Inverter shutting itself down

Hi everyone, I have installed the following solar system on my camper:

  • Ridge Ryder 160W mono solar panel
  • 30A PWM charge controller
  • 102Ah Deep Cycle Battery
  • Ridge Ryder 1000w PSW Inverter

Right now, I only have a 70L bar fridge installed, with a rating of 60W power - 220 ~240V. However, the inverter has been shutting itself down after 10 to 20 min, and not turning back on by itself. Has anyone had this same kind of issue with the inverter? Any thoughts on why it’s happening, or tips?

Thanks,

Felipo

Greetings!

The biggest problem is your system isn’t complete, and instead of solar coming last, if at all, you did that first. Solar s optional, more reliable charging methods are not.

A proper system charges the house battery(s) while driving FIRST, then by either a generator or shore power as a second choice, and solar only if you have money to burn. If you do solar, for a 100ah house battery you want at least 300-400 watts of solar panels, but even then you’ll need the other choices because solar can not be relied upon, especially in the winter when the days are short and frequently cloudy.

The odds are your inverter is drawing power constantly, even when not in use. There is a way to turn the inverter on and off so that it is only on when the fridge is running, but a smaller inverter would actually be more efficient. Most people choose simple ice chests or fuel powered fridges because electric/battery powered ones are just too big of energy hogs. The 3-way fridges offer the best of all worlds, battery powered while driving, and shore power or fuel powered when camped. 3-way fridges can be found used pretty cheap, but they do require outside venting. I just use an ice chest myself, simple, cheap, foolproof, and no added heat inside during the summer, plus I don’t believe in adding any extra holes in my van for any reason.

I gave up on solar and don’t use an inverter. Everything is 12v only. On the rare occasion that I need shore power, I can power up my generator and have all that I need. 99% of the time, just driving keeps my house battery charged, for the other 1% I use my generator with a battery charger that can also be used on shore power. The generator and battery charger combo also allow me to charge or jump start my starter battery if the need ever arises, but they get the most use charging the dead batteries of people who rely on solar. My cheapie, no name inverter generator cost $99, and the battery charger cost $29. The generator will run for up to 8 hours on a single gallon of gasoline.

There is also a good possibility that you have killed your house battery by abuse. Solar only is extremely hard on batteries. These days I get used, but nearly new, deep cycle batteries at junkyards dirt cheap, like under $20, and since I use proper charging methods, they’ll last 5-7 years.

Cheers!


"I can live like a king because I work like a dog." ~ An anonymous vandweller


The inverter is likely powering down due to low voltage (ie, low voltage disconnect). The low voltage is due to the battery being overdrawn, undercharged, or both.

I agree with these points made by Van_Dweller:

Any method (or combination) that charges the batteries to manufacturer’s specs is fine. As long as those criteria are met none are harder on batteries than the other.

Is this the controller? Do you have it set to your battery type? (flooded, agm, gel?) Here’s the manual.

Inverters are also traditionally wired straight to the battery, and not to the controller’s LOAD output.

You have to choose inverter generator wisely, which help to fulfill all requirements. You can check every details of inverter at inverterreview. com.

If i had to make any guesses I would say that you have a bad ground or a short that is draining your system

Have you had any luck since this post?