inverter fuses blown

[SunEagle]

sure, well im on an experimental off grid exercise , seeing if the average broke powerless person can secure reliable access to electricity for peanuts. $40K for an offgrid system? i can see why you miss the grid. paying qualified contractors = big $$$. i dont see any reason why i cant set up this to comply with safety regulations. fused parallel batteries makes perfect sense but i would not have thought of a battery exploding from a shorted cell and 1000 amps being dumped into it by a ton of car batteries wired to it in parallel. so thank you forum for pointing this out. when you buy a 2000w inverter off the net to hook up to your car battery for camping... do they tell you to get a qualified licensed electrical contractor to make it safe? my set up is a small step from camping out why do i need qualified contractors.

Maybe you don't require a licensed electrical contractor for your camping system but since you keep blowing fuses I would entertain the thought that you at least need someone with electrical experience to make your system safe and reliable.

[almac]

Maybe you don't require a licensed electrical contractor for your camping system but since you keep blowing fuses I would entertain the thought that you at least need someone with electrical experience to make your system safe and reliable.

it is reliable. solarix has provided the answer to this inverter problem. its stuffed. nothing i did blew the fuses on this inverter. i agree i do need people with more experience than me to make it safe hence why i post pics and put questions to the members here.

[Mike90250]

Sadly, a infant just died in a fire nearby, when a "safe" portable propane heater lit a trailer on fire.

Just because you can buy something and connect it to something else, does not mean it is safe.

[SunEagle]

it is reliable. solarix has provided the answer to this inverter problem. its stuffed. nothing i did blew the fuses on this inverter. i agree i do need people with more experience than me to make it safe hence why i post pics and put questions to the members here.

I am just saying that someone with electrical trouble shooting skills and tools could have saved you a few fuses by determining the inverter was bad. A pretty basic step would not be to just install another set of fuses to see if the problem has gone away but to first determine what is causing the fuses to blow. Try to fix that first and then test with a second set of fuses.

[almac]

I am just saying that someone with electrical trouble shooting skills and tools could have saved you a few fuses by determining the inverter was bad. A pretty basic step would not be to just install another set of fuses to see if the problem has gone away but to first determine what is causing the fuses to blow. Try to fix that first and then test with a second set of fuses.

thanks, i guess i wanted to make sure the inverter was stuffed b4 i claimed the warranty. the fuses were only $4. its a $200 inverter so i dont think trying to repair it is worth while. but from what i observed when i removed the bottom plate.. a pool of brown liquid like honey , any ideas?

[littleharbor]

liquid smoke?

[SunEagle]

thanks, i guess i wanted to make sure the inverter was stuffed b4 i claimed the warranty. the fuses were only $4. its a $200 inverter so i dont think trying to repair it is worth while. but from what i observed when i removed the bottom plate.. a pool of brown liquid like honey , any ideas?

More than likely a component (ie. capacitor) overheated which resulted in its insulating material turning to fluid.

[almac]

i think it is a capacitor too, the big capacitor on the right in the pic had a heat blistered plastic cap that was falling away. i removed the burnt plastic cap b4 i took the pic. reading some articles electrolytic capacitors are one of the main causes for inverter failure

[SunEagle]

i think it is a capacitor too, the big capacitor on the right in the pic had a heat blistered plastic cap that was falling away. i removed the burnt plastic cap b4 i took the pic. reading some articles electrolytic capacitors are one of the main causes for inverter failure

I hope the problem was just a bad capacitor and not something else. Based on your description of the plastic wrap it was the capacitor that got over heated and failed.

Now while it may not be important, the capacitor failure could be the result of external reasons (overload, reverse polarity, voltage spike, etc.). So be aware that a new inverter might gets "stressed" if it is exposed to something it does not like.

Keep us informed of your new system when you get it up and running.

[almac]

I hope the problem was just a bad capacitor and not something else. Based on your description of the plastic wrap it was the capacitor that got over heated and failed.

Now while it may not be important, the capacitor failure could be the result of external reasons (overload, reverse polarity, voltage spike, etc.). So be aware that a new inverter might gets "stressed" if it is exposed to something it does not like.

Keep us informed of your new system when you get it up and running.

my system is always running because i need it for my electricity. from reading about inverter failure i understand that electrolytic capacitors will fail eventually. the paste slowly dries out. inverters last longer if they run light loads. this inverter was 1700w, probably not enough for the appliances i use. so i suspect i shortened its life running maximum loads on it like 1450w coffee machine. if the warranty is not given i might try replacing the capacitor later on. you can get cheap 2000w modified wave inverters for under $70au. i might use one of those to run higher current drawing appliances.

[PNjunction]

And that's the problem. Surge strips should not be used with mod-sine inverters. ModSine has high peaks that activate the MOV's in the strip, and they are constantly being degraded, and eventually fail.

Mike - THANK YOU. You just saved my ass. I use modsine for led lighting, and of course, this is going to fail if my strips have mov's - which are already about a decade old. Thanks for pointing this out, I had totally overlooked that.

[PNjunction]

i think it is a capacitor too, the big capacitor on the right in the pic had a heat blistered plastic cap that was falling away. i removed the burnt plastic cap b4 i took the pic. reading some articles electrolytic capacitors are one of the main causes for inverter failure

There is one thing about being frugal and under limited resources - we understand that. But buying *critical* pieces of gear used from unknown outlets is always a crapshoot. Especially if those devices come from about a decade or so ago when fake capacitors were rampant in the industry. (mostly due to industrial espionage where half the formula was stolen, and the stabilizing agents were left out). Fooled a LOT of good manufacturers. and OEM's.

The reason we're being hard on you is that we don't want your trash-pile to kill you. Harsh, but deep down as humans, the last thing we want to read is an RIP notice here.

[Mike90250]

Find a way to test your power FETS before you spend time and money changing out caps. If the failed caps also fried the FETs, you will have to get matched sets to replace them too, If you can still find them. Substitute parts may need all the biasing re-adjusted, or it may need adjusting anyway,

[SunEagle]

Find a way to test your power FETS before you spend time and money changing out caps. If the failed caps also fried the FETs, you will have to get matched sets to replace them too, If you can still find them. Substitute parts may need all the biasing re-adjusted, or it may need adjusting anyway,

I agree with you. Electronic component failures usually have a cascade affect where other components become weak or fail besides the ones that you can easily find.

[almac]

inverters really are the weakest link in PV. especially the large 2000w ones. another pure sine wave inverter crapped itself. they dont like hot days. from now im using modified sine wave only because they are alot cheaper. doing away with high wattage appliances, going to get a gas / DC fridge. stick to smaller cheaper inverters no more than 600w