DIY 2000 watt Inverter Question

[Prickly Pear]

pros and cons to both.

since a jump start would definitely be a ton of current coming down the factory cabling between the jump point and the hybrid 12V battery, I'm sure it's overengineered for the load. but I'm also confident that's a long enough run that it would be more efficient to connect directly to the positive terminal on the 12V.

the other issue is if something were to fail with the inverter having a high current device in the cabin is less desirable than having it in the engine bay. if it melts, it's stinky, if it's on fire it could be much more serious.

Good point on the jump points - it's not like using a cigarette lighter socket. I'm not looking to run power equipment on the job site - just intrigued at being able to use the Mav for spot emergencies as we have occasional power outages - usually in the middle of the night when I don't want to have to go and dig out the generator.

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[JohnCondren1933]

that is insane, yes. an inverter that size in the cab wired into the tiny OEM battery sounds like a fire waiting to happen. just because you see it in a youtube video doesn't mean it's a good idea. hell, I've seen a wood burning stove in a civic.

Spoiler: civic

I would buy a generator, put it in the bed of the maverick when needed if you need that kind of output. if you do it infrequently and frequently need a lot less current, then the battery packs with trickle chargers make more sense. here's a good comparison: https://vanlife.4x4tripping.com/202...e-power-stations-solar-generator-storage.html

There is a HUGE difference in safe wiring & inverter capacity, for Ecoboost vs Hybrid Maverick.

Your comments are somewhat valid for EB (non-hybrid) inverter wiring.

The hybrid 12VDC battery is not charged by a starter-motor, it is charged by the 460VDC traction battery, which is charged by the hybrid "transmission" which is a parrallel-coupled electric motor-generator.

The hybrid-electric powertrain 12VDC battery charging circuit can provide significantly higher charging current over a standard Ecoboost ICE alternator, the hybrids 460VDC battery charges the 12VDC battery with a step-down transformer, protected by I believe a 200 amp fuse.

For the hybrid drive, you are connecting your inverter to the same 12VDC charging circuit, in parallel (basically like adding a separate 12VDC battery in parallel so the traction battery is charging both the 12VDC battery as well as your inverter).

The way to be safe is to isolate your new inverter from the rest of the existing 12VDC charging circuitry, by wiring in a fuse-block inline with your new 120V inverter, for an amperage less than or equal to the fuse protecting the existing 12VDC battery. Then if the drill you power by your new inverter shorts to ground because you dropped it in a bucket of water, the inverter charging circuit is broken by its dedicated fuse.

If you really want to be careful you wire in an inline diode at each cable that only allows electron flow + to - or opposite, so accidentally reversing polarity on a battery bank (or a worst case massive inverter failure) will not hurt your hybrid power train

 

[MakinDoForNow]

There is a HUGE difference in safe wiring & inverter capacity, for Ecoboost vs Hybrid Maverick.

Your comments are somewhat valid for EB (non-hybrid) inverter wiring.

The hybrid 12VDC battery is not charged by a starter-motor, it is charged by the 460VDC traction battery, which is charged by the hybrid "transmission" which is a parrallel-coupled electric motor-generator.

The hybrid-electric powertrain 12VDC battery charging circuit can provide significantly higher charging current over a standard Ecoboost ICE alternator, the hybrids 460VDC battery charges the 12VDC battery with a step-down transformer, protected by I believe a 200 amp fuse.

For the hybrid drive, you are connecting your inverter to the same 12VDC charging circuit, in parallel (basically like adding a separate 12VDC battery in parallel so the traction battery is charging both the 12VDC battery as well as your inverter).

The way to be safe is to isolate your new inverter from the rest of the existing 12VDC charging circuitry, by wiring in a fuse-block inline with your new 120V inverter, for an amperage less than or equal to the fuse protecting the existing 12VDC battery. Then if the drill you power by your new inverter shorts to ground because you dropped it in a bucket of water, the inverter charging circuit is broken by its dedicated fuse.

If you really want to be careful you wire in an inline diode at each cable that only allows electron flow + to - or opposite, so accidentally reversing polarity on a battery bank (or a worst case massive inverter failure) will not hurt your hybrid power train

It's been posted that the dcdc converter is rated 265 amps continuous and has a 300 (slightly more than that, I think) amp fuze.

 

[colinl]

There is a HUGE difference in safe wiring & inverter capacity, for Ecoboost vs Hybrid Maverick.

Your comments are somewhat valid for EB (non-hybrid) inverter wiring.

The hybrid 12VDC battery is not charged by a starter-motor, it is charged by the 460VDC traction battery, which is charged by the hybrid "transmission" which is a parrallel-coupled electric motor-generator.

The hybrid-electric powertrain 12VDC battery charging circuit can provide significantly higher charging current over a standard Ecoboost ICE alternator, the hybrids 460VDC battery charges the 12VDC battery with a step-down transformer, protected by I believe a 200 amp fuse.

For the hybrid drive, you are connecting your inverter to the same 12VDC charging circuit, in parallel (basically like adding a separate 12VDC battery in parallel so the traction battery is charging both the 12VDC battery as well as your inverter).

The way to be safe is to isolate your new inverter from the rest of the existing 12VDC charging circuitry, by wiring in a fuse-block inline with your new 120V inverter, for an amperage less than or equal to the fuse protecting the existing 12VDC battery. Then if the drill you power by your new inverter shorts to ground because you dropped it in a bucket of water, the inverter charging circuit is broken by its dedicated fuse.

If you really want to be careful you wire in an inline diode at each cable that only allows electron flow + to - or opposite, so accidentally reversing polarity on a battery bank (or a worst case massive inverter failure) will not hurt your hybrid power train

perhaps go back and read the context of the post that I was replying to 2+ years ago, to start.

secondly there are pros and cons to every solution. besides giving up passenger space, the main drawbacks of a huge inverter in the cabin are that you'd need a very heavy gauge cable to use all of it in the bed, probably 1/0, and the second being waste heat and fan noise.

that's in addition to the fire risk, which is not trivial in general, but especially if someone buys a cheap no-name product.

one of the original use cases for this was to be an alternative for a gas generator. in that, it's very poorly suited, but people enjoy fiddling with things.

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