Inverter Location in Midbath September 02, 2024, 02:19:12 pm Been thinking a little more about a possible solar/ battery upgrade in the future and am thinking that installing a smaller inverter would be a good idea. My understanding is that inverters need good ventilation so wondering where folks who have done this addition in a Midbath located their inverter?I’m thinking I would like to add two more batteries also so will probably place them in the cabinet underneath the fridge. Could an inverter go there as well? If so, would it create excessive heat underneath the fridge?Lastly, and most importantly, where, in the heck am I gonna put all the canned goods?!
Re: Inverter Location in Midbath Reply #1 – September 02, 2024, 05:30:52 pm Hi Greg.You can do an install like Tim Reeve (T&F) did. He put three SOK batteries (600 AH) where the battery box was. Below that, a 3 kw Victron multibus inverter. You can keep your canned goods where they are now.The 1200watts on the roof was pretty much overkill. You could do great with just 600 w.Tim can run his roof air on a sunny day without impacting his batteries. RonB
Re: Inverter Location in Midbath Reply #2 – September 02, 2024, 05:37:08 pm Hi Greg. I have both the charge controller and a 1500 watt inverter installed in the storage compartment below the batteries. Works well since 5 years. A lot of my canned goods are in the (inside) storage compartment below the fridge - I'm glad to have that space. Klaus
Re: Inverter Location in Midbath Reply #3 – September 02, 2024, 07:14:17 pm When installing large inverters in MBs, They were located in the compartment under the battery box. Since jobs included installing AGMs, the battery box was cut away to increase the available space. With lithium batteries, you can do the same.Before starting a project like this, consider how much power and capacity you need now and your future desires.Inverters, lithium batteries, and solar panels are much cheaper now than just a few years ago, so don’t undersize the system.Buy once, cry once.Larry 2 Likes
Re: Inverter Location in Midbath Reply #4 – September 02, 2024, 07:58:09 pm "The 1200watts on the roof was pretty much overkill. You could do great with just 600 w. Tim can run his roof air on a sunny day without impacting his batteries."Depends upon your definition of "impact." :-) No matter how big your battery bank is, you still have to replace the power you take out (and a bit more).A typical roof air conditioner uses something like 1,200 watts. (I'm sure somebody can fill in exact numbers here.) So with 600 watts of panels, running the A/C for, say, six hours would require twelve hours of full sunlight to replace the power you used. Wouldn't matter if you pulled a trailer full of batteries; you'd still have to put back the 6 hours x 1,200 watts = 7,200 watt-hours (about 600 amp-hours) that you just took out. That's going to take a long time with 600 watts of panels.I know this has been said before, but it bears repeating: when designing a solar power system, you gotta keep in mind that no matter how big your battery bank is, you have to be able to replace the power you use--and replace it in a reasonable amount of time. 2 Likes
Re: Inverter Location in Midbath Reply #5 – September 03, 2024, 09:10:55 am Quotethe battery box was cut away to increase the available space.That's what I did. Got everything in there and installed the inverter on the "ceiling."jor