Inverter to power refrigerator during power outage

[smkettner]

what is the difference in using to batteries in the setup?

if i use only one batteries with a 100 amp fuse, the dc dc converter will be protected from to much draw with the 100 amp fuse?

2 batteries with help in what way? can you explain to me the difference?

With a 5000 watt inverter you can kill the vehicle 12v battery, max out the DC-DC converter and still run into low voltage shut down. Everything is stressed drawing even half the inverter rating and good luck with surge performance to start a motor.

To properly drive 5000 watt 12v inverter you need 4+ 12v batteries in parallel. Even this could be marginal. If you jump this battery bank to the LEAF or other EV then the vehicle will keep sending power at a reasonable level of 800 to 1000 watts. When you exceed this power level the multiple battery bank will provide most of the power. For extended run at high power you will encounter a low voltage shut down of the inverter.

If you connect to the vehicle with smaller wire such as #6 and 10 to 20 feet away the wire resistance should prevent over loading the small vehicle 12v battery and DC-DC converter. Still need a fuse at about 80 amps just in case. This will allow say to run the fridge continuous and then maybe the microwave for a few minutes to warm your pizza.

The good thing is that you are probably getting a low cost 5000 watt inverter from China that is really only good for 1500 to 1800 watts on a continuous basis. Real 5000 watts will be pulling 450+ amps from the battery.

 

[Enkephalin]

We recently had a power outage lasting 5 days! I used my 2015 Leaf with a 1000W continuous/2000W peak pure sine wave inverter from Amazon Warehouse (Lvyuan no name brand, $70 on Amazon). It worked to power my newer 22 cu ft LG fridge but not a smaller Frigidaire (only about 10 years old). We were also able to simultaneously power various chargers, WiFi router, lights, and a box fan.

The refrigerator rapidly came down to the correct temps. After running 20 hours battery went from 96% to 68%. I was able to recharge at local ChargePoint location before hooking up.

This was a very helpful video:
https://youtu.be/ADqk4IjzjXs

Overall a good solution to extended power outage if you have access to a working charging station.
-J

 

[Oilpan4]

Yeah I figure about 2 or 3 days is all you would get out of a 24kWh leaf.
The problem is the DC to DC converter and the main drive inverter stays powered up, sucking down around 2 amps of drive battery power. If the DC to DC converter and inverter were more efficient it could easily run double that.

I wouldn't plug anything into a cheap power inverter like that.

 

[BrockWI]

While a modified sine wave inverter works for some things, it is hard on motors and other sensitive electronics. I would step up to a true sine wave inverter. Also a true sine wave inverter will reduce consumption on a motor (like a fridge) by about 30% compared to a modified sine wave inverter. That extra 30% consumed turns in to heat in the motor, which the motor doesn't need any extra heat

But it worked for you and saved your fridge contents. Nice!