okay, you SHOULD run it: Your battery will be quickly run down unless the engine keeps it charged up via the alternator. Note that high draw might mean you need a heavy duty alternator. Also, an alternator needs the engine running pretty fast (2000 rpm for example) to charge the battery - which is why our dads would tell us to take the car out on the highway for a while if we let the battery die. Be sure to attach the hot wire with an appropriately sized fuse/circuit breaker and use short/thick wires. In the video he notes the wires are actually too thin.

Víctor Emmanuelli yes a fuse of 200-250 amp would be correct, the purpose of the fuse is to protect the circuit so as long as it will sustain the continuous DC load. Hope that helps!

Canadian Energy thanks for your help!

Hi Jay Thanks for this video. Question. So a 2k inverter provides less than 20 amps at 110 volts. A 200 amp fuse will never blow. I know there is something I don't understand so Im hoping you can fill in the missing pieces in the old noggin here? Cause I have a 3k inverter and Im trying to find out the correct size fuse. And can I use a breaker instead of a fuse? Thank you.

The 200 Amp fuse we are referring to is on the DC cable side, the rough conversion is, for every 1 Amp AC the inverter is putting out, it will draw 10 Amps DC @ 12 volts from the battery bank. 20 amps AC X 10 = 200 Amp DC draw on 12 volt battery bank. You can use a breaker but in this case it would have to be rated at 200 Amps (DC) or 300 Amps (DC) for your 3000 watt inverter. Hope that helps!

OK OK cool. So a fuse cause a 300 amp breaker would be huge and expensive prolly? And yes on the DC side. Now I got. Awesome sir. Thank you!!

You will require a minimum 150 amp rated fuse, the type will depend if the inverter is low frequency (transformer based) or high frequency, a T Class fuse will work for either application so you don't have to guess, our Part for the fuse block is FB1 and fuse TF200, the other option is an AMG style fuse if the inverter is high frequency.

Co Rin The inverter in this video is a true sine wave inverter.

Albert Zion you bet. You will require an Inverter that turns DC battery power into 240 VAC house power. Be sure to choose the correct inverter as most North American applications are 120 VAC 60 Hz while Europe and many other countries are 240 VAC 50 Hz.

Can it power a microwave and a fridge at the same time? I mean, why choose a 2000W and not a cheaper 600W?

Albert Zion Microwaves and fridges generally require an inverter of at least 1500 watts to power them.

The fuse should be sized to meet or exceed the running or continuos watts so if the inverter is 12 volt the fuse will have to be at least 250 amps BUT the cable must also be sized to handle the amperage based on what the total cable length is.

Where did you put your ground wire off the inverter? Back to the negative terminal on the battery?

Qasim Ali No you must have batteries in the system as the solar panel will not sustain the inverter load. Hope that helps.

Canadian Energy Thankx for Reply

Thanks for that, Tony!

What about lock nuts would they be a good idea? I recently had a cable from my battery to my 2000w inverter melt (the insulation melted off) and I am trying to figure out why. It was a short bit of cable (perhaps 12 inches) from the battery positive to a 150amp breaker just before the inverter. Any idea what could have caused this?

@@chatteyj the breaker may have been too small, idk tho 🤷

Inverters are designed for mobile applications carry a different CSA or UL approval than those for home or cottage use and are not neutral to ground bonded so we do not endorse the use of mobile inverters in a home applications. Hope that helps!

You can try to find out what the neutral output of your inverter is and hook that up to a grounding rod. But most important is using a GFCI i think. Take care that all the ground connectors of your wall outlets and light fixtures actually do what they are supposed to do: kill the power if a certain amount of mA enters it. And use a smooth sine wave inverter, i almost killed a kill-a-watt meter because it didnt like a square wave. More home appliances might not like square waves.