Power inverter question

[Blackdog]

Does anybody have a Xantrex 1000 watt power inverter in their truck? I bought one of these from Costco ($39.99ish) to power my laptop and other junk I don't really need in my truck. I have already run the 4G welding cable from the battery to underneath the driver's seat and am ready to complete the install, but before I buy my fuse holder and fuse (these things are surprisingly spendy) I wanted to see how large of a fuse others have used. Is the fuse size dictated by the load on the inverter or by the length and guage of wire from the battery to the inverter?


Any thoughts

[NLXTACY]

The one I installed said to use a 75AMP fuse as close to the battery as possible.

BUT...


I would read through the instructions. These Modified Sine Inverters don't do well with laptops and specifically rechargeable batteries.

[sandcruiser]

the fuse is typically sized for the wire, to prevent fires.
But there is no real harm in using a smaller fuse. Just be sure it is at last large enough for the demand from the stuff plugged in, yet smaller than the wire's capacity. 50amps probably more than enough.

[WarDamnEagle]

1000 Watts at 12V is ~83 amps. Now you probably aren't going to ever pull the full 1000 and you should be operating at a bit higher than 12V (say 14) which will also reduce the actual amperage draw. I would go with the 75 amp fuse as NTXTACY suggested. You might consider a breaker instead of a fuse.

4 gauge wire is good for 100 amps (at high ambient temp and 10' length) so you should be good to go with what you ran.

[sandcruiser]

Ignore my previous recommendation of 50amps. It is too conservative. Definitely better to use a breaker than a fuse if the cost isn't too much higher.

[Blackdog]

Thanks for the posts. I have settled on a "maxi-fuse" blade type setup. It came with a 40 and 80 amp fuse in the pack. I believe the 80a should serve my purpose well. If I can get my digicam to work I will post up som pics of the install. Still have a few more pieces on the shopping list but I hope to have it working by the weekend.

[Beowulf]

Originally Posted by Blackdog

Is the fuse size dictated by the load on the inverter or by the length and guage of wire from the battery to the inverter?

Both actually. Your MAXIMUM fuse size is based on the gauge of wire and distance (round-trip) from the battery to the inverter. You can then select the fuse size that your load requires, not to exceed the maximum.

-B-