Quote:
Originally Posted by zenstream
Thanks Gary,
Yes, patience is one of many things I'm learning with the AS
BTW, I had 350 watts of solar panels installed by the dealer plus a 3000 watt pure sine Xantrex inverter but for some reason can't seem to run a 1600 watt appliance when dry camping. First time this happened it was the fuse but now it is something else. Could be another operator error but am taking it back to my dealer next month when in Colorado.
All the best,
Rob
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Rob, while your Xantrex Freedom has the capacity to run 3000 watts, the reserve in the batteries likely won't be sufficient, as the absolute maximum they can recharge from solar is 350 watts (in reality, it will be somewhat less, depending on the angle of the sun, etc). When you attempt to run the larger load (1600 watts), the draw on your batteries causes them to heat, and the thermal sensor from the Xantrex which is attached to the battery post will shut it down.
I had tried a similar thing this past January while camping in the Mohave Desert. The sun was strong and I decided to heat up a bowl of soup in the microwave instead of on the stove. I noticed that the current draw was 134 amperes (I have the Xantrex Freedom 3000 charger inverter with the remote control panel). My 4 AGM batteries really didn't survive that, as the heat from the heavy draw caused some water vapor to exit the relief valve, thereby reducing the batteries' capacity. That night I lost all power and the batteries dropped to 3.7 volts. 4 days later I was at Interstate of Las Vegas shelling out another $1,200 to replace the 4 AGM batteries.