Troubleshooting (Faq) - Projecta PW500 Instructions Manual

SUITABLE POWER SOURCE
In order to operate the inverter and supply power to an appliance a suitable 12V DC power supply is
required, typically a vehicle or caravan battery, portable power pack or an independent 12V lead acid
battery. For most applications, a deep cycle battery is recommended for best performance.
The size of the battery used will determine how long the inverter will supply power to an appliance and
how well the inverter will perform. Most batteries are marked with their size in Amp hours (Ah) or Cold
Cranking Amps (CCA).
Because 12V inverters are capable of drawing high currents the inverter should only be connected to a
suitable size battery. Connection to an undersized battery could damage the battery and will result in the
inverter shutting down within a short period due to low battery voltage.
The amount of power drawn from the battery is proportional to the inverter load.
P/No.
Minimum
recommended
battery size
30 Minutes 500W load on
run time 25Ah battery
Run time with 2.5 hours on
100W load 25Ah battery
Ideal
battery size
TROUBLESHOOTING/FAQ:
Q. Why does the inverter turn itself off?
A. If the inverter's audible alarm sounds and a fault LED illuminates, this indicates that there is a fault or
error, and the inverter may turn off. Most commonly this would be caused by an appliance that is drawing
too much power (overloading), low battery voltage or voltage drop due to insufficient size cables or poor
connections (refer to 'Understanding your Inverter' tables, page 7).
Q. The inverter will not run my appliance even though the appliance draws less power (Watts)
than the size of the inverter?
A. Electrical appliances can be divided into three groups by the way they draw energy (current) from
their power supply. These groups are "Resistive", "Inductive" and "Capacitive" appliances or also called
"loads". Some appliances may draw all three types of power.
Resistive Loads such as normal incandescent lights (wire filament) always draw a constant power
(watts) from the power supply, that is a 100 Watt light will draw approximately 100 Watts from the power
supply at all times. Resistive loads are the easiest appliances for an inverter to run.
Inductive Loads such as a refrigerator (Electric Motor) require a large rush of power (surge current) to
start and then usually draw a more constant power once running. Inductive loads contain coils of wire
(motors, transformers, ballasts, solenoids). When the power is first turned on, these coils of wire draw a
large surge current which forms the magnetic flux (magnetic field) which allows these appliances to work.
This magnetic flux is a kind of stored energy.
The most common inductive appliances are: fridges, air compressors, transformers/chargers, pumps, power
tools and fluorescent lights. These appliances can draw up to 10 times their normal running power to start
up; that is to run a 80W fridge you may need a 600 to 1000 Watt inverter.
10
PW500 PW1100
25Ah 55Ah
1100W load on
55Ah battery
5.5 hours on
55Ah battery
35Ah 75Ah
and above and above
PW1600 PW2100
80Ah
1600W load on 2100W load on
80Ah battery 105Ah battery
8 hours on 10 hours on
80Ah battery 105Ah battery
105Ah
and above and above
PW2700
105Ah 135Ah
2700W load on
135Ah battery
14 hours on
135Ah battery
110Ah 180 Ah
and above