Any advise please?

merl said:
If you're using an inverter with huge loads like your kettle then your batteries need to be top notch.
Assuming you're fully charging your batteries between each attempt do the following:
Using the 600W kettle.
Connect your voltmeter to the batteries and leave the meter connected while you run the kettle, monitor the voltage readings and note the start voltage and the end voltage, ie when the inverter stops working. Also the time between start and finish.
Do the same again but this time connect your meter at the 12V + and - terminals at the inverter.
Report back.
Click to expand...
Hi Merle, I started the inverter and both batteries read 12.8v Switched the 600 Watt kettle on on and it immediately went to 10.1 and the inverter started beeping! The batteries are connected to a solar panel so summat is wrong somewhere... Hope you have some ideas? Sue
 
jagmanx said:
Travel kettles use at least 10 amps but that is OK for a short period and better than 12V to 240v and mega amps
Click to expand...

Is that 10amp at 12v, which is 120w and would take forever,
or 10amp at 230v which is 2300w and not really a travel kettle.

Our travel kettle is 800w so it uses under 4 amps on 230v. This reduces the chances of tripping the site supply.

If we are not on EHU we use the gas kettle.
 
Quite a few years ago my sister gave me a 12V kettle (or drop in cup heater?). Nice thought but it honestly was no use at all.
 
wildebus said:
Quite a few years ago my sister gave me a 12V kettle (or drop in cup heater?). Nice thought but it honestly was no use at all.
Click to expand...
Been there ... Done that... Tried a 12v coffee machine too

Went straight back as useless.

Our small (not travel) 240v 900w kettle in the transit worked well,
Not as quick as the full size beast we have at home BUT didn't need to be on long to boil 2 cups of water.

Pulled a fair chunk out of the battery BUT that's how were set up for all electric cooking.

At the end of the day it takes twice as long to heat the same water using 900w as it does using 1800w (give or take)
 
JonSue said:
Hi Merle, I started the inverter and both batteries read 12.8v Switched the 600 Watt kettle on on and it immediately went to 10.1 and the inverter started beeping! The batteries are connected to a solar panel so summat is wrong somewhere... Hope you have some ideas? Sue
Click to expand...
Hello JonSue,
It does sound like the batteries are possibly defunct. But have you tried charging them up using a battry charger, or hooking them up in plaace of the other one that you say is reading 14.1V?
On-charge they should read around 14V (the actual recommended charge voltage does in fact depend on the type of battery and it's usage scenario (ie.e. for standby usaage or cyclic usage) as well as temperature - so for this exercise don't worry too much about the precise voltage - basically you're looking for above 13.6V.
If you attach one to a known good battery charger, and give it a few hours it should be reading the charger voltage of around 13.9. Disconnect it from the charger and after leaving it to settle for a while (say 1/2 hr) again measure the voltage - it should still be close to the 12.8V you reported.
If you then connect the battery to the inverter, without any load on the inverter, the battery voltage should remain at 12.8V, which again is what you seem to have.
When you put the 600W kettle on, you say the voltage dropped to 10.1V - this does indeed strongly suggest the battery is only worthy of being a doorstop as 10.1V is well below the end point voltage of these batteries!
Out of curiosity, if you leave it connected to the inverter with the kettle on for a short time (say 30secs) and then disconnect it, what is the voltage.

Sorry if this is repeating what you may have already done, but it's imortant to test these batteries individually and using a battery charger eliminates any problems associated with your solar cell contoller.

Also, if you tke the battery to a garage, they can easily do a load test for you which will readily tell you if it's a gonner.

Vern
 
Charger should get them to 14.4 and float about 13.6/7, of charge 12.7v, load test may show them to be nackered.
 
merl said:
If you're using an inverter with huge loads like your kettle then your batteries need to be top notch.
Assuming you're fully charging your batteries between each attempt do the following:
Using the 600W kettle.
Connect your voltmeter to the batteries and leave the meter connected while you run the kettle, monitor the voltage readings and note the start voltage and the end voltage, ie when the inverter stops working. Also the time between start and finish.
Do the same again but this time connect your meter at the 12V + and - terminals at the inverter.
Report back.
Click to expand...
Hi Merl don't know where my reply went to!! I'll try again to reply to you. ...Both Batteries read 12.8v connected 600w kettle -started inverter,voltage immediately dropped to 10.8 on the batteries and the inverter beeped like a scalded cat. Any advice appreciated
 
merl said:
If you're using an inverter with huge loads like your kettle then your batteries need to be top notch.
Assuming you're fully charging your batteries between each attempt do the following:
Using the 600W kettle.
Connect your voltmeter to the batteries and leave the meter connected while you run the kettle, monitor the voltage readings and note the start voltage and the end voltage, ie when the inverter stops working. Also the time between start and finish.
Do the same again but this time connect your meter at the 12V + and - terminals at the inverter.
Report back.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Merl don't know where my reply went to!! I'll try again to reply to you. ...Both Batteries read 12.8v connected 600w kettle -started inverter,voltage immediately dropped to 10.8 on the batteries and the inverter beeped like a scalded cat. Any advice appreciated
 
r4dent said:
Is that 10amp at 12v, which is 120w and would take forever,
or 10amp at 230v which is 2300w and not really a travel kettle.

Our travel kettle is 800w so it uses under 4 amps on 230v. This reduces the chances of tripping the site supply.

If we are not on EHU we use the gas kettle.
Click to expand...
"Proper !2V only Kettle" which used the cigarette lighter socket in a car..Hence the nearly flat battery.

I estimate that it may use 15 amps at 12V so care required,
But 2 x 100AH LBs should cope if they are well charged before and will be recharged as used and after by solar or alternator

15 amos x 20 mins - 5 amp hours...surely no problem.
Not that we use one refillable LPG

BUT miggt be handy in the tunnel but no real need.
 
JonSue said:
Hi Merl don't know where my reply went to!! I'll try again to reply to you. ...Both Batteries read 12.8v connected 600w kettle -started inverter,voltage immediately dropped to 10.8 on the batteries and the inverter beeped like a scalded cat. Any advice appreciated
Click to expand...
Don't want to seem negative but have you a gas ring you can use instead? Our place in Portugal has very limited wattage and even a small kettle trips the supply. Seem to get a big power drain when first turned on?
 
JonSue said:
I have 2 100 amp batteries connected and 1 2000 watt inverter but I can't boil a small kettle for a cup of tea. The inverter just starts Beeping after about a minute and the kettle is just tepid. Testing both batteries show 12.8 v Help
Click to expand...
Just a few comments ref your setup (other ones already made on the thread, but worth recapping)

200Ah of Batteries - can you use with an inverter? Yes, for a short period. With a Battery Bank that size, you should be able to use a kettle without a problem. If you got say a 800W Travel Kettle, you would be drawing around 80A from the battery while running. Kettle that size with 2 mugs worth of water will take upto 6 minutes to boil, taking out around 8Ah from the battery - well within the usable capacity of the battery.
Whether that is a good use of battery power rather than using a gas hob is a decision only you can make, not others (FWIW, I use battery power to boil a kettle and run a microwave, as well as heating my shower water, so I am certainly not saying it is automatically a bad idea).

So why are you not able to do it? two possibilities....
1) Batteries have had it. That would explain it. You would also see a drop in the voltage in general use. How long do the batteries last generally in day to day non-inverter use?
2) Cabling from Battery to Inverter inadequate. If the cable is too light, you will get a large voltage drop and the inverter will complain as you see.
What size cables have you and how long are they. Check the voltage at the battery terminals before you put the kettle and and keep monitoring as the kettle switches on and the inverter starts to beep - what is the voltage just before the beeping starts?

An interesting read is this book from Victron - https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Book-Energy-Unlimited-EN.pdf
It is useful to read generally, and section 6.6 covers a real life analysis of power use when cooking an entire meal via Battery Power.
 
jagmanx said:
But 2 x 100AH LBs should cope if they are well charged before and will be recharged as used and after by solar or alternator

15 amos x 20 mins - 5 amp hours...surely no problem.
Click to expand...
With 2 x 100 ah batteries (nominal) you have 100 ah available.

So 4 brews a day (we have a lot more) will use 20% of the capacity.

Depends what else you use 12v for.

Only you not what is and isn't a problem.
 
An inverter is not an efficient way of heating anything, I’m so surprised that so many posts on here suggest that’s what a lot of people use. What’s wrong with using gas? We are pretty much full time and manage everything we need without an inverter.
 
Ian H 2845 said:
An inverter is not an efficient way of heating anything, I’m so surprised that so many posts on here suggest that’s what a lot of people use. What’s wrong with using gas? We are pretty much full time and manage everything we need without an inverter.
Click to expand...
It can be a, very efficient way if you've got the kit to do it in summer time...

We already had the solar/batteries/inverter...

So effectively free power.
 
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