Advice before buying an Inverter

[ipbr21054a]

Hi,

I wish to use a small motor away from my house being powered from a 12v Ring Inverter "not yet purchased"

The small motor has a label on it which reads the following.
Motor Power 120w
Voltage 220v
Frequency 20Hz

Currently its being used in my garage on mains no problem & the motor has a 10amp plug fitted.

This is the inverter i am looking to purchase.
http://www.halfords.com/workshop-to...automotive-powersource-inverter-300w-rinvu300

Please could you be so kind to advise the following.
1, Will the inverter be suitable.
2, Is the 10amp fuse installed ok or to high.

Many thanks for your time.

 

[kellys_eye]

What is the motor powering/driving? Sure it's not 50Hz? ('course it is!).

If the inverter is rated at 300W continuous output it should be ok - it doesn't actually specify (makes me suspicious).

For a full rated 300W output you would need a fuse of 30A and cables to match - none of this 'let's use mains cable for the input' malarky.

 

[ipbr21054a]

Hi,
You are correct it IS 50Hz,slip of the old finger.
All i can say is that its a Ring power source 300w
I am looking to use it on a small key cutting machine.
I would only have it switched on for the duration of the cut which would be say 3 minutes maximum etc.
Since my post i found some equation.
It was as follows.
10 x 60 "car battery amps" = 600
600 / 120 "motor wattage" = 5
5/2 = 2.5 hours of use ????

Not sure how good this equation is hence waiting for an expert reply.

Many thanks

 

[kellys_eye]

Nope.

The 120W motor will draw 0.5A at 240V (0.5 x 240 = 120) and twenty times that at 12V - so 10A.

This assumes 100% efficiency which you NEVER get so add 25% for leeway - call it 12.5A from the battery, minimum.

If your battery is rated at 65Ahr (typical small car battery) then, in theory, you can run the motor for (65/10) = 6.5hrs.

The 30A fuse is specified to protect the CABLE, not the equipment, and the cable should always be rated for the maximum current draw that may be expected - not what you might use (someone else might use it for something else )

Please ensure you have the correctly sized cables for the 12V connection bearing in mind that the longer the leads from the battery to the inverter the thicker they have to be.

 

[ipbr21054a]

Hi,
I would only use the cable that are supplied with the item.
I think they are about 2 foot long.
Crocodile clips one end for the battery & the other end has like ring connection which go to the inverter and then a round nut is used to tighten it up,covered in plastic etc so no metal is seen.

My car battery is rated at 60Ahr

So the result is that i can run this key machine for 5 minutes no problem at all.

 

[kellys_eye]

Yup.

 

[ipbr21054a]

Many thanks for your help

 

[ipbr21054a]

Hi,
Just an update to say i have now tried this motor from the car battery and it works fine.
I think if not mistaken that it doesn't run as fast as on the mains,is that correct.

Also "but i forgot to try" would running the engine then increase the speed ?

Many thanks.

 

[kellys_eye]

Most inverters have a regulated output that shouldn't change much over a range of input voltages. The motor may also be 'frequency dependent' i.e. tied to the 50Hz AC signal. But the inverter, like a lot of cheap ones, probably has a 'stepped' output (called a 'modified sine wave') rather than a pure sine wave that can affect AC motor operation.

 

[ipbr21054a]

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[ipbr21054a]

Nope.

The 120W motor will draw 0.5A at 240V (0.5 x 240 = 120) and twenty times that at 12V - so 10A.

This assumes 100% efficiency which you NEVER get so add 25% for leeway - call it 12.5A from the battery, minimum.

If your battery is rated at 65Ahr (typical small car battery) then, in theory, you can run the motor for (65/10) = 6.5hrs.

The 30A fuse is specified to protect the CABLE, not the equipment, and the cable should always be rated for the maximum current draw that may be expected - not what you might use (someone else might use it for something else )

Please ensure you have the correctly sized cables for the 12V connection bearing in mind that the longer the leads from the battery to the inverter the thicker they have to be.

Hi,
If I could follow on from this post please.
I think I would like to hardware 2 cable from the battery under the bonnet to the rear of my jeep, for running this motor. The run from front to rear is say 7-8 feet.
What size cable & fuse should I use/buy please.

 

[(*steve*)]

Use the thickest cable you can reasonably use. Something rated for 4 to 5 times the current you expect should be sufficient. At low voltage and high current losses add up very quickly.

Use the same rating of fuse (30A)

 

[ipbr21054a]

So on this 12v system you're saying to buy 40amp cable correct.

 

[(*steve*)]

40A would be a minimum.

Let's look at 10awg wire. It can carry up to 50A, and has a resistance of about 3.4 ohms per 1000ft.

You have a run of 16 feet. That's a resistance of 0.0544 ohms, which at 12.5A will drop 0.7V. (5% loss)

Going up to 8awg wire. It has a resistance of 2.2 ohms per 1000ft. at 12.5A, the voltage drop will be about 0.4V (3% loss).

Those figures are acceptable, but remember that you will also have losses in your cable connections.

If I were doing it, I would probably use 4awg.

 

[ipbr21054a]

The run is 7 to 8 feet not 16 or are you multiplying it by 2 as there is 2 cables ?
This is all new to me and the way you explain it.
Looking on eBay for wire it's sold like
2x28/0.30 = 25 amp

 

[(*steve*)]

Yeah, 16 feet because you either need to run 2 wires, or rely on the uncertain resistance through the chassis of the vehicle.

Here is where I got the wire size/resistance stuff.

2x28/0.30 means 2 wires, each made up of 28 strands of 0.3mm diameter wire. That works out to be close to 14awg. (0.3/2)² x π x 28 = 2. 14 awg is 2.1 (mm²)

You want stranded wire with a total cross section of at least 5mm²

 

[kellys_eye]

The 5% volt drop is a target to meet as a minimum requirement for cable size however, more importantly, the mechanical and physical security of the cabling is paramount.

Such high current draw will easily result in fire if not properly done so the correct cable - as in cable intended for automotive use - is recommended and secure fixing, proper fusing (at the battery), routing it clear of any sharp edges, away from sources of heat and moving parts, no tight bends, grommets used on any holes you pass through and properly crimped (or soldered) and bolted termination should ALL be ensured.

You only need to get it wrong once......

 

[ipbr21054a]

Thanks for all the info.
Measuring the o/d of the 2ft cable with the inverter its 6mm so 5mm you advised is spot on.

 

[(*steve*)]

Not the outer diameter, the diameter of the copper inside the insulation.

 

[kellys_eye]

the cable should always be rated for the maximum current draw that may be expected - not what you might use (someone else might use it for something else )

Please ensure you have the correctly sized cables for the 12V connection bearing in mind that the longer the leads from the battery to the inverter the thicker they have to be.

The inverter is rated at 300W which equates to a minimum of 25A (and with losses this would actually be around 30A but with potential overload conditions even 50A!) so don't scrimp on the cable used.

Personally I'd fit 6mm c.s.a. as a minimum and still fuse it at 30A.