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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2630 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Texman 182g Mods
    Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 12:11pm
If you think you're going to run it at peak, you would need a 50 amp breaker. There are a couple of considerations. First, since that is a peak rating, you may want to fuse it lower at a sustainable level, so that you don't accidentally overload it with something that surges longer than it can handle. Second, DC circuit breakers are "special" in that they need to be much more robust than AC circuit breakers. This is because AC circuit breakers cross the zero-current boundary 120 times per second. DC circuit breakers have to break the circuit at full rated load, and need to be designed to not arc at that full load.

It might be simpler to use a fuse instead of a circuit breaker.
bp
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texman View Drop Down
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 11:20am

should i add a circuit breaker to the inverter even though it has built in over/undervoltage protection?  how many amps if so for the breaker?
the inverter is 300w and 600watt peak.  so 600w/12v=50 amp?


But I have 10 ga wire that is 2 ft long. That should be 30 amp.
TexMan 2015 182g
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 11:15am
Originally posted by texman

Do inverters draw current even when switched off?
I would think not, unless they had some sort of "auto on" capability where they are measuring the load (whereby they would automatically turn on). Otherwise, I would expect off to actually mean off.
bp
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texman View Drop Down
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 8:49am
i think i found it.  After pulling all the fuses, even the 40 amp, i could read only minor changes from the 580 ma current at the battery.  what else could it be?  Some ClownEmbarrassed, left the inverter turned on. Embarrassed
been on for a year probably. don't have the exact specs, but amazon reviews say .6 amps when on and 30 ma when off.  i dont see how it can draw when off.  Do inverters draw current even when switched off?

Since it had over/under voltage protection, i direct wired to the panel.  You will most likely tell me that was a really bad idea.  it has a built in switch, but i am thinking it needs to be switched or at least fused.  I think that it must draw current even when off.  i measured the current at the battery with the inverter disconnected from the board and my current was almost null.  i reconnected the power, with the inverter off, and my current at the battery was 250ma.  which is much better than the 580ma. 

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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 6:56am
0.59 sounds a lot better but still a little high, I'll check my "no load" current draw for comparison and post it. 
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texman View Drop Down
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Feb 2019 at 7:59pm
After clearing the Klein to start at zero, I consistently get .57-.59amp at all off. The meter I installed is close but I think I need to reset again. Pod is on battery so I will check in the morning again.
Thanks for all your help.
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6289 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Feb 2019 at 7:39pm
Is by any chance the switch for the antenna booster turned on? That is a likely candidate for a higher current draw.
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texman View Drop Down
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Feb 2019 at 4:27pm
thanks motor, i will check.  it is off (i think)  i really have no idea what it could be.  it is total silence inside, which doesn't mean alot.  all of the mods i made that are electrically related have a switch. the new meter i added is 4 ma.  i wonder if i have the tv booster on.  i plan to start pulling fuses i guess and hope that yields some results.  but, once identified, that does not fix the problem of the drain on the battery. 
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Posts: 196 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Feb 2019 at 4:18pm
Is the fridge on?

Look at the fridge for the parasitic load. There was a thread over on IRV2 about the reefers having a defrost heater that runs quite a bit which sucks a ton of juice. The older fridges had a switch to turn that off, but it has been deleted on the newer one's. 

I am not sure if our model fridges have a defroster/heater, so it might be worth investigating. 
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Feb 2019 at 12:16pm
The two "-" markings on either side of the loop are about where you want the wire to pass through. And the wire should be close to perpendicular to the plane of the loop. The picture they provide is misleading, as it "looks" like the wire is going through at a 45 degree angle instead of a 90 degree angle.

I'm also agreeing with offgrid that a 2 amp parasitic is too high. Normally, I would expect the parasitic load to be in the neighborhood of a 1/2 amp or less. I think I measured ours at around 1/3 amp (don't quote me on that, it's been a while, but I do remember it being milliamps, and not amps).

Now if you have your R-pod connected to shore power, you could be measuring charge or float current. If you want to measure parasitic load, you need to be disconnected from shore power to get the converter out of the equation.
bp
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