Trojan Boat Forum

Yea, I will look into more Battery capacity as well. It does seem a little under powered

i have a 2500 watt inverter that kills my batteries....its only useful while under way....i have tried different types and models and have not been impressed with their claims..sure run a tv or computer but coffee makers, hot water heaters, i havent had much luck

kevin babineau wrote:i have a 2500 watt inverter that kills my batteries....its only useful while under way....i have tried different types and models and have not been impressed with their claims..sure run a tv or computer but coffee makers, hot water heaters, i havent had much luck

What that says to me is that you don't have the power in your battery(s) to support that Inverter. A good inverter will not fix a badly specified battery.
Inverters and batteries need to be designed together. Too often people just add an inverter to a battery system that handles their individual uasage fine and then when they plug in 4 times the load of any one prior item they have run from those batteries they wonder why things don't work!! Duh

ready123 what type of inverter do u use? what type and how many batteries? what do u use it for?

kevin babineau wrote:ready123 what type of inverter do u use? what type and how many batteries? what do u use it for?

1500W Zantrex anything that is less than that rating coffee grinder, toaster, kettle. 1 battery AGM type size 4DL 210 ah /20hr rating. Here it is:
http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marineflyer.php?id=6

The key as I said is the battery needs to be able to supply the power to support it and it's setup is key. Gauge of wire, how long cable run, ah of battery etc.....
What ah rating is your battery?
Is Inverter directly connected to the battery via fusible link and what length and gauge wires?
Somewhere to start:
http://www.whistlergroup.com/faq-inverters-answers.asp

i have 4 @730 mca 160 rc 100 amp/hrs with #4 wire to an amis 2500 watts inverter

kevin babineau wrote:i have 4 @730 mca 160 rc 100 amp/hrs with #4 wire to an amis 2500 watts inverter

You did not say the cable length. #4 wire and 2500W suggests the cable is too small..Basically the length needs to be almost zero.
I think if you increased the wire size your problems should go away as you have 400 ahrs from the above info.

And not the least of which, the circuit should be fused. A lot of crazy things can happen with that much power going unprotected!

i understand appreciate u guys input....i ran #4 bc the inverter is in the cabin not engine compartment....my inverter works...what i was saying is that running an electric water heater and frig and a coffe maker and fans and ac and house lights and tv and and and it just sucks my batteries dead do i run too much? of course... i push everything until it breaks just ask my EX-wife lol

kevin babineau wrote:i understand appreciate u guys input....i ran #4 bc the inverter is in the cabin not engine compartment.

The wire size has nothing to do with where the Inverter is.
The wire size is based on the distance run length battery to Inverter and the Watts that will be running through it (DC amps really). If you are less than 8' then #0 will work. Any longer than that you need to double up the wires.
As a general rule you want the DC cable length to be as short as possible and to get the reach with the 110V output cords... though the shorter they are the better too.

the wire i ran for the distance and draw i have is suitable.....i had #4 so i ran it.if i had #10 i would have ran that..i make due with what i have..end of story..ur still doing the pissing contest thing huh?

kevin babineau wrote:the wire i ran for the distance and draw i have is suitable.....i had #4 so i ran it.if i had #10 i would have ran that..i make due with what i have..end of story..ur still doing the pissing contest thing huh?

WOW using what you've got makes a lot of sense. I'm sorry for anyone who uses your marine mechanic services... they have no idea what they are getting into.
It is now clear to me that you have no interest in learning anything... OK you can stay clueless then!

listen uve done nothing but insult me, my boat and anything else...the point im making is that i use what i got i dont go and buy anything....#4 wire is a big fat wire....consider what a #12 is.....ive looked at ur past posts and ur a kno it all....i have a very happy customer base...and i have been doing it for a long time...uve worn out ur welcome with me...im sure ur a smart guy and good for u mike...but ur a jerk...i have no problem learning stuff...but if i was on fire i wouldnt let u put me out...now im not going to play with u any more...im on this forum to talk about trojans...but im sure ull have some witty come back...last word thing...or everytime i post ull chime with some condescending comment....right mikey?..give it a rest i really dont care

One other thing when using a high output inverter and cruising. is your enging charging system up to it ? If not your batteries will go low on charge while your alternator is working at max load . Not good for the alternator. no matter how large your batteries are the still have to be charged

thats a good point..i was so so flabber gassed yesterday i even went out to look at it on the houseboat...i actually have #2 wire and i think it a 100 amp alternator......i have 2 battery banks one is a single starting battery and the other is 4 deep cycles..the thing with have 4 batts together is that i dont have isolators so if one battery goes bad it can screw up the whole bank..the hb is a single 318