1000 Watt Power Inverter

[Ritter4.0]

I just got a 1000 Watt Power Inverter to install in my jeep. Instead of a fuse, I bought a 100 Amp Thermal Curcuit Breaker. Is this enough? The inverter has a peak output of 2000watts but I doubt I will ever reach that. So is 100 amp enough?

Thanks

 

[kastein]

1000 watts at 13.8 volts = approx 73 amps. 100 amps is probably a good limit to stop things catching fire. Peak output is probably only available for fractions of a second or a few seconds tops, the circuit breaker should be fine IMO. Make sure you use heavy enough wire for the battery line; #3 is about what I would use though you could get away with as high as #6 with some voltage drop and heating.

 

[Ritter4.0]

I'm using #2awg. It says not to run it more than 6' though... I plan on running it all the way to the back of my jeep, so it's more than 6', more like 10'-12' of wire. Should I use something heavier? I'm making an interior roof rack to mount my amp and power inverter and a few other things.

Thanks

 

[kastein]

#2 should be fine - it's 0.1563 ohms per thousand feet of wire @ room temp. That means the difference is approximately one milli-ohm between wiring it with 6 feet of wire or 12 feet of wire. The voltage difference should be around 70mV - so instead of getting 13.8 volts you will get 13.73 volts. I'd be willing to bet that the crimp terminals and battery posts have more resistance than that extra 6 feet of #2 wire.

 

[Ritter4.0]

Ok cool. Thank you very much! Your starting to sound a little like 5-90 lol.

 

[kastein]

Well, I'm an electrical engineer (i.e. I'm a turbo nerd for fun AND profit!) so it kinda figures... he's got a lot more experience though.

Let us know how it works (and post pics if you come up with something really neat!)