How do you interrupt these inverter "grounding" instructions....

[poot_traveller]

"Before using the inverter, please provide a ground connection wire. On the rear panel of the inverter is a terminal fitted with a nut for connecting to the inverter and to the earth terminal of the AC output socket. In a vehicle, connect the inverter to the chassis of the vehicle."

Here is the nut terminals on each side of the inverter...

AC Output:



DC Input:




My questions are.....

What is considered the "rear panel" of the inverter?

My inverter has two earth terminals, one on each side of the inverter. Is the instruction manual saying to run a earth wire from one terminal to the other terminal on the inverter?, then run another earth wire to the chassis?

 

[wayne49]

You have a good answer over there.

 

[B and C]

There is a red sticker showing ground. That is the one to connect to the chassis. I see no other grounds except what you would plug into.

 

[1shemp]

I would recommend to for sure connect a ground.I have a 3000 watt psw inverter in the repair shop now that I didn't ground.It quit working during a thunder storm.Since all my wiring is inside a building or under ground,I don't know what could have happened.Of course,you could fill a book with what I don't know.

 

[speedhighway46]

If you are installing 110 VAC in your mobile vehicle, provided by either inverter, generator, or shore power, be sure to search on this site for “floating neutrals”.

Bottom line, the neutrals of 110 VAC are NOT tied to earth grounds as they are in typical household service panels. Serious even deadly shock could result.

Or google “floating neutrals” for a more in depth explanation.

 

[wayne49]

This is funny.
A Verizon COW (cell on wheels) is stationed here. Self contained trailer that provides network connectivity for temporary events.
I walked by on my way to toss trash in the dumpster and gave it a once over.
I see this ground strap running from the trailer clipped to a nearby water tap. The faucet is metal.
But everything else, all the way back to the water tank, is PVC.

 

[poot_traveller]

There is a red sticker showing ground. That is the one to connect to the chassis. I see no other grounds except what you would plug into.

There is two red stickers showing ground, one on the DC side and one on the AC side. Just scroll down on the pictures to see both.

 

[poot_traveller]

If you are installing 110 VAC in your mobile vehicle, provided by either inverter, generator, or shore power, be sure to search on this site for “floating neutrals”.

Bottom line, the neutrals of 110 VAC are NOT tied to earth grounds as they are in typical household service panels. Serious even deadly shock could result.

Or google “floating neutrals” for a more in depth explanation.

I'm not sure what a floating neutral is, even after googling it.

AC output on the inverter is 240 volts, or 240 something (I don't understand amps, volts, watts, etc). But basically it's the same sort of power that comes out of a standard house power socket/point.

 

[poot_traveller]

You have a good answer over there.

I've had about 20 answers to this same post across the forums, but none of which address my actual questions.

One of my other posts that I spammed posted across the forums and sub-reddits got 30 answers. The post basically posed the question - Do I "ground" the battery and inverter to the chassis, or not?
About 30 people answered. Half of them answered no, and the other half answered yes lol

 

[B and C]

Those grounds should be the same, pick one. To ease your mind, stick an ohm meter to verify.

 

[speedhighway46]

Earth ground and chassis ground are the same on any vehicle, assuming it is sitting on rubber tires, regardless of voltage and current. They can be tied together at common points, it doesn’t matter.

You are going to have to know at least a little bit about electricity; how to figure loads, and how to make simple readings with a voltmeter. You should find a book that presents all this information in a simple and easy way. This is a common stumbling block for most new comers, but you do need to learn it for your own safety.

 

[XERTYX]

Those grounds should be the same, pick one.  To ease your mind, stick an ohm meter to verify.

That is good advice. While the inverter is not connected to anything. Not powered at all. Take a multimeter and set it to ohms. Or if it has the functionality set it to continuity tester.

Touch the red lead of the multimeter to one of the ground points and the black lead to the other ground point. If there is no resistance between the 2 or if the continuity function beeps or lights or whichever yours does then you know the ground points are duplicates and they are tied together. I've never seen an inverter quite like that one. With all the emphasis they put on grounding it I'd imagine they designed it not for a vehicle but for an off grid cabin or something.

 

[B and C]

The power cord that I use to plug my van in is not grounded to my vehicle. That is taken care of where the power comes from. I would think the inverter should be connected to chassis ground to keep from having a floating ground if something happens to the inverter.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Oh! You sure are getting a lot of not-answers here. I can understand your frustration. Far too many people on the internet feel the need to say something, anything, about posts like yours without taking the time to actually read the question or give good information.

You are correct, your pictures show two separate ground connections. At first glance, it appears as if both of those ground connections connect to the metal body or box of your inverter. I agree with XERTYX that you should check and make sure that this is correct. Their instructions in this comment are good. If you have any questions about how to use an ohmmeter you can ask me or them, or just take the whole thing into your nearest auto shop. They can test to see if those two connections are actually electrically connected (the meter reads zero or close to 0 ohms between the two connections).

Assuming that they are connected, the manufacturer probably gave you two separate connections either for convenience or because of some interesting regulation in the country where this device is being used. It doesn't look like it's meant for use in the United States. What with that 240 volt outlet and all. In this case, you can simply choose whichever connector is most convenient for your installation.

If they are separate (as in not connected) then you should connect the ground from the DC side to the chassis of your vehicle, as your vehicle and all the other equipment in it runs on DC, and there is less chance of any of that getting damaged by connecting a damaged/shorted AC device to that ground. You would then connect the ground wire for your AC system to the ground connection on the AC side of your inverter. However, if all you are doing is plugging one device into that outlet, or only plugging a power strip with a certain number of sockets into that one outlet, then the outlet ground is providing all of the ground connection you may need for the AC part of your system.

As XERTYX said, it looks as if this inverter is really designed for use in an off grid house rather than in a vehicle. If you can you might try to simply get an inverter that is designed for use in a vehicle. There are plenty of them out there.

Finally, just to clarify, what country are you in? Are you using AC devices meant for use in the United States, or somewhere else?

 

[poot_traveller]

Thanks for the advice  :thumbsup:

I'm in New Zealand.  I only plan to use the solar panel system to charge a laptop and some kontiki batteries (using a battery charger that plugs into the inverter).

When I cross-post questions into forums, sub-reddits and facebook pages, I had the intention of choosing the majority answer to my questions (cunning plan, right?).
But as I soon found out, there is never a majority answer because if I ask 30 people, I'll get 30 different answers.

Yes, it is frustrating.