Inverter Placement

[fishsail18]

I'm getting ready to install my new inverter(only) no charger. And I'm not sure where to mount it. The engine room has plenty of room and is the closest to the electrical panel and within about 4' from the battery bank. My concern is the heat of the engine rm. when the engine is running. I can mount it in a locker fwd. but that means about 12' from the elect. panel. also about 4' from the battery bank. but a much cooler location. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Terra Nova]

You want the (fused) cable run from the batteries to be as short as possible.

[smac999]

what size inverter? if it's big 1000+ watts you want it near battery. dierectly wired, fused, and switched to bank.

if it's a small one you can put it further away, but you'll still need huge cable for a long run.

also if you have gas engines you can't put it in the engine room.

[Zil]

four feet is not that bad. Use heavy cables.

[rwidman]

I'll bet that if you read the installation instructions, there will be a limit on the distance from the batteries along with a minimum cable size. That is, if this is a "real" inverter, not something from Harbor Freight.


The distance from the output (120 volts AC) is not at all critical, there is very little voltage drop at 120 volts. The DC circuit, on the other hand will be carrying 150 amps or more at full power and at 12 volts DC, the voltage drop will be considerable with too long a cable run and/or too small conductors. Remember, four feet from the batteries equals eight feet of cable run.

[a64pilot]

Also, take into account that this thing if its a big one, has an enormous amount of power going to it, do not discount the possibility of a fire and being able to get to it and extinguish it, and it needs airflow too.
Engine room sounds better than a locker forward

[Typhoon]

Heat is the best way to destroy an inverter or any thing electronic. Get the unit out of the hot space and use the largest cables you can fit to the lugs . Inverters do not like voltage drops I use 4/0 to feed my 2400 watt inverter which is just over 6 feet from my batteries. Remember to fuse the wire according to wire size that is going to the inverter at the battery bank.

Regards John.

[Stu Jackson]

Engine space = NO, just lik Ron said the instruction manual will tell you.

Hard to believe you only have two places to put it on your boat.

When we installed our BIG combined I/C (I know, yours is only an inverter), I found four places for it!

Usually the inverter-only things are much smaller.

When I helped a friend with the same boat, we installed under his chart table. We found six places for it.

Keep looking.

Good luck.

[fishsail18]

I had two main concerns, one being heat, as stated here, heat kills an inverter, so I think the eng. rm is out unless I isolate the engine from the rest of the compartment. Which I can do however now that is a few more projects added to my list, the second is how far of a 110v cable run. if that voltage drop isn't that significant then a fwd locker would be a better option. Now air flow? that does concern me I was thinking about under the galley sink as it's the largest area of dead space. I can get plenty of air flow and ventilation, and short cable runs, both A/C &D/C now just mounting is the difficult issue. And making sure it stays dry if I spring a leak in the water system? or is that "when" I spring a leak?
Thank you all for yur suggestions.

[Terra Nova]

Don't be concerned about the length of the AC cable, just the DC.