Inverter woes

[1racedude]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this site though my wife has been on for several years.

Was wondering if someone might be able to help me out? We were dry camping last week-end and my lovely espousa asked if she could plug Aunt Maybelle's old toaster into the inverter circuit (it is a usable fixture in the AS as it matches the deco flavor of the trailer - of course, we normally only use it when connected to shore or generator power). I was engrossed in the book I was reading and said yes without really considering the question as carefully as I should have (wives, be kind... most of your husbands listen to your every words with rapt attention).

Obviously, the load was too great and the inverter no longer works.

My question(s) -
Did I burn up the inverter? Shouldn't it have a fuse or circuit breaker protecting it?
If so, I don't seem to be able to find it. There is a circuit breaker on the inverter itself (Model WF 600 TH) but it apparently does nothing when pressed. I've looked for a fuse or breaker between the inverter and batteries but saw nothing. Flipped all the breakers in the converter and checked all the fuses to no avail. Would there be another circuit breaker or fuse I'm missing?

Could I have burned up the remote inverter switch (button with little red light near kitchen sink)?

Batteries are fully charged, all connections are clean and secure.

Nearest reliable AS repair is over a hundred miles 1 way and I'd hate to make the trip if it's something simple I can fix myself, though I probably deserve the drive for being such a dunce.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long message.

Sheepishly, Keith

[Jim Flower]

Go to www.bestconverter.com where you will eventually find an owners manual for your unit. There is internal overload protection for your unit. When my inverter (different brand) did this, I had to wait a while, then I turned it on and off a few times and then it magically started up again. Of course, now I use the propane stove top to burn my toast. Jim

[lewster]

Which inverter do you have? There should be over current protection on the inverter somewhere, be it a fuse or internal/external circuit breaker. In the rare event that you have none of the above, there is a solid chance that your over draw of the inverter's capacity toasted the FET board.

In most circumstances with foreign (read Chinese) made inverters (Xantrex and the like), they are NOT field repairable and the price of a new board rapidly approaches that of a new unit.....in effect making them disposable.

All Magnum inverters and inverter/chargers are made in Everett, WA and are all field repairable.

Good luck!

[1racedude]

Thanks for the replies. All helpful.

We have the factory installed WFC 600 watt inverter (WF-600TH). It's fried. It does have a circuit breaker on it which does nothing (no resistance at all). I also traced wires and crawled under the sofa area to check for additional breakers or fuses.

Found two more fuses and confirmed they were not blown. Pretty sure inverter is shot.

Will take this opportunity to add solar panels, controller, etc., which I've been wanting to do for a few years. Now I have a great excuse since I need to replace the inverter anyway.

Again, thanks for your input guys.

[Jim Flower]

What a terrific opportunity to get yourself some freedom from the shore. Try for min 400W from solar, maybe 2000w inverter(us made, much better quality), 4 AGM batteries and a decent controller. AM Solar has really excellent kits one of which my son used to get his independence. My stuff was installed by CanAm and the system, along with 16" tires, has given me the unfettered ability to roam. Also, from what I have read on this forum, Lewster really provides excellent advice and I would defer to his recommendations instantly. Jim

[1racedude]

Yes it is a great opportunity. Been wanting to do it for a long time. I'm actually getting two 165w panels and 1000w inverter from CanAm. Wanted to stick with just two batteries for space and weight reasons. The panels are slightly concave to fit nicely on the AS shape and are built for bouncing, rattling, rocking and rolling. I've been bugging Jeff Souza from Toscano RV for over a year picking his brain re: solar equipment, specs, etc. His recommendations make sense, the warranties on the CanAm products are longer than I'll probably be alive and he'll be installing it all at a very fair price. I'm actually glad not to be doing the installation myself but was afraid I'd have to for money reasons. Jeff is making it work for us.

Lewster sent an offer for advice, which was greatly appreciated, but I didn't see it until the deed was done. Once we decided to go solar we moved pretty fast since I'd already done research on it and also because we're leaving on a short (5 day) boondocking trip late next week. We'll get to see how the new panels do along the Big Sur coast assuming the fog burns off long enough to get some sun.

Thanks again for all your help.

[wayneskid]

The user manual for you converter is here: http://www.bestconverter.com/assets/...f600manual.pdf