2000w Inverter Install

This is the most significant modification/install I had performed two days ago (at Streetnoyz in San Diego, CA). They ran oversized 1-gauge cables to the cargo area so that I could easily connect and use an inverter in the cargo area. They installed a heavy duty marine-grade connector on the cables, and a pig tail on the inverter with the other half of the connector, for ease of connection and removal.

As you can see in the photos below, they ran the cables into the Center Auxiliary Box in the cargo area (that is the compartment directly in front of the bumper that is meant, I believe, for the OEM charging cable for the Prime). The red cable (they are sheathed) goes to the 12v battery (along the driver's side, under the door threshold panels and it was a tight fit) and has an inline 300 amp fuse. The black cable is connected to the chassis under the large battery in the cargo area. See the photos below and their integrated captions for a clearer explanation.

When the inverter is not in the car, the cable is completely hidden in that Center Auxiliary box. This was important to me because I will only rarely use the inverter.

I chose an AIMS 2000w Pure Sine Wave inverter. I chose pure sine wave because, from most of what I read, it is recommended if you're powering a sensitive medical device or a motorized device (like a refrigerator) to it. I chose 2000w because that is more than I should need, and it will hopefully run cooler and last longer. I chose this particular inverter because it is ETL/Intertek listed, which is like a UL listing. It means the device has been tested and found to meet safety standards. I couldn't find many that had any listing like this. The photo of the box below shows specifics about the inverter.

The inverter cost $318.98 on Amazon. The install, parts included, was somewhere around $300.

 

Hi - I'm not sure what you're saying. Are you saying you had a problem with an inverter, or with an Uninterruptible Power Suppply (UPS)? I use UPS units, also, but I had to start buying ones with PFC (can't remember what that stands for) due to the requirements of the power supplies in newer Apple computers.

Also, how could they tell that a "square wave" killed your power supply?

 

What do you mean when you say PFC UPS units are "vulnerable" to square wave UPS units?

 

I still don't understand. You said that PFC UPS units are "vulnerable" to square wave UPS units. Vulnerable would mean that square wave UPS units are somehow a threat PFC UPS units. But how could they be a threat?

 

Well, presuming that is correct, it's still better to have a 2000w unit using 1000w or less than a 1000w unit using the same load, isn't it?

 

I'll ask my installer when I go in Thursday. He may have been sizing the fuse based on the potential requirements of the inverter I chose. It sounds like I'd rather have it smaller than 100 amps.

 

I don't know how to take that emoji. Maybe I'm being dense here, but I really don't understand what you're saying. By "vulnerable," did you mean something like "inferior" or "superior?" I really want to understand what your meaning is.

 

Based on what you and ProdigyPlace are saying, it sounds like I should get a fuse less than 100 amps to protect against me plugging too much into the inverter and creating too heavy a load? I'm presuming, without actually knowing for certain, that it will never be an issue as long as I don't plug too heavy a load into the inverter. Still, it would be good to have a fuse that will protect me if I do overload it.