Inverter

[john eagle]

I checked the voltage on the European inverter plug socket behind the drivers seat and it was only 200 volts
The engine was not running but even so shouldn’t it be reading 240 volts?
voltmeter is ok as it shows 240 volts on my house plug indoors
Battery on the overhead consul is showing over 12 volts.
Any ideas ?

 

[clarinetbcn]

Over 12 volts covers a lot of ground. Here's a little more detail:

 

[TripleBee]

I checked the voltage on the European inverter plug socket behind the drivers seat and it was only 200 volts
The engine was not running but even so shouldn’t it be reading 240 volts?
voltmeter is ok as it shows 240 volts on my house plug indoors
Battery on the overhead consul is showing over 12 volts.
Any ideas ?

As the inverter does not make nice sinewave signals, but block wave, your multimeter may read different. You can hear your adapter buzz when in the inverter. In fact, it's not the best power supply for sensitive electronic devices.

 

[AndyWT]

What does over 12v mean, 12.1 volts is basically a flat battery and will not supply the heavy amperage an inverter needs, look at the battery cables to the inverter, they are rather large...

You need to test the voltage under load as inverters adapt to the load (quality ones), the inverter could be a European type ie 220v but voltage is variable everywhere, 220 or 240v is the RMS value of the actual max AC voltage sine wave.

One would hope VW has fitted a quality pure sine wave inverter, not a modified sine wave, pure sine wave are exactly that a smooth sine wave as per grid power, modified sine wave is a square form more like a alternating PWM signal which is exactly what it is, there is no compromising on inverters, a cheap inverter is a cheap inverter...

I should add don’t mess with intervals of inverters unless you know what you’r doing, they can give you a nasty kick even when disconnected.

 

[john eagle]

I was just checking that I could get power from my inverter when not on hook up. It is a 2017 T6 Cali so I am assuming the inverter from VW is ok.
Maybe I should just plug something in and check it works ok.

 

[EddieEagle]

The inverter runs my telly but won’t charge my toothbrush.
I had to go back to manual brushing on a long trip away.
It does charge phones though.
Something to do with the sine/block wave so assume it’s a cheaper inverter.

 

[Pd.]

OK here goes my first real answer to a question.

I have just checked the voltages on my cali which is on hook up and the continental socket is 231V the 240 V socket is 243 V clearly a miss match. Therefore voltage must be dropping across the inverter plug circuitry I suspect due to the fact it is inverted from 12V. Although having said that 200 V does seem a bit low have you tried it on hook up and what state/charge are the leisure batteries in.

The output you receive at the invertor socket will be subject to the output from the leisure battery, the output depending on the actual battery voltage feeding the invertor. The higher input the higher the huger the output.

I would suggest that you try measuring the output voltages while on hook up and with fully charged leisure batteries, don’t forget that the 240V socket only works when on hook up.

As VW is German I would expect the voltage to be around 220 V, when on hook up in Europe, probably higher in the UK due to the higher initial voltage but this would be at the intake position and not where you measure it due to voltage drop between the point of supply and point of use. My readings seem to support this.

I hope the above is of use.



For an explanation on UK and European voltages read on.

Since January 2003 the UK and Europe harmonised the voltage at a nominal 230v 50 Hz (formerly 240V in UK, 220V in the rest of Europe). So in the UK the standard voltage is now 230V rather than 240 although we all talk about 240Volts.

In truth nothing really changed, a lot of work goes into setting up the voltage to be consistent across the UK and computer programs are used to set this up. Each transformer that supplies at street level usually has 5 (sometimes 3) settings to control its output voltage within set limits.

Before 2003 this was 240 volts + or - 6% after Jan 2003 230V +10% and - 6% if you do the maths then you will see that the highest value the voltage can now be is very slightly more under the new system but quite a bit lower than before and still be within salutatory limits.

Similarly Europe had to change its voltage level in this case up to 230V + 6% and - 10% (i.e. 207.0 V-243.8 V) again no changes required on its system (I understand), although we still talk about the voltage being 220V.

So all is well that ends well and the voltage in the UK and Europe is now aligned at 230V (subject to the voltage range of each country). This means that in reality all equipment used within Europe and the UK must be able to operate at a range of 230V + or - 10%.

 

[MattBW]

The inverter runs my telly but won’t charge my toothbrush.
I had to go back to manual brushing on a long trip away.
It does charge phones though.
Something to do with the sine/block wave so assume it’s a cheaper inverter.

Only a pure sine inverter will work with electric toothbrushes. However we found some toothbrushes that ran from AA batteries which are easy to charge from 12v too.

Charging a phone from 12v will be more efficient on your battery than an inverter I would expect.

 

[AndyWT]

The inverter runs my telly but won’t charge my toothbrush.
I had to go back to manual brushing on a long trip away.
It does charge phones though.
Something to do with the sine/block wave so assume it’s a cheaper inverter.

VW is becoming a cheap Charlie in many areas, hard to justify their image now, is a transporter van (Bob the builder base van) better than a transit today, good question.
It didn’t used to be like this, it’s not like this at the heavy end of the VW empire where I spent 30 years, where trucks are expected to last decades, although this might change under VW’s new setup where VW commercials are now Traton.

If I was looking for a new Crafter I would go to MAN better stocked and better service, truck people understand you need things fixed in a timely manner.
Many years ago I bought my first new T3 from a MAN truck dealer in the UK where MAN looked after VW van distribution.

 

[john eagle]

I checked the voltage on the European inverter plug socket behind the drivers seat and it was only 200 volts
The engine was not running but even so shouldn’t it be reading 240 volts?
voltmeter is ok as it shows 240 volts on my house plug indoors
Battery on the overhead consul is showing over 12 volts.
Any ideas ?

Sorry that should read Inverter behind the passenger seat

 

[markheathcote]

Sorry that should read Inverter behind the passenger seat

Bit late to this thread but the one behind the presenter seat in the kitchen unit is not an inverter, it runs with you are mains hooked up. The inverter one, at least on newer models is down the side of the drivers seat.

 

[WelshGas]

Bit late to this thread but the one behind the presenter seat in the kitchen unit is not an inverter, it runs with you are mains hooked up. The inverter one, at least on newer models is down the side of the drivers seat.

They changed position with the T6.1 , and upgraded it to 300 watts.

 

[JenJ]

They changed position with the T6.1 , and upgraded it to 300 watts.

What can we run off them? How can you determine?
I’m after running a fan not on mains hook up and it’s 50w. Which might be ok, but I don’t know if I need to consider anything else…

 

[Stu@rt]

What can we run off them? How can you determine?
I’m after running a fan not on mains hook up and it’s 50w. Which might be ok, but I don’t know if I need to consider anything else…

I think I'd explore USB or 12v fans if I was you. The inverter is not pure sine wave and you may well have problems trying to run something with a rotary component. Inverters are very inefficient. Converting 12v to 240v and then back again can be a waste of your leisure battery capacity. Try to find 12v or USB alternatives where possible. Your batteries will thank you for it.

Don't get me wrong, it is useful when there is no alternative. I regularly use ours to power our portable projector, so can be very useful for short periods on small appliances.

 

[WelshGas]

What can we run off them? How can you determine?
I’m after running a fan not on mains hook up and it’s 50w. Which might be ok, but I don’t know if I need to consider anything else…

I have a Mains 230v electric fan rated at 50 Watts. Works perfectly off the mains inverter on my T5.1 which is rated at 150watts.
Much more effective than these 12v/USB fans and very quiet.