Reliable inverter installer in the South West of England?

[aandncaravan]

Mikefitz, Most of the regulations in BS 7671 section 721 that you refer to, do not -

 

"apply to those electrical circuits and equipment intended for the use of the caravan for Habitation purposes. For the purposes of this section, caravans and motor caravans are all referred to as “‘caravans’”.

 

 

So installation of ANY Inverter into the habitaion area, regardless of what sockets it feeds, is exempt.

 

Secondly, BS7671 specifies that there is only a requirement for an inspection by a competent person if the changes are significant.

Putting a plug and socket into the EHU input cable is not exactly significant or difficult for the average DIY'er, let alone an Auto electrician.

 

Thirdly BS7671 says any competent person can carry out the work, a 'Competent person' is defined as,

"a person who possesses sufficient technical knowledge and experience for the nature of the electrical work undertaken".

 

I would suggest an auto-electrician is very firmly in this category, and given the much more extensive 12v wiring in a motorhome is, as we suggested, even more appropriate than a pure 230v electrician.for any and all 12v/230v work in a Motorhome.

 

 

So, sorry but on all counts you are wrong and that is exactly why we say Inverters are inherently unsafe, and why we want things to change to cover their installation and use in a motorhome.

EXACTLY as we say on the web pages which explains the hazards and the legislation we want brought in to cover that.

 

Not one Inverter we have opened, not even a Victron, has 230v output voltage fail safe control.

ALL we have seen have the ability to fault and spike the motohome with damaging higher voltages.

 

 

So your post that stated,

"just send an email to the company I recommended, they will advise and install a 'safe and practical system'" sounds just like hollow words that cannot be achieved in practice, by any installer.

 

 

I note that despite all the smoke you put up, you never answered my questions?

 

So once again I ask,

"How do they plan to make it safe? How do they stop the Inverter faulting and putting out the 287v we once saw? Do they fit Inverters that have failsafe output voltage regulation, etc like we suggest is mandated through legislation?".

 

 

 

I wonder how many Inverters you have opened to repair, or the company you recommend?

 

 

[aandncaravan]

I have been contacted by someone who has pointed out that you don't need to wait for British/EN Standards to catch up with Inverter design, you can fit your own Voltage control and regulation device to the Inverter.

Something like the £50 Solatek AVS13 or the AVS 30, see photos below.

 

 

Their solution uses the exact '3 x 16a Plug/Socket' solution we document above, but this doesn't feed direct into the RCD. They have fitted a '230v mains Condition' sensor device before it goes into the RCD. This device filters out, and even interupts any poor power events like over voltage, under voltage, Spikes, Surges, etc. before they go into the RCD.

Obviously protecting all the vans 230v devices.

 

Because it sits in front of the RCD in his solution it stops both 'Mains' issues and Inverter issues, like lightening strikes, mains power surges, etc. not just Inverter internal failure.

 

 

The person who contacted me used something like this £67 device : https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/surge-suppressor-units/3115868/

but that is not a recommendation, just an example.

 

It is important that the device you choose isn't just a Spike Surge protector, but actually disconnects the mains if it senses a high voltage issue.

 

The AVS13 in the picture below would be useful to protect an Inverter with a single 13a plug output, as they are just 'plug and go' solutions.

If it sense a mains issue it disconnects it for so many seconds then samples the supply again and if it's back to normal, automatically reconnects it.

If it isn't back to normal, it continues to isolate it, waits, resamples, etc..

 

This 15a device is £19 :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adjustable-over-under-voltage-surge-protector-15A-UK-for-refrigator-PC-AV/112631150605?hash=item1a3956f80d:g:1zYAAOSw6VRZ~-m6:rk:1:pf:0

 

 

When I get a chance I will update our Inverter web page accordingly : http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/inverters.php