User Manual

8
Battery Selection
540 watts ÷ 12V = 45 DC Amps
270 Amp-Hours ÷ 55 Amps
Inverter/Charger Rating = 5 Hours Recharge
Select Battery Type
Select “Deep Cycle” batteries to receive optimum performance from your Inverter/Charger. Do not use ordinary car or starting batteries or
batteries rated in Cold Cranking Amps (CCA). If the batteries you connect to the Inverter/Charger are not true Deep Cycle batteries, their
operational lifetimes may be significantly shortened. If you are using the same battery bank to power the Inverter/Charger as well as DC
loads,yourbatterybankwillneedtobeappropriatelysized(largerloadswillrequireabatterybankwithalargeramp-hourcapacity)orthe
operational lifetimes of the batteries may be significantly shortened.
BatteriesofeitherWet-Cell(vented)orGel-Cell/AbsorbedGlassMat(sealed)constructionareideal.6-volt“golfcart”,MarineDeep-Cycle
or8DDeep-Cyclebatteriesarealsoacceptable.YoumustsettheInverter/Charger’sBatteryTypeDIPSwitch(seeConfigurationsection
formoreinformation)tomatchthetypeofbatteriesyouconnectoryourbatteriesmaybedegradedordamagedoveranextendedperiodof
time.Inmanycases,thevehiclebatterymaybetheonlyoneinstalled.Auxiliarybatteriesmustbeidenticaltothevehiclebatteriesifthey
are connected to each other.
Match Battery Amp-Hour Capacity to Your Application
Select a battery or system of batteries that will provide your Inverter/Charger with proper DC voltage and an adequate amp-hour capacity
topoweryourapplication.EventhoughTrippLiteInverter/Chargersarehighly-efficientatDC-to-ACinversion,theirratedoutputcapacities
are limited by the total amp-hour capacity of connected batteries and the support of your vehicle’s alternator if the engine is kept running.
• STEP1:DetermineTotalWattageRequired
Add the wattage ratings of all equipment you will connect to your Inverter/
Charger. Wattage ratings are usually listed in equipment manuals or on
nameplates. If your equipment is rated in amps, multiply that number times AC
utilityvoltagetodeterminewatts.(Example:a¼in.drillrequires2½amps.2½
amps×120volts=300watts.)
Note: Your Inverter/Charger will operate at higher efficiencies at about 75% - 80% of nameplate rating.
• STEP2:DetermineDCBatteryAmpsRequired
Dividethetotalwattagerequired(fromstep1,above)bythebatteryvoltage(12)
to determine the DC amps required.
• STEP 3: Estimate Battery Amp-Hours Required
(for operation unsupported by the alternator)
MultiplytheDCampsrequired(fromstep2,above)bythenumberofhoursyou
estimate you will operate your equipment exclusively from battery power
before you have to recharge your batteries with utility- or generator-supplied
AC power. Compensate for inefficiency by multiplying this numberby1.2.This
will give you a rough estimate of how many amp-hours of battery power (from
one or several batteries) you should connect to your Inverter/Charger.
NOTE! Battery amp-hour ratings are usually given for a 20-hour discharge rate. Actual amp-hour capacities are less
when batteries are discharged at faster rates. For example, batteries discharged in 55 minutes provide only 50% of
their listed amp-hour ratings, while batteries discharged in 9 minutes provide as little as 30% of their amp-hour
ratings.
• STEP 4: Estimate Battery Recharge Required, Given Your Application
You must allow your batteries to recharge long enough to replace the charge
lost during inverter operation or else you will eventually run down your
batteries. To estimate the minimum amount of time you need to recharge your
batteries given your application, divide your required battery amp-hours (from
step3,above)byyourInverter/Charger’sratedchargingamps.
NOTE! For Tripp Lite Inverter/Chargers providing 1000 watts or less of continuous AC power, a full-size battery
will normally allow sufficient power for many applications before recharging is necessary. For mobile applications,
if a single battery is continuously fed by an alternator at high idle or faster, then recharging from utility or generator
power may not be necessary. For Tripp Lite Inverter/Chargers over 1000 watts used in mobile applications, Tripp Lite
recommends you use at least two batteries, if possible fed by a heavy-duty alternator anytime the vehicle is running.
Tripp Lite Inverter/Chargers will provide adequate power for ordinary usage within limited times without the
assistance of utility or generator power. However, when operating extremely heavy electrical loads at their peak
in the absence of utility power, you may wish to “assist your batteries” by running an auxiliary generator or vehicle
engine, and doing so at faster than normal idling.
Example
Tools
300W + 220W + 20W = 540W
¼" Drill
Orbital Sander
Cordless Tool Charger
Appliances
300W + 140W + 100W = 540W
Blender Color TV Laptop Computer
45 DC Amps × 5 Hrs. Runtime
× 1.2 Inefficiency Rating = 270 Amp-Hours