| Author |
Message |
Moe Hollow (Moehollow)
Registered Member
Username: Moehollow
Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2007
Posted From: 68.183.235.181
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 5:10 pm: | |
I just bought a Trace U2512SB inverter cheap from a boat place. They said the owner had replaced it with another years ago and it had just been sitting around. They didn't know anything about it other than they wanted $50. This is about at wild as I get in gambling. I hooked it up to a battery, and it ran a drill. I plugged it in, it waited about 10 seconds and switched. It seems to be charging the battery now. How do I check it to find out if it really is good without having to install it in a full service system? How would I get a manual for it? |
David (Davidinwilmnc)
Registered Member
Username: Davidinwilmnc
Post Number: 213
Registered: 7-2005
Posted From: 75.180.200.138
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 5:40 pm: | |
I'd also put a multimeter on it and see if the frequency and voltage are correct. I have a Vanner inverter that puts out somewhere around 800 Hz to 1300 Hz with weird voltages. It still lights a bulb and runs a heater with a fan, but I wouldn't connect anything valuable to it. I paid a good bit more than $50, but mine is just a bit over a year old is a 3600 watt true sine inverter / charger (it's being repaired by Vanner). You don't need to completely install it. Just connect it to batteries with appropriately sized cables and fuses. You can connect an outlet to it and plug your bus into it. This would be a pretty good test, I would think.
David |
Moe Hollow (Moehollow)
Registered Member
Username: Moehollow
Post Number: 5
Registered: 12-2007
Posted From: 68.183.235.230
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 4:38 pm: | |
I tried measuring the voltage with a multimeter and it showed about 95 volts at the outlet with no load. However, when it tested the voltage while it was powering a small motor, it read about 109. Does that sound reasonable? |
Tom Caffrey (Pvcces)
Registered Member
Username: Pvcces
Post Number: 1158
Registered: 5-2001
Posted From: 65.74.67.83
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 11:43 pm: | |
Mod sine wave inverters are hard to get a good measurement on. You need an RMS voltmeter if you want any accuracy.
They are not real uncommon and the information is usually in the specs, if it's not on the case.
When you added the motor, you added inductive components to the output. A resistive load would be better.
A modern Heart inverter will read somewhere in the 40 volt range when it is idling in search mode.
For what it's worth.
Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576
Suncatcher
Ketchikan, Alaska |