Inverter Battery Issue, having trouble with batteries discharging rapidly

Power Inverter Working Principle

Inverters, in their most basic form, operate similar to battery chargers in reverse: they take 12vDC power from a battery and run it through modern circuitry to change it into 120vAC current.

Whether your power inverter needs to be wired to your car battery depends on the model of the inverter and what you intend to run with it. For electrical loads up to 200 watts, the power-inverter can be plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter. This allows you to power laptop computers, small power tools, most small appliances, and even a small (13") TV directly through the cigarette lighter. If you want to power larger equipment, or if you want to run more than one item at a time, a direct connection to your car battery is necessary. Generally, if you intend to power loads of more than 200 watts, your inverter should be direct-wired to the battery to ensure safe operation.

To find how long your battery’s charge will last with any given inverter, use this formula:

Take the wattage being used (400W) divided by the battery voltage (12 Volts) to see how many amps are being drawn from the inverter: 400 Watts/12 Volts = 33.33 Amps.  Inverters only convert power at around 90% efficiency, so that means the inverter is really drawing around 37 amps (33.33 Amps / .90 = 37 Amps).  A typical car battery has a reserve capacity of about 80 minutes (80 minutes @ 25 Amps). So if you are drawing 37 Amps with the 400W inverter it will completely discharge the battery in 54 minutes ((80 minutes * 25 Amps) / 37 amps = 54 minutes).

A few types of alarms and their causes:

Low or no output voltage from the inverter

1. Poor contact at terminals. Unhook and re-hook the 12-volt connections, and try again.
2. Using incorrect type of voltmeter to test output voltage. Use a true RMS reading meter.

Blowing up of inverter fuse

Your power inverter is fitted with 25-amp spade type fuses, which should not have to be replaced under normal operating circumstances. A blown fuse is usually caused by reverse polarity or a short circuit within the appliance or equipment being operated.

If the fuse does blow:

   1. Disconnect the appliance or equipment immediately.
   2. Find the source of the problem, and repair it.
   3. Install the new fuse (supplied with your power inverter.)

Please do not install a fuse higher than 25-amps, as this may damage the inverter. Make sure to correct the cause of the blown fuse before using the inverter again.

The low battery alarm is constantly on

1. The input voltage is below 11 volts. Recharge or replace battery to maintain adequate power input.
2. Poor or weak battery condition. Recharge or replace battery.
3. Inadequate power being delivered to the inverter or excessive voltage drop. Check the condition of your cigarette lighter socket. Clean or replace if necessary.

How To Connect your Inverter
Make sure the ON/OFF rocker switch is in the OFF (0) position. (If connecting in a vehicle, remove the cigarette lighter from its outlet.)  Push the 12-volt power plug firmly into the outlet.  Switch the inverter rocker switch to the ON (I) position. The LED indicator light should glow GREEN verifying the inverter is receiving power.  Turn the inverter rocker switch to the OFF (0) position. (The GREEN LED power indicator light may flash briefly and/or the internal speaker may make a brief "beep." This is normal).  Make sure that the appliance to be operated is turned OFF. Plug the appliance into one of the two AC outlets.  Turn the inverter rocker switch to the ON (I) position.  Turn the appliance on.

The LED Indicator briefly flashing when you first turn the inverter ON, is a sign if that there is a short circuit within the power supply.  Turn the inverter OFF.  Remove the 12-volt plug from the cigarette lighter socket.  Firmly re-insert the plug.  Turn the inverter ON again.  If this does not remedy the problem try using a different 12-volt power source.

Using the Inverter to Operate a TV or Audio Appliance
The inverter is shielded and filtered to minimize signal interference. Despite this, some interference may occur with your television picture, especially with weak signals. Below are some suggestions to try and improve reception.

Make sure the television antenna produces a clear signal under normal operating conditions (i.e., at home plugged into a standard 110 AC wall outlet). Also, ensure that the antenna cable is adequately shielded and of good quality.
Try altering the positions of the inverter, antenna cables, and television power cord.  Add an extension cord from the inverter to the TV so as to isolate its power cord and antenna cables from the 12-volt power source.
Try coiling the television power cord and the input cables running from the 12 -volt power source to the inverter.  Affix one or several "Ferrite Data Line Filters" to the television power cord. Ferrite Data Line Filters can be purchased at most electronic supply stores including Radio Shack - Part Number 273-105.  Try grounding the inverter with an 18 AWG (minimum) wire, using as short a length as possible.

Safety Features

The LED Indicator light will turn from GREEN to RED and the inverter will automatically turn itself off when:
   1.  The power input from the battery drops to approximately10 volts. (When the power input drops to
        approximately 10.5 volts, an alarm will sound for an extended period).
   2.  The power input from the battery exceeds 15 volts.
   3.  The continuous load demand from the equipment or appliance being operated exceeds the inverter’s power capability.
   4.  The case temperature exceeds 145 ºF.

Tips on how to recognize if it is Occasion for any Fresh Automotive Battery pack

Batteries do not exhibit visible changes as part of usage; they look the same when fully charged or empty, new or old and in need of replacement. A car tire, in comparison, distorts when low on air, shows signs of wear, and indicates end-of-life when the treads are worn. Batteries should receive the same treatment as a critical aircraft part, a medical device and an industrial machine where wear and tear falls under strict maintenance guidelines. A battery behaves like a living organism that is swayed by conditions such as state-of-charge (SoC), charge and discharge events, rest periods and age. In addition, a battery with low SoC behaves similarly to a pack exhibiting capacity loss and these two symptoms become a blur.

The leading health indicator of a battery is capacity; a measurement that represents the actual energy storage. A new automotive battery delivers (should deliver) 100 percent of the rated capacity. Lead acid starts at about 85 percent and increases in capacity through use before the long and gradual decrease begins. Lithium-ion starts at peak and begins its decline immediately, albeit very slowly, while nickel-based batteries need priming to reach full capacity when new or after a long storage.

Manufacturers base device specifications on a new battery, but this is only a temporary state and does not represent a battery in real life situations. Performance will decrease with use and time, and the loss caused by battery handling will only become visible after the shine of a new device has worn off and daily routines are taken for granted. 

Few people know when to replace battery; some are replaced too early but most are kept too long. When asking battery users: “At what capacity do you replace the battery?” most would reply in confusion: “I beg your pardon?” Few are familiar with the term capacity as a measurement of run time, and even less as a threshold when to retire them. Performance loss only becomes apparent when breakdowns begin to occur and the battery becomes a nuisance.

Battery retirement depends on the application. Organizations using battery analyzers typically set the replacement threshold at 80 percent. There are applications where the battery can be kept longer and a toss arises between “what if” and economics. Some scanning devices in warehouses can go as low as 60 percent and still provide a full day’s work. A starter battery in a car still cranks well at 40 percent. Engine-starting only requires a short discharge that is replenished while driving, but letting the capacity go much lower may get the driver stranded without warning. No one gets hurt if a battery cuts off a phone call, but a failing medical device can put a patient at risk. Running out of power in an industrial application can also incur high logistic costs.

The best indicator for battery retirement is checking the spare capacity after a full shift.  A battery should have 10 to 20 percent spare at the end of a day to cover unknowns and emergencies. If the lowest performing battery in the fleet comes back with 30 percent, then the target capacity can safely be lowered from 80 percent to 70 percent. 

Battery manufacturers like SF Sonic provide car batteries online to prevent any inconvenience to the users. So once you understand that it’s time for a replacement, you just have to login for your online car battery.

Best battery for all commercial vehicles with a very high power requirement

A four wheeler battery, be it for car or truck, operates by means of sleek plates that offer greater surface area with an idea to create greater power for your car to run. Car and truck batteries are potent sources of power that determine the caliber for four wheelers. Making the right decision about the choice of a battery is what ensures the performance of your car. Talking about a truck or car battery, the first name that strikes is SF Sonic. Four wheeler batteries of SF Sonic are always preferred for the durability as well as for the active service available for their maintenance. One of the frontrunners in the battery trade, the range of SF Sonic heavy vehicle batteries has been given special emphasis for being economical and superior at the same time. Most battery reviews highlight these advantages of SF Sonic. 

Essential characteristics of SF Sonic Car and Truck batteries

• Survive the worst of road conditions: If you are suddenly left to any kind of impediments on road, be sure to overcome those with your car having a SF Sonic battery.
• Unbelievable power for prompt ignition: With a SF Sonic battery in it, your four wheeler’s system promptly spontaneously responds to every attempt of starting it.
• Shields against all kinds of jerks and shocks: The understandable unevenness of Indian roads will not let your car falter when you have a SF Sonic battery in it.
• Designed judiciously to last longer: SF Sonic truck batteries have been structured keeping in mind the need to run longer than usual.
• Excellent capacity to start and resist: Conditioned to all the harshness of external factors, your car will stand up to all the oddities with better resilience with a SF Sonic battery.
• Easy for usage and maintenance: SF Sonic four wheeler batteries are very convenient to use and deal with. It is advisable to stick to them for better yields in future.
• Factory-charged for instant performance: A car with SF Sonic battery is sure to give you desired performance as it comes in the factory-charged state.

The maintenance of battery

For every vehicle, maintenance is an extremely significant concept. The major part of the maintenance procedure involves handling of batteries in the most proper way. To preserve your vehicle in a working condition for long, the most important step is to wisely choose the right battery for it. Though this partially addresses your concern of sustaining a car or truck battery, it does not totally solve the problem. Battery maintenance is a meticulous process, if done in the accurate way. Each of us is aware that the better a battery is maintained the healthier it proves for your vehicle. Thus, keeping the battery in the right state for a longer period of time is actually beneficial for your vehicle. This is the reason the battery maintenance services have gone through a lot of revisions in the recent past. Most of the manufacturers of automotive batteries have introduced the convenience of free battery maintenance. There are also facilities of emergency support provided by many of these battery manufacturers. Just a call to them during any auto electrical failure is enough to sort out the issue. The battery price hike in recent times is because of the inclusion of maintenance services. Such impromptu services are sure to get your vehicle out of problems, be it in starting the vehicle or just a battery concern.   

The more improved Dual Four Wheeler Batteries

Many battery manufacturers launched the facility of a Dual Battery System. Sharp contrasts to the flooded batteries of truck, Dual Batteries are the next best invention in this sphere. Unlike the flooded batteries that act as a source of energy for ignition as well as electric vehicles, the new Dual Battery System operates on two AGM batteries to put the engine on start along with two GEL batteries for electric vehicles. This stands as an enhanced technology that prudently works for the best possible performance. The Orbital batteries provide maximum power as far as cranking of the engine is concerned. As soon as the engine starts functioning they get recharged and stop working. Again when the engine is put off, power gets supplied through the GEL Batteries. It is during this time period that that the AGM batteries become abundantly recharged.

Four wheeler batteries selection from India's four wheeler battery manufacturers

How does a battery work?

An object that stocks energy to be used for future is called battery. The actual mechanism of a battery is the conversion of chemical energy into electricity by making use of a galvanic cell. At times the process can also involve the use of more than one galvanic cell. Batteries are the storing points of electric energy. With the alteration of the chemicals in the battery, electrical energy is radiated and stored but never produced. There is a continuous recurrence of the mentioned process in case of rechargeable batteries. However, a lead acid battery works with lead oxide as positive and pure lead as negative. Be it an automobile battery, an inverter battery or an UPS battery, the worth lies in the supply of power.  

Importance of battery

Owning a vehicle always leaves us with the concern of its performance. It is an open secret that performance of a vehicle is mostly dependent on the battery it operates on. The most important part of a car is its battery. It’s the strength of the battery that defines the strength of the car. In other words if you want to keep your car running, you got to choose the right kind of battery. Followed by that comes the most important part of its maintenance. It is quite understandable that the longer the battery lives the better your car survives. However, in the recent years, car battery service in our country has gone through robust transformations. Lots of battery manufacturers also bring the offer of free battery maintenance. Sometimes just getting the battery registered with the manufacturers guarantees long term maintenance for your car battery. This includes the responsibility of systematic checking of the battery as well as battery exchange and buying. Some manufacturers are kind enough to the offer emergency service facilities that address auto electrical emergencies of vehicles, no matter where and when. 

As crucial it is to know the exact manner of up keeping a 4 wheeler battery, equally significant it is to be aware of the right way of battery handling. Mismanagement of batteries can lead to undesirable hazards.       

Choosing batteries

Batteries are the raw source of power that sets your four wheelers rolling on the roads. Choosing the right batteries with strength and quality is what makes your vehicle run longer.  The performance level of the battery does not only depend on its consistency but also on a regular process of checking. Therefore battery maintenance becomes as important as choosing it. The idea of registering your battery with the company from where it is bought is the wisest way to keep it safe. This not only means getting all your automobile issues addressed but also getting requisites like battery recharge or battery replacement in place. 

Maintaining Batteries

The need of maintaining a four wheeler battery lies with its life expectancy. Regular checks of the battery by following some easy steps would surely make your automobile battery run longer:

• The battery should be safely placed to the cradle as well as the connection between the cable clamps and lead wire should be rightly done.
• The battery should be kept clean and dry. No use of grease should be done. Use of petroleum jelly in the cable clamps and terminals will help keep them lubricated.
• Acid is barred. Distilled water could be used to maintain the level to the maximum.
• The vent plugs should always be tightly closed.
• Vent hose in the battery should never be damaged or crumpled by the exhaust system.
• Vehicle’s electrical system should be kept under regular checks. Examining the regulator voltage setting is also necessary.
• Frequent battery servicing from the nearest authorized dealer is important.

Servicing of batteries

The best car or truck batteries is the one which comes with the warranty of their manufacturers. Buying battery is always easy, one can either opt to buy online or visit the nearest car battery store to get hold of a battery of choice. However, the problem starts when there is any kind of battery failure. In such a case it is good to avail at hand services made available by many battery manufacturers across our country. Now days there are many exclusive stores that facilitate superior and multifarious service assistances. Such utility stores extend end to end power solutions by means of some great products and unique services. The conveniences extended by showrooms are always beneficial for people who seek one stop solutions for their problems.