Best place for an inverter?

[Markas]

Do I REALLY need one? No. However, I really want to run my Tassimo machine in the Van. I'm not so much thinking for a camping perspective, but if I'm out in the van kayaking or something. That's pretty much all really. I've got 12v versions of everything else.

I'm not the only one then who has a coffee machine on board I only use mine when I'm on EHU though!

[wwaveydave]

OK well that battery is a cross-over between a deep discharge and a engine starting functions, so it will handle the very high current demand reasonably well and it may support long term and deep discharge, however there is no hard info. on that battery I could see quickly, but the price point doesn't point towards a genuine mixed function battery which are normally priced well over the £100 mark!

You will still need to ensure that the connections from battery to inverter are short and well capable of handling the current, your main problem will be ensuring safety as its cable will not be fusible when there is a demand of 200+ Amps so the inverter will need to be VERY close to the battery itself and consequently also need to be waterproof as its under the bonnet, don't run the cables thru a bulkhead as any damage is going to result in a massive failure current!

I've always used these guys for Batteries, for all sorts of things, cars, vans, leisure, electric fences for horses etc. They've always been excellent, and if you pick up from the trade counter, very well priced. Having the prices online seems to be a newish thing, but they are still very well priced.

The inverter came with some "little finger" thick cables, about 2-3 foot each I think, I was going to use those. When you say don't run through a bulkhead are you saying to keep the inverter outside the cabin?

[Bob]

The risk running cables that thick through a bulkhead is they may chaffe through and short.

This would be very serious.

[g8dhe]

Correct, you run the risk of both chaffing over time and a small front end collision damaging the firewall, the result is an Arc Welder floating free under your bonnet, possible right next to a ruptured fuel tank from the vehicle in-front ....... so yes inverter under the bonnet and needs to be waterproof as well.

[wwaveydave]

How would you waterproof it, pop it in an ip67 box?

[g8dhe]

No it needs designing with waterproofing in mind, sticking an item which requires ventilation in a sealed IP67 box makes it ripe for overheating!

[wwaveydave]

So the inverter itself needs to be waterproof?

[g8dhe]

Well if you have ever looked under the bonnet after driving in the rain it does tend to get rather wet in there!
Sticking a ventilated metal/plastic box in there with electronics exposed via the ventilation holes means the unit really isn't going to last very long!
The inverters also tend to get hot and will have some form of heat sinking which requires air to flow over it and remove the heat, putting such a unit in a sealed plastic box doesn't achieve that!