locostmike Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 Hi folks, I have a live aboard narrowboat with 4+1 batteries and a sterling inverter/charger. My inverter fan keeps coming on. The only thing that is different is that 'Ive recently changed my battery bank. Any thoughts on why this might be? Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grebe Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 Has a high demand piece of equipment been left switched on? Thinking of an immersion heater that is normally run off a mains supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicknorman Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 Are you plugged into shore power (inverter charger in charger mode) or not (inverter charger in inverter mode)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locostmike Posted December 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 There's no immersion, 240 v fridge and freezer are in use as they have been throughout. Yes, it's plugged into a shoreline but the supply has tripped out a few times.........think I might have found my own solution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain_S Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 We have a Sterling inverter, and the standby current is pretty high, about 3.5A. Odd thing is that it draws less when running a small load. Our fan comes on after a few minutes on standby, not really surprising, really as the inverter is in a cupboard,and is dissipating 40 odd Watts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard10002 Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 5 minutes ago, Iain_S said: We have a Sterling inverter, and the standby current is pretty high, about 3.5A. Odd thing is that it draws less when running a small load. Our fan comes on after a few minutes on standby, not really surprising, really as the inverter is in a cupboard,and is dissipating 40 odd Watts. +1 except not in a cupboard Fan often runs when charging batteries as well. I've never thought of it as unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGoat Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 7 minutes ago, Iain_S said: We have a Sterling inverter, and the standby current is pretty high, about 3.5A. Odd thing is that it draws less when running a small load. Our fan comes on after a few minutes on standby, not really surprising, really as the inverter is in a cupboard,and is dissipating 40 odd Watts. I have similar experiences with a sterling charger, an inverter and a inverter charger (not all at the same time). They all do the same. Electronic equipment hates heat - I suspect that Charles S specifically built in an extra bit of cooling to make his kit last longer, full in the knowledge that some of it was likely to be stuffed away where it would get hot.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
system 4-50 Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 Why have you changed your battery bank recently? Have you finished them off by running your inverter off the batteries when you expected to be running off the shoreline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locostmike Posted December 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 We tested the batteries as part of a check to find why my eberspacher wasn't working. The tester showed they were duff. You've made me doubt which setting the inverter was left on, pretty sure it was the "linked to shoreline" option though. Happy to be told if I'm doing something wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmelly Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 There was a stirling combi fitted on my last boat when I purchased it. Used loads of leccy even on standby I got rid of it on fleabay and bought a mastervolt vastly superior and second hand faultless from gumtree for very little money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileypete Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 Sounds like a panel ammeter may be handy, or at least one of those Uni-T (UT203?) handheld clamp meters eg from Amazon UK. Some inverters/combis are 'low frequency' with a great big heavy transformer in, they usually drink current in standby BUT are pretty bulletproof compared to the usual 'high frequency' types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 1 hour ago, smileypete said: (UT203?) Yep. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F232050132333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileypete Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 3 minutes ago, WotEver said: Yep. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F232050132333 Cheers, there's also the UT210E which is smaller and can read lower current: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00V9VL9CC/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 1 minute ago, smileypete said: Cheers, there's also the UT210E which is smaller and can read lower current: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00V9VL9CC/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new The spec on that one suggests it doesn’t measure DC current. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileypete Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 5 minutes ago, WotEver said: The spec on that one suggests it doesn’t measure DC current. Looks like the description is for the non 'E' version of the meter, anyway if buying from China it can be had a bit cheaper than the Amazon fulfilled price: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UNI-T-UT210E-Handheld-RMS-AC-DC-Mini-Digital-Clamp-Meter-Resistance-Capacitance/232012176542 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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