Renogy inverter and washing machine load

[SIT4]

Hi All,

I don't post on here much but wanted to ask the learned here, and especially Renogy owners:

I have a Fogstar 315ah 12v battery kit which i just built (and very good it is ,Great company, products and value)
I built a mobile batteryunit into a peli case with a renogy 2000w inverter and was testing it out on some household items
to see what its capable of. Everything works fine within its capacity but i tried a washing machine and thought that it couldn't
be more than a 1500w pull when the heater is on. What happened was the washing machine reported an F1 error code suggesting a short
circuit ? Obviously there was no short circuit but it didn't like the renogy inverter running it and the machine didn't cut out but refused to go further in the cycle.

So the question is is it a simple case of not enough surge power for spikes on tap ? The Renogy has a 4000w surge rating so can't imagine that.
Or something else which it doesn't like, maybe to do with the motor or circuitry in the washing machine ? The washing machine is an Indesit
about 3 years old. Running on a 30 degree cycle, if that makes a difference to power draw. The only other issue i thought was that i am running a
15m extension lead and there will no doubt be voltage drop but i didn't expect what happened.

Any ideas here on what it might be and if its a problem with the renogy type of inverter.

Thanks all

Si

 

[Howzat]

My washing machine is a 2k element and the motor 300w.
Is the inverter a pure sine? Some appliences bawk if its a modified sine.

 

[SIT4]

My washing machine is a 2k element and the motor 300w.
Is the inverter a pure sine? Some appliences bawk if its a modified sine.

It is

 

[Pauly]

My guess would be the F1 code is erroneous and perhaps the electronics dont like the sine wave being supplied or the voltage dipped to low for its liking maybe ?

 

[Dellmassive]

Hi All,

I don't post on here much but wanted to ask the learned here, and especially Renogy owners:

I have a Fogstar 315ah 12v battery kit which i just built (and very good it is ,Great company, products and value)
I built a mobile batteryunit into a peli case with a renogy 2000w inverter and was testing it out on some household items
to see what its capable of. Everything works fine within its capacity but i tried a washing machine and thought that it couldn't
be more than a 1500w pull when the heater is on. What happened was the washing machine reported an F1 error code suggesting a short
circuit ? Obviously there was no short circuit but it didn't like the renogy inverter running it and the machine didn't cut out but refused to go further in the cycle.

So the question is is it a simple case of not enough surge power for spikes on tap ? The Renogy has a 4000w surge rating so can't imagine that.
Or something else which it doesn't like, maybe to do with the motor or circuitry in the washing machine ? The washing machine is an Indesit
about 3 years old. Running on a 30 degree cycle, if that makes a difference to power draw. The only other issue i thought was that i am running a
15m extension lead and there will no doubt be voltage drop but i didn't expect what happened.

Any ideas here on what it might be and if its a problem with the renogy type of inverter.

Thanks all

Si

the 315ah Fogstar kit comes with a 200A BMS.

Renogy recommend 100ah per 1000w of inverter. (100A)

that battery will give you 200A/350A MAX in surge.. . .


id imagine, with the volt drop over the cables to the inverter, that the battery cant deliver enough power to allow the inverter to peak surge,

meaning that the invert output will sag . . . possibly causing the washing machine to give you F1 fault.


try adding in additional battery/s to add more power capacity to to the bank and re-test.


+++++++++++++++++++++

what cables are you using from battery to inverter?

what gauge? - 90mm2?

how long are the cables?


++++++++++++++++++++++

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1347/0997/files/Maintenance_instruction_of_Smart_BMS_with_Active-Balancer-V2.1_compressed.pdf?v=1699877864

 

[SIT4]

Thanks for all the thoughts on this so far.

Dellmassive i think you might be right about the voltdrop although i am surprised how much the washing machine can draw in power even at lower temperature washes. As for cabling i have two of the supplied cables which Renogy give you with the inverter. I am guessing 20mm2 x 2 for each side. I was gonna buy new cables anyhow as am just testing everything at this stage. Do you really think i would need 90mm2 ? I was gonna do 50mm2 which covers 345amps. surely thats enough to cover me ?

 

[Dellmassive]

The fatness of the cables old depends on the length of the run.

The cables that renogy supply in the inverter box are pants by all accounts. I've never used them.

Peak loads and surges can be very fast, so you might not see the boat drop on a multimeter.... You might need a scope meter or something else to catch the vault drop.

Also sometimes things just don't work with other things.... It may be the case that that washing machine just doesn't like working with that renegy inverter.

I run a 1000 watt energy inverter in my van at the minute.... And it will run most things.... But it does get upset when I've got battery chargers plugged into it and they all kick in at the same time causing a slight blip.... That then triggers the inverter peak load alarm.

 

[Dellmassive]

As you mentioned 90 mm squared might be a bit beefy.

Thicker cable is always better when you're dealing with high DC currents,

the 3kVA Victron inverter I run in the bus calls for twin 70 mm squared cables or a single 90 mm squared cable.... And that has the capacity to serge up to 6kVA for a short burst

 

[SIT4]

Yeah the renogy cables are a bit crap. also very stiff and requires 4 cables with what they supplied so way too much on a run. I'll buy quality 50mm2 flexible cables on a short run and see how i get on. Might also try moving the battery and running with no extension lead to see how it does with that.

 

[SIT4]

I have a couple more questions while we are on the subject.

Del you said that your inverter has problems with battery chargers, do you mean ones for power tools with lithium ion batteries ? I have a few of those and was planning to charge them up yet the Renogy site does say not to charge portable power packs on their inverters. I wonder why that is ?

Secondly, if the issue i have here is related to the Renogy type inverters do you think that a Victron inverter which uses beefy transformers will fare better ?

 

[Alster]

@SIT4 most Indesit washing machines have a 1.7 or 2 kw heater + around 500w when the motor starts. F01 is a motor triac fault on the main board but indesits can be a bit hit and miss with error codes! I would think it’s either low voltage or it doesn’t like the supply (not clean enough). Also was it earthed properly- if it’s an inverter motor poor earthing can throw up all sorts of problems!

 

[SIT4]

most Indesit washing machines have a 1.7 or 2 kw heater + around 500w when the motor starts. F01 is a motor triac fault on the main board but indesits can be a bit hit and miss with error codes! I would think it’s either low voltage or it doesn’t like the supply (not clean enough). Also was it earthed properly- if it’s an inverter motor poor earthing can throw up all sorts of problems!

Good points and something to be aware of. As for earthing, do you mean the inverter ? Not sure how to earth it when its in a case ? Is this something i need to look at ? Or are you talking about the washing machine ?

 

[Alster]

The washing machine earth. Don’t know how the earth works on a inverter supply maybe someone on here may know more about this….