
soundsk
VIP Member
- Messages
- 92
- Location
- Portugal
Hi,
For a while now I've joked about having a Nespresso coffee machine in the van. Well, last Christmas my mother-in-law gave me one, for the van.
Of course I didn't want to be limited to being plugged in to 220V from a campsite, so I ordered a 1500/3000W pure sine wave power inverter from Germany.
The coffee machine is rated at around 1200W, and it should be for short periods, just enough to make three or for espressos, at most.
The power cable it came with wasn't long enough, so I went to the nearest store and bought the only "audio amplifier install cable kit" I could find. It came with enough length, it's about the same gauge as the cables the inverter came with, and the positive lead comes with an in-line fuse holder with a 30A fuse in place.
Anyone care to guess what happened to the fuse as soon as I turned the coffee machine on? Yes, it blew.
Not unexpected, I was counting on it, 30A would never be enough.
What did surprise was the clock on the camping controller resetting. I did not have the engine running.
My question is - with the proper fuse in place, of course - can the inverter cause damage to the battery?
Should I have the engine running when the inverter is drawing so much power, and can this cause any damage to the alternator or is the alternator "strong" enough for this?
This is how I installed it - connected to the rear battery, as to not make any holes or permanent changes to the van itself:
Cheers!
For a while now I've joked about having a Nespresso coffee machine in the van. Well, last Christmas my mother-in-law gave me one, for the van.
Of course I didn't want to be limited to being plugged in to 220V from a campsite, so I ordered a 1500/3000W pure sine wave power inverter from Germany.
The coffee machine is rated at around 1200W, and it should be for short periods, just enough to make three or for espressos, at most.
The power cable it came with wasn't long enough, so I went to the nearest store and bought the only "audio amplifier install cable kit" I could find. It came with enough length, it's about the same gauge as the cables the inverter came with, and the positive lead comes with an in-line fuse holder with a 30A fuse in place.
Anyone care to guess what happened to the fuse as soon as I turned the coffee machine on? Yes, it blew.
Not unexpected, I was counting on it, 30A would never be enough.
What did surprise was the clock on the camping controller resetting. I did not have the engine running.
My question is - with the proper fuse in place, of course - can the inverter cause damage to the battery?
Should I have the engine running when the inverter is drawing so much power, and can this cause any damage to the alternator or is the alternator "strong" enough for this?
This is how I installed it - connected to the rear battery, as to not make any holes or permanent changes to the van itself:


Cheers!