Hmmm... interesting. I'm not sure I understand though, so bear with me. The inverter is powered off the battery (obviously) and chassis ground. It powers an outlet whose ground (but not neutral) is also connected to the chassis ground. Are you saying that in this situation one can't be shocked by the outlet? I found some inverter manufactures discussing the use of GFCI outlets with their inverters (for example see http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/1193/DocServe.aspx). I know some inverters even come with GFCI protection built in. What is the application where this would matter if not in my case? Thanks for any help understanding! Another issue is that the same outlet runs off shore power sometimes (I use a transfer switch) and it seems a good idea to have ground protection for shore power, right? I guess I could get a separate GFCI device and put it just on the shore power line? Or maybe I should abandon GFCI protection altogether? Thanks again for any help! Wes
On Fri, Apr 10, 2009 at 9:42 PM, Ken Lewis <kdlewis@northstate.net> wrote: > Wes, > I have to give this one a big ,"Hmmmmmm...". Isthe Inverter output isolated > from (chassis) ground ? If so the GFI is useless since there is not a > current path through the body of the car back to the inverter. Logically, > the inverter chassis would be at DC ground potential and isolated from the > AC output. AT least, that's the way I would design it. That way you couldn't > get shocked standing wet and barefooted in your van making margaritas. > Ken Lewis > http://neksiwel.20m.com/ > in statu viae > > |
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