I have a 16 amp female socket that could be wired to the fuse board (commando type) downstairs.
Anything wrong with wiring this to the board and then fit 2 male sockets 1 for the inverter side and 1 for the hookup side?
I could then only have one or the other inputs at a time as jim stated.?
This is a good site especially for things technical,this is what these forums are all about
As i say all i need really is to have shore power via inverter ,the shore side of it is only really for whilst i have my house as we aim to be fulltiming next year we wont be using it again as we dont do camp sites.
Hello
I'm not a professional and there will be those who know so much more than me and at this point I don't know enough to say conclusively what is safe but if I were doing this I'd have a good read and or ask people who I know would give me sound advice.
With all due respect to the forum here might not be the place to ask and/or you might not get the sort of close and specific guidance you need. i.e. I think you might be best with someone listening to what you want and saying to you very prescriptively "Do X,Y and Z. use A wiring here and B wiring there cutting tails in this form."
You will have to be selective in who you ask this will not be everyday fayre for lots of sparkies.
I'm not saying that you are incapable of doing this, I don't know you and have no idea what you are capable of but you do at this point need more of a grasp of what is happening also an increased knowledge of terminology as you will be involved in a less than common situation. You need to know what you are asking and you need to know
precisely what others are telling you.
e.g. This may sound petty but
I have a 16 amp female socket that could be wired to the fuse board (commando type) downstairs.
Anything wrong with wiring this to the board and then fit 2 male sockets 1 for the inverter side and 1 for the hookup side?
I could then only have one or the other inputs at a time as jim stated.?
Plugs are male sockets are female. It may be a bit opposite to normal logic when you plug a free socket into a fixed plug when you connect the cable to the van but that is a simple detail.
I think you are saying can I plug the van (with one plug only) into one of two possible sockets one from the EHU or one from the inverter. This sounds OK as far as it goes but am I sure what you mean or that you follow exactly what I'm saying? No I'm not.
To look at things completely differently What are you trying to achieve? You say you only want 240V for limited periods but want to wire in a full ring main and whatever else your distribution unit supplies.
Most people make do with very temporary circuits from inverters. A plug with an extension and a few sockets unless you are looking at a boat or an off line house.
Say you use the full capacity of the 1,500W inverter at 230V that is about 6.5 amp at 230v or even without allowing for losses 20 times that 130 amp at 12V. Without looking it up I've no idea if the 35mm [SUP]2[/SUP] is good for that but what sort of battery system do you have? I don't know the safe rates of power consumption from a battery but I'm expecting several hundred if not a thousand amp hours of full on traction batteries for this sort of thing. Are you planning to run the engine to help supply power when using the inverter? Do you have a large capacity alternator?
Even at 500w you are pulling 45 amp or so.
Again off the top of my head if you have fused the 130 amp circuit bang on 130 amp the fuse might take 200 amp for 6 hours. Though the inverter will allow initial surge up to 3,000W so you have to allow for that. I'd imagine and I'd get professional help that you are looking at 160amp fusing (So 270amp for 1.5 hrs before fuses blow) Fuses and cuircuit brakers are used in series in low voltage circuits (see navvers comment here
http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums...03-leisure-battery-charging-3.html#post400871 ) Read the link to Sterling Power earlier in the thread for a worse case senario (though I disagree with sterling on the fusing or cut outs on this)
You have a really massive capacity for fire with high amp low voltage circuits. I cannot overstress the possibility for fire with all 12V circuits but high current ones are to be very carefully installed.
How are you going to plug these inverters in? A 1,500w inverter will need to be hardwired with large physical hand connections or solenoid switching. The 500w will consume less power in using for a small load but connecting and swapping with the 1,500W unit will be a real drag unless you design a system for off or only one inverter switched on switching relays/solenoids. I'd tend to just use the 1,500W inverter unless efficiency is important but then it sounds like the 500W inverter would be running for quite some time.
What is this power for? I'd recommend direct 12V for TVs and computers. Does the wife or self desperately need a hair drier or are we running a full domestic washing machine?
My thoughts are far more towards a suitcase generator or possibly a gas powered 2,500w generator for less than £200.00 more than your inverter is costing.
This all sounds more boat than motorhome. If you have a massive solar array and you are heading somewhere sunny and fancy air con or some other odd reason then it may all make sense but I'd be drawn to a generator for occasional use and I'd never not have the ability to accept EHU you never know when it may be convenient and the facility costs all but nothing.
Sorry if it all seems a bit negative.
I expect a Durite inverter to be of higher quality but see what ideas you get from this. Notice the shears.
[video=youtube;5LRycfkKqLw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LRycfkKqLw[/video]
