freewayrandy
'Old Hangtown', Ca
Senior Member
Joined: 04/24/2004
View Profile
 Offline
|
So new to this, I'm wanting to connect a 425 watt inverter in my rig. What would be the minimum wire size to use for the 12 volt connection?
2015 Chevy 2500HD Duramax/Allison, 2018 Grand Design Momentum 328, 2005 Polaris Sportsman 500, 2018 Polaris RZR 900
|
Lwiddis
Southern California :(
Senior Member
Joined: 08/12/2016
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
What’s the distance?
WindyNation’s wire charts will help you… https://www.windynation.com/jzv/inf/choosing-right-wire-size
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad
|
Gdetrailer
PA
Senior Member
Joined: 01/05/2007
View Profile
|
Not to be smart, but, what does you inverter manual recommend?
Most inverter manuals will give you a chart with distance and wire size recommendations. Choose the recommended wire size for the distance and include a fuse near the battery sized to that wire size (fuse protects you from having your rig burn down to the ground if the wire or inverter shorts out)..
Small inverters like yours often come with short length of 10ga wire, 425W would be about 30A at 12V so 10 ga would be absolute minimum for short distance (less than 5ft), 8Ga might be better choice if distance to battery is longer..
|
freewayrandy
'Old Hangtown', Ca
Senior Member
Joined: 04/24/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
A friend gave me the inverter and didn't have the manual but your info helps. Thanks.
|
larry cad
ohio
Senior Member
Joined: 05/23/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
I=P/V
I=AMPS
p=POWER (OR WATTS)
V=VOLTS
I=425/12=35.4 AMPS
10G wire is rated 30amps.
I would go with #8
Today is my personal best for most consecutive days alive.
Our Travel Blog
|
|
|
2oldman
NM
Senior Member
Joined: 04/15/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
Learning what larry said is a good idea when doing any electrical work.
|
pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
Senior Member
Joined: 12/18/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
Don't forget to fuse this new wire. I'd be tempted to direct connect to the battery bank, as the "house" wire is not rated for more than 30 amps.
There may be "inrush" current that may burn out a fuse--unless it is a slow blow. DAMHIK
I'd plan on 40 amps, so #8 is the right decision.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
|
freewayrandy
'Old Hangtown', Ca
Senior Member
Joined: 04/24/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
Thanks for all the info. Pretty lame on electrical here. Inverter primarily for TV. What would be recommended fuse size?
|
time2roll
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
50 amp fuse close to the battery or power source. I agree with #8 unless the distance is long go #6 wire.
2001 F150 SuperCrew
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
675w Solar pictures back up
|
Gdetrailer
PA
Senior Member
Joined: 01/05/2007
View Profile
|
freewayrandy wrote:A friend gave me the inverter and didn't have the manual but your info helps. Thanks.
Google search the make and model of your inverter and add manual to the end of the search string and by the magic of the wobbly web you most likely will find a online PDF of your inverter manual. You can download the PDF and open it with Adobe reader (free), Open Office (free), Libra Office (free) and even newer versions of MS Office (not free) are able to open PDFs directly..
HERE is a search I did for Cobra 400W manual (you didn't give name and model so I randomly selected a brand and model)..
HERE is the first result of that search which brought up "manualslib.com" which is a huge online library of manuals..
For fuse sizing, you can follow NEC wiring conventions.
10 ga wire = 30A fuse or breaker
8 ga wire = 40A fuse or breaker
6 ga wire = 50A fuse or breaker
|
|
|
