Guest neil whiting Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 hi clive ,thank you very much for all your help at the malvern show and for looking at my 12v system ,it was nice to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about ,only trouble know is just went onto maplin web site looking for an invertors and there are so many to choose from do not know which one to have ,do you think 300w or even a 600w your advice would very much be appreciated .thanks neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clive Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Hi Neil, Nice to meet up, and your parking place so close as well! OK, it depends on what loads you want to consider later. Nowadays they all take only a little amount of battery current when running off load so its no big deal to have a bigger one than you initially think you need. The other advantage of having a larger unit than you first think is that it will not be stressed or getting hot. Ours is an 800 watt unit made in Canada. Although the 300 watt model will do your existing requirement just fine I would be tempted to go for the bigger one and have bags in hand if the price differance is small. Make sure the DC leads are short and the ON/OFF switch and ON LED clearly visible. From our last conversation the place you had in mind should be ideal. Good luck C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neil Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 hi clive ,thanks once again for your information i will go for the bigger model as you suggested .When i have fitted it i will let you know what it is like and also if i have any problems i will contact you if thats ok, once again many thanks neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ray Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Hi Clive, Sorry to raise another question on inverters. The Maplin 300watt inverter has three input connections, positive, negative and an earth terminal. Should the earth terminal be connected to the vehicle earth (bodywork)or is it for an external earth spike obviously while stationary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ray Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Hi Clive, Sorry to raise another question on inverters. The Maplin 300watt inverter has three input connections, positive, negative and an earth terminal. Should the earth terminal be connected to the vehicle earth (bodywork)or is it for an external earth spike obviously while stationary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Powell Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Hello Neil...My 180W Maplins inverter earth connection has to be run to the vehicle frame [Negative return] so that any wayward 230V 'short' or what ever, is sent through the least line of resistance to the batteries negative terminals, if it is the type that plugs into the cigar lighter, which it is. Sounds a bit 'iffy' to me but I just have to trust Maplins little book of instruction, and hope it is not destruction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clive Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Its best not to run anything other than the smallest inverter off the fag lighter socket. Best if they are wired directly to the battery terminals with the supplied leads and in-line fuse. Shorten the DC leads if you like to save a bit of voltage drop. The frame connection on the inverter is usually there for EMC purposes. It is necessary to enable you to ground the case of the unit to the vehicle chassis to keep the emission of unwanted RF signals to a minimum. It provides a path for the unwanted RF signals to the much larger chassis of the vehicle which soaks them up. Its not there (normally) for any other reason. When running from an inverter the "earth" connection on the output plug does not do a lot because it does not provide any return path for electrical fault currents. Unless that is you also join the inverter neutral to the vehicle chassis in which case it will simulate a mains sub-station and they will. Some of the up-market inverters include this option of linking Neutral to Chassis on the internal PC board but they are not linked as standard. I am NOT advocating that you fit this link! Golden rules for inverters. DC leads short and fat & fused. Mount inverter close to batteries. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ray Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Thanks for the help Clive, knew we could rely on you for a quick reponse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Powell Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Thankyou for that information Clive. The inverter came complete with a fused fag lighter plug on short fat leads. I will now fit it next to the batteries and modify the wiring accordingly. It will also be cooler under the bonnet than on the drivers seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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