Renogy inverter to battery cables

[Green Giant]

Hi
I’m wanting to mount the Renogy 1000w inverter under drivers seat, and connect to the 160ah lithium which will be under passenger seat, Renogy sell a 5ft inverter/battery cable, so just want to confirm this will be ok?
They even sell an 8 ft one so I’m hoping the distance between my swivel seats, battery- inverter is acceptable.
The most powerful item to plug into this inverter is 500w and then just a few minutes.
I don’t want to move the B2B, the 240v and solar charger, which will be under passenger seat next to battery.
Cheers

 

[BikerPa]

Well I have my battery 100A LFP battery & Renogy 1000W inverter in the opposite positions but I wouldn't trust Renogy cables TBH.
The short ones that came with the inverter get very hot @ the crimp terminals in my testing.

I made my own up using cable & crimp lugs from 12voltplanet based on their current draw & length and fused appropriately. They are miles better & stay cool.
Have a look at the calculator at the bottom of the page Cable Size Calculator - Cable sizing and selection | 12 Volt Planet

They sell cable/lugs & crimpers, but there are crimpers of similar quality cheaper on Amazon if you search @Dellmassive threads on 'How to/How I did this' on here there is a lot of info

 

[Green Giant]

Ok thanks for info
Yes, would probably get cables made up, as don’t need them longer than they need to be.
It was just that the guy installing all the electrics recommended having inverter under passenger seat with battery, then having all the chargers across to drivers seat base? , then I see Renogy sell extension cables longer than those supplied with inverter. Also the inverter remote switch cable won’t reach to the passenger seat from control panel, so again hoping to go my original route of inverter under drivers seat and chargers with the battery

 

[BikerPa]

Shorter cable runs for a high current draw like an inveter make good sense, but my battery DC-DC charger/fuse box & amp were already under the drivers so I had to really use the passenger under seat space in mine for the inverter.
This also means it has plenty of air circulation for cooling the inverter (single seat base) & the inverter 230v socket is on the rear of the seat base as thats how we use it.

We have seperate 230v mains to the rear & O/S of the van for hookup use.
Ours is day van/occaisonal sleeper with Velle seating so works for our use case.

 

[Green Giant]

am I right that an inverter will only draw the current that is needed by the appliance that is plugged into it, for example, an electric blanket
Does it get warm or hot when nothing is drawing power from it?
I realise I would switch it off when not in use anyway.
So it doesn’t work like a lighting dimmer switch and just convert excess power into wasted.heat.
Sorry for being a bit dim..

 

[BikerPa]

They have a small standby current draw if not isolated. It’s in the specs as 1A

Functional current draw is the appliance plus inefficiencies/losses due to voltage conversion. I’d work on 5-10% headroom requirement

 

[Dellmassive]

" Renogy 1000w inverter under drivers seat, and connect to the 160ah lithium which will be under passenger seat, " - this is how i have mine setup.

you need to use super beefy cable, as above use the cable guide.

1000w full load will easily pull 100A/120A . . . so cable for that and fuse accordingly.

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[Green Giant]

ok cheers
One last question if I may, I’m about to make up my panel of sockets, switches and monitors, would you make use of the inverter transfer switch and have your 240v socket/s going through the inverter, I am struggling to find a suitable space for a separate dedicated socket, and it’s not practical to have one down at the seat base
Ps apologies for the late reply’s

 

[Dellmassive]

I've not tried myself... But it seems to make sense to use the internal transfer switch....

It just gets complicated when you have a RCD/MCB consumer unit... Ie inverter with transfer switch before CU, or after.

External EHU normally has a chassis PE earth bond, and floating inverters don't.

Got a sketch of your setup?

 

[Green Giant]

Not able to make a sketch at the mo, I’ve got a converter guy who is doing the installation along with gas hob etc in July, I’m just making the panel up to save a bit of time, , yes, it seems a fair bit of back and forth cabling might have to happen as
EHU under bonnet
Battery and chargers (3) under passenger SB
Inverter under driver SB (plus diesel heater)
Switches, sockets panel at rear by Waldrobe
Consumer unit in middle cupboard unit under the worktop.
I installed a u shape layout that I then adapted so not the normal set up, hopefully it will all work out ok and we can get down to the Forum summer camp weekend to try it out, relax and have a celebration beer or two
Fingers crossed it will all work

 

[roadtripper]

The Renogy doesn't have a true transfer switch AFAIK - which is why all these devices tend to advertise the functionality as "UPS"

It's safe enough temporarily used and supplying one item plugged directly into it but it's likely not safe being connected to structured wiring in an earth bonded van as you propose.

As @Dellmassive hints at there are very different earth linking requirements between using an inverter on pass through on EHU and using it independently. That's why units designed for this such as Clayton units or inverter/chargers have specific relays to change the bonding when moving between the two situations.

Keep it simple and safe, have separate sockets for EHU and Inverter supplies

A good reference here is Victron Wiring Unlimited in particular understanding section 7 particularly 7.4

 

[Green Giant]

Just doing more research, it seems the Renogy inverters can only pass though 16 amps, I’m guessing this is ok in my case, as the EHU points are 16A.
For larger set ups needing 30A, ie air con etc, the pass though can’t handle it.

 

[Dellmassive]

That's around 3800watts for 16A max.

Tons of power.

i think Renogy does a 1000w and 2000w inverter.

 

[Lucasimo]

" Renogy 1000w inverter under drivers seat, and connect to the 160ah lithium which will be under passenger seat, " - this is how i have mine setup.

you need to use super beefy cable, as above use the cable guide.

1000w full load will easily pull 100A/120A . . . so cable for that and fuse accordingly.

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View attachment 236948

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Nice set up here putting it under the seats. Good to take full advantage of space under passenger bench seat as well. I reckon I'll be going for the same sort of set up in my T6.

I just have a few questions:

1/ Fuse box for circuits from leisure battery

Are you putting all fuses under the seat including the usual circuits to feed LED lighting, usb charger sockets, electronic control and start for potential diesel or gas heater, Fuse for inverter etc? Or having two fuse boxes - one perhaps under seat and another in living area? Just trying to get an idea of what would work best.

2/ EHU socket
I have seen options to have this in the engine bay under the bonnet. This looks to be a good idea as the 240v cable can then be earthed easily at engine bay and then routed through the bulkhead and into the van near to the seats - as there's a grommet here to go through. Is this what you have done on your van? I have also seen a method where the VW badge opens up and a socket is installed under it.

3/ Renogy terminal covers on DC DC controller.

Whilst I really like Renogy kit, the terminal block cover often gets left off on many set ups as the terminals get very clogged up with connections quickly making it difficult/impossible to screw the cover plates down. Did you have additional negative and positive terminal rails connected to the main Renogy terminals to make it easier to connect the terminal lugs to?

 

[DubDavid]

Hi all, following this as will be installing electrics soon. I'm likely going down the Roamer Gen4 230Ah Seatbase route with a 3000w Renogy inverter.

My question is: if the Roamer is in a swivel seat base, given the size of the cable to the inverter, does the inverter need to be attached to the seat too (so swivels with the battery) or is it safe to have the inverter mounted static near the seat and for 2 / 3 AWG cable to regularly flex as the sweat swivels? Also, if ok to mount the inverter static near the seat / regularly flex the cable, any advise to keep this safe as possible?

Ps @Dellmassive and @TallPaul_S thanks for the great write-ups as have enjoyed following them (tons of great info).

 

[TallPaul_S]

Hi all, following this as will be installing electrics soon. I'm likely going down the Roamer Gen4 230Ah Seatbase route with a 3000w Renogy inverter.

My question is: if the Roamer is in a swivel seat base, given the size of the cable to the inverter, does the inverter need to be attached to the seat too (so swivels with the battery) or is it safe for 3 or 4 AWG cable to have the inverted mounted static near the seat and for the cable to regularly flex as the sweat swivels? Also, if ok to mount static near the seat / regularly flex the cable, any advise to keep this safe as possible?

Ps @Dellmassive and @TallPaul_S thanks for the great write-ups as have enjoyed following them (tons of great info).

The seat base on most swivel seats doesn't move, just the seat and mount on top of it. Unless there's a weird swivel seat out there that does (double seat?).

 

[DubDavid]

The seat base on most swivel seats doesn't move, just the seat and mount on top of it. Unless there's a weird swivel seat out there that does (double seat?).

Thanks @TallPaul_S . Ha, no, I'm sure it's not a weird swivel. I've only just got my first van and haven't seen the swivel seats yet, so just assumed the swivel mechanism was between the base and the floor of the van. It's not always easy working stuff out from online photos, hence really appreciate your quick response! Have a super day.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Thanks @TallPaul_S . Ha, no, I'm sure it's not a weird swivel. I've only just got my first van and haven't seen the swivel seats yet, so just assumed the swivel mechanism was between the base and the floor of the van. It's not always easy working stuff out from online photos, hence really appreciate your quick response! Have a super day.

Ha, yeah if they're standard captains (single passenger) seats then the seat base bolts to the van floor, then the seat and swivel mechanism attaches to the base. So all your electrics will fit in the base. Just be aware the 3000w Renogy inverter is huge, I doubt it'll fit on the seat base anywhere. My 2000w renogy inverter just fits on the back of the passenger seat base, with about 20mm to spare between the floor and the seat.

 

[DubDavid]

Ha, yeah if they're standard captains (single passenger) seats then the seat base bolts to the van floor, then the seat and swivel mechanism attaches to the base. So all your electrics will fit in the base. Just be aware the 3000w Renogy inverter is huge, I doubt it'll fit on the seat base anywhere. My 2000w renogy inverter just fits on the back of the passenger seat base, with about 20mm to spare between the floor and the seat.

Thanks for the info. Fully appreciate the 3000w is huge and keen to only go as big as needed. I'm somewhere between the 2000w and 3000w. The 3000w will cover the dual induction at full power (this maxes out at 2800w). However, I can't imagine I'll really need both hobs on full power, so the 2000w will probably be enough in the real world (esp. given it goes to 4000w peak power). I can't find anything in the Renogy manual to say how long it can sustain peak power, so any real world advice here would be great.

Thanks again.

 

[Dellmassive]

In run the 1kw Renogy inverter in the van 24/7.

Due to size it was the only one I could fit in the twin seat base.

It runs everything, and even stuff that other brand inverters don't like.

I also have the 2kw Renogy.

Tested it.

Same as the 1kw, just bigger and more power.... But as above a bigger case size.

The 3kw is same again.... Bigger.

The roamer battery is well matched to them.

I run the roamer sb230 as well.