Inverter Install

My 1575 Watt Cobra inverter arrived by UPS this morning. I had everything I needed except the #4 power cable. I took the top off the dinette seat where it will be installed and measured the distance to the battery. I needed four, maybe five feet of positive and negative cable. I headed downtown to Lordco Auto Supplies where I knew they had the cable and I could get my "Retired Telus" discount.

On the way I passed Madman McKay's, a local electronics store that does custom car stereo systems. I know they use #4 cable for their big amplifiers so I thought I would stop and ask. I told him I needed five feet each of red and black or whatever. He said they had bulk cable and it was $3 per foot, or $30 total. He noticed my frown and said, "Let's see what's in the scrap bin". He went back into the shop and returned with a 16 foot length of blue #4 cable and asked if that would work. I said it sure would as I could mark the negative with black tape. I asked how much and he said, "$10 into the coffee fund, no receipt". He even gave me two ring tips for free. I was a happy guy!

I came home and drilled a couple of holes in the floor, crawled underneath and passed the 12 volt cables up to Norma who pulled the slack up for me. I connected them to the batteries and inverter and turned it on. The lights on the inverter came on so I used a temporary extension cord to plug the fridge, front TV and satellite in. The cooling fan came on for a few seconds and everything worked. It is not fused but I ordered a 200 amp circuit breaker from eBay that I will add when it gets here.

I left them running on the inverter for a couple of hours and all is well. Tomorrow I have to climb back underneath to run 115 volts to the front overhead where the fridge and front TV is as well as to the bedroom where the rear TV and satellite are. I also have to run the remote inverter switch wire to the bedroom and install it near the bed. I am looking forward to testing it this winter.

Life is Good!