Yet another inversor question

[dv8]

mat,
i gave you a simple rule to follow but once you get used to the inversor you can do small exceptions
i use mixer with inversor but then it only runs for few seconds or so. i use rice cooker too and apparently this can be done as well. our microwave is pretty powerful so i would not plug it in. i can see problems it causes even when there is power. microwave and electric grill are plugged to different sockets but when i run micronda and then connect the grill i can hear micronda doing ooomp and it actually takes more time to heat anything!
i once had a hairdryer in use when powre went off and inversor did not blow up so i guess for a short time anything can be connected to it but it is better to be careful and have your inversor and batteries live longer...

 

[bob saunders]

Read the fine print about adding distilled water to your batteries !!!!!!!

The distilled water should only be added when the batteries are charged !!!!

If you have a lot of power outages, check the batteries every 15 days.
Letting the water level get so low as to expose the lead plates is very bad I am told.

AZB, I use a 60 cycle pure sine wave inverter that is ALWAYS on, for all my electronic equipment, it also runs off my 3.6kw Inverter, and it (The sine wave UPS) has two 12 volt batteries (24Volt) as a back up..



D in Tampa/Santiago

So does your pure sin wave inverter receive it's power thru the other inverter (allowing protection for the pure sin wave inverter) ?

 

[xtoclark]

Thanks for all help. Still seems to be a difference of opinion re microwave and I do not have a lot of the appliances like hairdryer, electric grill, kettle etc. What about water cooler as opposed to heater? It is 650 watts but does not heat but cools. Is that the same rule? At the moment I have unplugged it just in case.

Matilda

All electrical equipment produces heat (entropy plus resistance of the wires). Actually, anything that produces work produces heat, basic thermodynamics.

Plus, ever touch the back of a refrigerator? The coils on the back are hot because they are "sucking" heat out. That's how your refrigerator and water cooler work. Coolers and heaters work on the same principle. One "sucks" away heat from something and the other "pushes" it towards something.

Anyways, point being just because it doesn't get red hot doesn't mean it won't produce a fair amount of heat (wasted energy in this case).


Calculating true wattage can be a long and academic process. Anything with a motor can make a simple equation much,much more complex. Better to do just what AZB says, forget about taking it to the limit and plan below your max. The hot shower can wait a few hours and the water will do fine with some ice...

To measure watts, check out kill-a-watt ( P3 - Kill A Watt ).


For easy calculations check this out: Ohm's Law Calculations With Power

/Definetly-not-claiming-to-be-an-expert-just-things-I've-learned-along-the-way

 

[YUL514]

My God,Matilda asked a fairly simple question and you are trying to teach Ohm's law that some electricians don't even understand.

Some of you will remember the sitcom Green Acres.They were running the farm on a generator and the lady of the house kept overloading it.To prevent this problem,they wrote the Amps. value on each cord. You added theses values and if you went above the set maximum,the gen. would blow a fuse.You could do the same with all your appliances.

As everyone said,keep the load under 80% of the capacity.If the output of your inversor is 120 Volts 2wires,don't go above 2400 Watts load.If it is 120/240 Volts,make sure that your electrician split the loads equaly.Ex:your fridge should be alone on one 120V phase because each phase gives you half of the rated capacity.

The rated capacity of your inversor is the maximum power it can give.The amount and size of the batteries only affect the lenth of time you can be without power.As an example,a UPS system to protect a computer room where there is also an emergency generator will have very little amount of batteries because it is use for less than a minute until the emergency generator start.

Hope this help

Mike

 

[SantiagoDR]

.....
AZB, I use a 60 cycle pure sine wave inverter that is ALWAYS on, for all my electronic equipment, it also runs off my 3.6kw Inverter, and it (The sine wave UPS) has two 12 volt batteries (24Volt) as a back up..

So does your pure sin wave inverter receive it's power thru the other inverter (allowing protection for the pure sin wave inverter) ?

Yes it does...........

Two 12 volt batteries on the Sine Wave UPS provide backup from the Trace Inverter,
which is backed up by a 4kw diesel generator.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If ALL that fails, I resort to the following for lights and cooking:

D in Santiago/Tampa

 

[AZB]

Two 12 volt batteries on the Sine Wave UPS provide backup from the Trace Inverter,
which is backed up by a 4kw diesel generator.

After seeing your nasa camera setup and the rest of the surveillance equipment, I am convinced you are a russian spy.
I assume the pure sinewave inverter is there to run some delicate expensive equipment? like HDTV???
AZB

 

[AZB]

Ok, I am an electrical engineer and even I don't bother with the complex formula to derive my house consumption. I won't even push my inverter to 80% of the wattage specs. I just try to connect the bare minimum that I need to run off the inverter and I am fine. This not only protects my inverter but also doesn't consume my battery current. The 12 battery system is totally a waste of money in case of Mat. She could have had a system of 8 batteries, 3.6KW inverter and she would have been fine. The fridge, lights, medium sized microwave, fans, computers and even TV etc would work just fine for many hours.
Oh well, you live and learn.
AZB

 

[SantiagoDR]

After seeing your nasa camera setup and the rest of the surveillance equipment, I am convinced you are a russian spy.
I assume the pure sinewave inverter is there to run some delicate expensive equipment? like HDTV???
AZB

It runs all the NASA camera setup and surveillance equipment, computer, VOIP, security,
and Entertainment equipment (Except the whips and chains).

D in Santiago/Tampa

 

[luzcace]

I have a problem with my inverter. Whenever the power goes off, it jumps in too slow, tv and computermodem switch off for a couple of seconds and come back on, but everytime this happens i have to reset the modem. Can i adjust something on the inverter, can i do it myself or do i have to call a socalled expert, sometimes they make it worse as we all know. Any suggestions?

 

[cobraboy]

I have a problem with my inverter. Whenever the power goes off, it jumps in too slow, tv and computermodem switch off for a couple of seconds and come back on, but everytime this happens i have to reset the modem. Can i adjust something on the inverter, can i do it myself or do i have to call a socalled expert, sometimes they make it worse as we all know. Any suggestions?

Depending on your inverter, there may be an adjustment that times how fast the switchover occurs.