Inverter Shut off and Won't Turn Back On

[mpruet]

This is probably the cause. The fuse is for 200 amps, but the inverter can draw up to 300 amps. I don’t know what your power cables are rated for.

 

[mpruet]

Some inverters have a variable input/output feature so that as more is drawn on them, then they draw more from the battery. I suspect that your inverter has that feature and when you put the second IP you pushed the draw up way too high.

You should NOT simply get a 300 amp fuse unless your power cable is rated for that load. Otherwise the cables could overheat and potentially cause a fire. You need to take it to an electrician to ensure that the fuse, inverter, cables, and battery are all in balance.

I have one of the small IP and can run it on about 1000 watts. (The startup power required is much higher than when running). Two IPs should be less than 2000 watts, which would be about 166 amps. Was there anything else running?

 

[mpruet]

Inverters are not 100% efficient and will draw more than they output. A 100% conversion producing 3000 sustained watts output would be about 250 amps. Since you can surge up to 6000 watts that would potentially draw 500 amps. Personally I think your inverter is too large for the rest of your system.

If the 200 amp fuse is correct for the rest of your electrical system, then you should be using a 2000 watt inverter (which would draw about a 166 amps plus inverter inefficiency).

 

[mpruet]

There should be a label on your IP which indicates the input levels. It may be in watts or amps. It might be worth it to check and see how much the IP power draw is.

 

[Freelander]

I see you have a Battle born battery, if you have just one, you are getting very close to max draw on that battery if you run 2 InstaPots. I dont know how much they draw, but its differently more than your system can handle.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Your inverter is trying to write a check that the rest your system can't cash.

Replace that ANL fuse, and all should be good. I would not recommend trying to operate two insta-pots at the same time.

(Obviously obtained from the Department of the Obvious and Redundancy Department)

 

[Stardown2earth]

A Car Audio Installer is an easy vendor for that fuse........a 5 minute job

Thank you! That makes sense.

 

[Stardown2earth]

This is probably the cause. The fuse is for 200 amps, but the inverter can draw up to 300 amps. I don’t know what your power cables are rated for.

View attachment 30884

That makes sense, I don't know about the cables either. I do know that the man who installed it knew what he was doing but we were limited on time and had only certain supplies on hand. (Installed at a VanBuild in the desert) Its been so long and I don't have contact with him anymore and I unfortunately I didn't write anything down. Thank you for your insight.

 

[Stardown2earth]

Some inverters have a variable input/output feature so that as more is drawn on them, then they draw more from the battery. I suspect that your inverter has that feature and when you put the second IP you pushed the draw up way too high.

You should NOT simply get a 300 amp fuse unless your power cable is rated for that load. Otherwise the cables could overheat and potentially cause a fire. You need to take it to an electrician to ensure that the fuse, inverter, cables, and battery are all in balance.

I have one of the small IP and can run it on about 1000 watts. (The startup power required is much higher than when running). Two IPs should be less than 2000 watts, which would be about 166 amps. Was there anything else running?

I had them on a power strip, one was the 3qt IP and the other the 6qt. I want to say I also had my phone charger plugged in to the power strip but not charging a phone at the time and I had a USB light plugged in at the USB port on top but not on. Connected directly to the battery was a small fridge and a MaxAir fan.

 

[Stardown2earth]

Inverters are not 100% efficient and will draw more than they output. A 100% conversion producing 3000 sustained watts output would be about 250 amps. Since you can surge up to 6000 watts that would potentially draw 500 amps. Personally I think your inverter is too large for the rest of your system.

If the 200 amp fuse is correct for the rest of your electrical system, then you should be using a 2000 watt inverter (which would draw about a 166 amps plus inverter inefficiency).

Yes my inverted is huge. My plan (back is NOV 19) was to set up a big system to completely be off grid when I was living full time but those plans changed due to some unforeseen circumstance and I had to direct my funds else where. I also ended up with two solar panels (currently installed on the van) but it turned out that they don't "match" so only one is currently plugged into the system. The word was that one was "poly" and the other "mono" and the solution was to get a second solar charge controller and connect two separate systems (one battery). I now do have the second solar charge controller but just need to find someone to install it and connect it to the system along with the second solar panel. I do have my eye on a second battle born but just cant justify buying one right now since I'm not living in the van full time since Covid and I have other expenses now. I now only use the van on short local camping trips and to go see my mother whos a few hours away. Plus the van is my only vehicle so I use it as my daily driver. I was coming back from seeing my mom when all this happened.

<3

Edit* I attached pictures of my two solar panels but only one is connected to the system currently.

 

[Stardown2earth]

There should be a label on your IP which indicates the input levels. It may be in watts or amps. It might be worth it to check and see how much the IP power draw is.

I got greedy with the second Instapot. The main reason why I even purchased the 3QT was because it fit better under a shelf and to have it exclusively in the van and not have to lug my 6qt in and out. I thought of bringing the bigger one along this time to be able to cook a few things at a time without having to wash out the first pot but a simpler solution is just to buy a second 3QT steel pot.

I definitely learned my lesson. Good thing that the food was pretty much cooked when it happened. I just had to eat my food with no tortillas which was what I was trying to warm up in the 6QT. Then for the rest of my trip home l finished a bunch of nuts, fruits and veggies & had to get fast food once. Oops.

 

[Freelander]

I use a 1 1/2 qt Crockpot and it will easily run on a 300 watt inverter. I looked into InstaPots and decided they draw to much power.

 

[Stardown2earth]

I see you have a Battle born battery, if you have just one, you are getting very close to max draw on that battery if you run 2 InstaPots. I dont know how much they draw, but its differently more than your system can handle.

They are on sale for $800 on Amazon, I wish I could get another one right now but maybe next year! I've seen them at this price for a wile now so maybe the price will be even lower for Black Friday this year.

 

[Freelander]

That would help but you still need to look at cable size to see if it will handle that much power draw. I have 3 BB batteries and 400 watts of solar and if I have enough Sun I have more than enough power to run everything. But I don't have anything that draws a lot of power.

 

[Stardown2earth]

Your inverter is trying to write a check that the rest your system can't cash.

Replace that ANL fuse, and all should be good. I would not recommend trying to operate two insta-pots at the same time.

(Obviously obtained from the Department of the Obvious and Redundancy Department)

Yes I wont be doing that anymore!

Im about to buy this fuse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CHG449Q/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_CTGHYN801QHTVC85GZJA

& Ill be heading to the nearest car audio place to see if they can get it installed once it arrives. There are zero in the town that I'm in. Hope this works! thank you for your comment!

 

[abnorm]

What is your general location ?

The auto audio store will have those for sale

 

[mpruet]

Just to be specific. The problem that you ran into had nothing to do with your solar panels or with your charger. The only components which were involved are your battery, your inverter, the cable between the battery and inverter, and the fuse.

Understand the purpose of a fuse is to prevent a fire which can be caused with too much power is flowing through your cable. The fuse must match the capacity of the wiring (cable). Otherwise it is not going to protect the wiring. Over capacity is most commonly caused because of a short, but in your case it was because your inverter tried to exceed a 200 amp draw. The reason that a short can cause an overload is because when a short occurs, there is no significant resistance between the negative and positive charge. Normally the device that you are powering will manage the flow.

To be truthful, it would be dangerous to get higher amperage fuses. And also there is a probability that you will run into blown fuses in the future because you really don’t have a means of measuring the amperage that you are drawing. For instance an IP and hairdryer could overload the circuit. Also you mentioned a heater, that plus IP could blow the fuse.

 

[Freelander]

From the BatteryBorn Website. Each battery can handle 100 amps of continuous discharge and 200 amp for surge for 30 seconds. IOW you can draw 100 amp from the battery until it's dead, and only 200 amps for the first 30 seconds, then the BMS will shut off the extra draw so you don't damage the battery. The recharge rate is half the discharge rate, so a single BB can only accept a 50 amp charge.
These numbers are per battery. Double the batteries and double the draw rate and recharge rate.

With a 3000 watt inverter, you will need several batteries to handle that much draw and much bigger wire. For the size of your battery a 200 amp fuse is big enough.

From what I can find a 3000 watt inverter will need 3 100 amp Lithium batteries to provide enough power to run it, and at least 4/0 cable. Cable size is determined by the length of the run and max amps it will carry. Shorter the length, and bigger the wire is better.


"For each additional 12 V 100 Ah battery you add to your system, you get another 100 amps of continuous discharge and 200 amp for surge for 30 seconds."

 

[Stardown2earth]

What is your general location ?

The auto audio store will have those for sale

I'm in the middle of New Mexico. Closest town with an Car Audio place is 1hr away

 

[abnorm]

Hmmmmm....NM......RoadTrip ?

Pirate Camp in Quartzsite, AZ has free fuses and installation