How much heat does a 3000 watt inverter give off

[Jeffjeeptj]

I am looking for a place to mount a 3000 watt inverter, perhaps beneath the fridge. There is a space about 12 inches high with the base footprint of the fridge.
This would put the inverter near the wfco power center and i could use a transfer switch.

[Herk7769]

Inverters must be placed as close to the batteries as physically possible due to the very high DC current needed to provide usable AC current output.

For example, a 3000 watt inverter needs about 3000 watts of DC input.

3000 watts divided by 12 volts equals 250 amps of battery current.

Using the wiring size calculator for a 12 volt system and 250 amps.

https://www.altestore.com/howto/reco...-or-fuses-a62/

3 feet(1 meter) from inverter to battery = 0000 or 4 "O" welding wire

4 "O" wire is VERY hard to work with.

Don't even start me on how much battery you need to produce 250 continuous amps.

You would be much better served downsizing your AC power needs when running on battery. A 1500 watt system is more practical for a 2 battery RV that you plan on running about 1000 watts continuous. If you use 2 or 3 O cables no farther than 2 or 3 feet from your batteries, and 150AH or more of battery bank (without HEATER USE) you should get 5 or 6 hours of inverter from your RV.

With some

[Herk7769]

The power center's DC feed wire is WAY too small to handle more than 50 or 60 amps of DC.

50 amps of DC equals 600 watts of inverter if EVERY amp is converted to AC. That will leave no amps left for lights, water pump, etc.

Bad idea.

[Jeffjeeptj]

OK. Good thoughts. How much heat does a 1500 watt inverter give off. I am trying to see what type/kind/how much ventilation I need so inverter does not overheat.

[Flybob]

The answer depends on the inverter efficiency and the power being drawn. . Most of the efficiency loss in an inverter is in the form of heat. You can calculate the heat dissipation as follows.



For an inverter with 75% (0.75) efficiency.



(1-0.75 ) X Watts X 3.5 = BTU dissipation.

[Bama Rambler]

To address your original question (and thusly your second), Those inverters are pretty efficient, so the size of the space you plan to put it in is plenty big for a 3000 watt inverter if you can add a vent register somewhere to exhaust the heat. That doesn't address whether you actually should put it there or not.

[Chuck_S]

Heat will depend on demand. I run my air compressor and the occasional power tool off my Expedition battery (engine running) with an inverter and at about 1500 watts draw the inverter doesn't even get warm to the touch. This inverter is rated at 4000 watts peak, 2000 watts continuous. Probably 12" of cable connecting the inverter to the truck.

This relatively inexpensive modified sine wave inverter is fan cooled but they don't come on pulling 1500 watts indicating there's no excessive heat at that power draw. Takes 5 minutes to connect to my truck battery and is much more convenient than dragging a generator over to the storage lot to run the compressor or power tools.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



-- Chuck

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Jeffjeeptj

OK. Good thoughts. How much heat does a 1500 watt inverter give off. I am trying to see what type/kind/how much ventilation I need so inverter does not overheat.

Your profile does not say what kind of camper you have and where your batteries are located. I am sure a better location can be found close to your batteries and then run Romex to an outlet you want to use for inverter fed items.

[Bluepill]

If you can mount the inverter where it can circulate air into and out of the main living space when the fans are on, a fairly small space will be OK. You will have a bit of fan noise that way. If you use a contained space, you probably want 3 or more cubic feet of airspace.

[rsdata]

SHORT answer to amount of space you need for 3,000 watt inverter...

You have enough space, especially if you DO NOT use all 3000 watts...

say you want to run your LED TV... that requires probably less than 100 watts...

say you want to run a hair dryer... that requires about 1200 watts

If you only run the TV you have no worries... if you run the hair dryer for 30 minutes it will get a little warm in that enclosed space...

just making an educated guess as the inverter efficiency and actual air movement under the fridge are variables...

[UT_Grandpa]

As was previously stated, the DC side of the inverter needs huge cables to carry the current you are using on the AC side. A 20 Amp AC service can use #12 gauge wire for the AC side (like your house). The full 3000 Watts delivered to a single circuit would need 8-10 gauge wire for the AC side. It is easier to extend the AC side than the DC side.

Most lead acid batteries (true deep cycle) are designed for a C/10 to C/20 load. This means if you have a 100 Amp/Hour battery, they like to see 5-10 Amp continuous load for longest life. So extrapolating this to a 3000 Watt inverter you would pull 300+ Amps and need a battery bank of thirty 100 AH batteries for the optimum situation. You might need another trailer to haul the 3000# of lead batteries along.http://www.forestriverforums.com/for.../roflblack.gif

Whatever you do, mount the cooling fins so the inverter is horizontal with the fins up or if it is on it's side have the fins running vertical to improve the convection cooling of the inverter. Hot air rises.

We were part owners in a houseboat once where one of the owners installed a big inverter (we had 20 batteries on the boat). We came on after their week with totally drained batteries and had to run the generator for almost two days to recharge the batteries at 2 gallons of gas per hour for the generator. Needless to say, the inverter found a new home at the bottom of a 200 foot deep lake!

[rsdata]

We were part owners in a houseboat once where one of the owners installed a big inverter (we had 20 batteries on the boat). We came on after their week with totally drained batteries and had to run the generator for almost two days to recharge the batteries at 2 gallons of gas per hour for the generator. Needless to say, the inverter found a new home at the bottom of a 200 foot deep lake!

great but pitiful story...

[valleyduo]

Originally Posted by rsdata

SHORT answer to amount of space you need for 3,000 watt inverter...

You have enough space, especially if you DO NOT use all 3000 watts...

say you want to run your LED TV... that requires probably less than 100 watts...

say you want to run a hair dryer... that requires about 1200 watts

If you only run the TV you have no worries... if you run the hair dryer for 30 minutes it will get a little warm in that enclosed space...

just making an educated guess as the inverter efficiency and actual air movement under the fridge are variables...

That brings in the whole other question got the op of what are you planning to run with it and do you even truly need 3000 watts to meet your needs?

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Jeffjeeptj

I am looking for a place to mount a 3000 watt inverter, perhaps beneath the fridge. There is a space about 12 inches high with the base footprint of the fridge.
This would put the inverter near the wfco power center and i could use a transfer switch.

Your question: How much heat does a 3000 watt inverter give off?
Using Flybobs formula: (1-0.75 ) X Watts X 3.5 = BTU dissipation.
.25x3,000x3.5 = 2,625 BTU
Why add more heat to your RV? Your Fridges heat is vented outside.

You did not mention what RV you have. I have a small Class A. I had one installed in May 2018. An inverter is great to have in an RV. It is like having a UPS for your motorhome. See: Expanding compartment space for 2200 Watt Inverter/Charger

Before you install an inverter, think about how you will use? How much power will you need? How many battery amp hours do your need? Do you need 2 or 4 batteries? How will you recharge the batteries? What is the distance between your batteries & inverter?

20 foot of 4/0 AWG cable will cost $99.80.
50-ft roll of 10/2 Romex is $75.47.

You mentioned a transfer switch. Why not get an inverter with a transfer switch? If you have a transfer switch you will have to make sure your charger is off. Why not get an Inverter/Charger with a built-in transfer switch?

I went through all those questions and more. I also had to add ventilation to my storage compartment after the Inverter/Charger got up to 150F.

I decided I wanted an Inverter/Charger with a built-in transfer switch. I went with the 2K Inverter/Charger because I would not be powering the A/C, Hot Water Heater, or Converter/Charger. After reading reviews I went with a made in Taiwan Samlex EVO-2212 Inverter/Charger.


Happy camping with whatever you decide to do. Please post pictures of finished product to help someone else install an inverter.

[MadDog2020]

An AIMs 3000 watt pure sine wave inverter is listed at 92% efficiency. For example if you are connecting something that pulls a 1000 watts about 80 of those will be lost in heat. With fans and good air flow that won’t generate a lot of heat. To determine the temperature rise just measure it. That’s easier than figuring out the materials specific heat and calculating the joules, etc.