Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:40:17 -0600
Reply-To: Paul Connelly <vanagonhummingbird@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Paul Connelly <vanagonhummingbird@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Inverter Questions
In-Reply-To: <ccd73a10807241231t1eac482ic122c6744619692b@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Thanks Roger,
Point taken!
Paul
On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 1:31 PM, Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Dear Paul and other vaners
>
> please refrain from installing inverter in a location that is concealed or
> inaccessible ...
> the number one reason is fire ...
> yes yes i know .. there is some ventilation ...
> and self generated heat is of only a minor concern
> but ... but ... BUT ...
> what if you over load your inverter
> and need to yank the power cables right friggin now !!!
> you want to be able to get to them right now ...
> my inverter is behind the drivers seat and very accessible
> both cables can be grabbed and yanked from inverter if a situation develops
> ...
> and i already had one situation ...
> an appliance the inverter directions said it could handle clearly drew more
> power than the inverter was capable of suppling ...
> i can tell you i became aware of it right away as inverter began to fry ...
> i yanked the power cables ....
> only damage was to the inverter ..
> the cabinet behind my seat where it was mounted was very hot ...
> i am unsure what the kindling temp is for the melamine westfalia used
> but one thing for sure ...it is now lower at that spot
>
> anyway ... that is my two cents worth
> yours
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 11:46 AM, Paul Connelly <
> vanagonhummingbird@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Volks,
>>
>> I am hoping to install a small inverter into the van. I was considering
>> the
>> "secret" spot behind the 240V sockets and beside the faucet water pump,
>> against the "wall" between it and the lower closet. I have run 10awg
>> cables
>> behind the cabinetry to the auxiliary battery (Optima D34/78 run with the
>> "stock relay" setup). Not great ventilation in that location, but
>> reasonable
>> volume of air, and the inverter has an internal fan. Its only a 500 Watt
>> unit with a no load draw of 0.3 Amps. The installation guide recommends a
>> 100 Amp Fuse or circuit breaker close to the +ve battery connection and I
>> was going to put in a switch to eliminate the no load draw when not in
>> use.
>> I was going to then take the output (2 x 240V standard outlet plugs) and
>> wire them into the little distribution box with the circuit breaker below
>> the power outlets. However the installation instructions say that's a
>> "no-no". Does anyone see any problems with setting the inverter up this
>> way?
>> (Or any better ideas - I don't plan a lot of 240V use but would be nice
>> for
>> the laptop or DVD player etc).
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> Cheers, Paul.
>> 1986 Syncro Westy - Hummingbird
>>
>> PS Now have the radiator fan working, the vacuum booster from thew old CC
>> removed, another seemingly futile piece of old electrical crap removed
>> from
>> between the rear taillights with a connector to nowhere, fixed the low
>> charge at the alternator after reconnecting the grounds after the fan
>> issue
>> - thought that that was the cause, but no - just coincidence and cleaning
>> up
>> the commutators, brushes grounds etc around the alternator fixed that one,
>> then finally the O2 sensor light switch on the chassis rail - succeeded in
>> getting rid of that light on the dash (wouldn't go out until I had fixed
>> the
>> alternator issue!). Oh, also fixed the dometic (again) with a new igniter
>> and general clean up.
>>
>> Still need to replace the poptop canvas and one of the rocker cover
>> gaskets
>> (and figure out the inverter and then I can go camping again....)
>>
>> Thanks to all for all of the help and advice!!!
>>
>
>
>
> --
> roger w
> There are two kinds of jobs in the world:
> Picking up garbage and telling people things.
> Successful people do both, with the same good attitude. (riw)
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> View the growing list of video work at:
> http://revver.com/find/video/?query=LastonLastof&search_on=owners
> and ... older work at
> http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7135104650374818257
> http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3259745150182742364
>
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