General Inverter Concepts
What is an inverter?
An inverter is an appliance that takes DC power (battery, solar) and converts it to AC power, similar to what you would find in a mains outlet.
What is the difference between Modified Square wave and True Sine wave?
Modified square wave is a cheaper way to make AC power. The power is turned on and off in each direction alternately, causing a wave shape that is roughly equivalent to a sine wave. However, it is electrically noisy and does not reflect a true sine wave. It frequently causes problems with audio equipment, light dimmers, clock radios and many power tools.
A true sine wave has continuously varying current across the entire wave form giving a pure, clean output similar to what you would recieve from a mains outlet.
What is modified SQUARE wave, compared to modified SINE wave?
These are exactly the same thing. A modifed square wave (above) is sometimes called modified sine wave because sine wave sounds cleaner. Selectronic Australia makes only true sine wave inverters.
Selectronic Designs
What sort of transformer does Selectronic use?
The majority of Selectronic designs now use a toroidal transformer.
This "donut shaped" transformer allows us to design a quieter, more efficient inverter with less power wasted in the transforming process.
Why is there no cigarette plug on the LD200?
A cigarette plug is certainly a convenient way to connect an inverter to your battery. Unfortunately the current rating of a standard plug is only around 8 Amps.
Heavy duty cigarette plugs can be used, which have a rating of around 16 Amps. The limiting factor is usually the size of the cable in a modern vehicle, usually 120 W (10 Amps) maximum. Therefore using this method, an inverter of no more than 120 Watts should be connected using standard cigarette lighter plugs and sockets.
If you have heavier duty wiring installed, then you can increase the capacity to that of the heavy duty cigarette plugs or Hella type “Merritt” plugs which are rated at around 16 Amps, this equates to an inverter capacity of around 170 Watts.
So an LD200 inverter, rated at 200 Watts (19 Amps), cannot perform to its full capacity if it's installed in any of the above scenarios. The fuses in the circuit will blow if you try to draw 200 Watts from the inverter. Do not increase the fuse size as the fuse is sized to protect the cabling.
Installation
What is a Selectronic Accredited Installer?
Selectronic Accredited Installers have undergone comprehensive training and assessment, covering product design features, system integration, installation and field servicing of Selectronic inverters and have greater understanding of how Selectronic inverters operate and interact with other components in a power system.
A Selectronic Accredited Installer will correctly integrate and install your Selectronic inverter to ensure its optimum performance in your power system.
Read more about the benefits of using a Selectronic Accredited Installer.
SP PRO Specific Installation
What is a current shunt?
A current shunt is a high current, low resistance, resistor which is placed in series with the current flow to allow external devices to measure the current. Each current shunt will be calibrated to drop a certain voltage in relation to the current.
E.g. when a 100A/50mV current shunt has 10 mV across it, then the current will be read as 20 Amps. Current shunts are only used in DC circuits.
Do I install current shunts in the battery positive or negative lead?
The current shunts must be installed in the battery negative lead only. If current shunts are placed in the positive lead this may cause damage to the inverter.
Where in the negative lead do I install currents shunts?
The SP PRO can allow 2 external current shunts. No current shunt is required to measure the SP PRO’s current. If a shunt is being used for a charging source eg, Solar, Wind or Hydro, the current shunt must be placed between the regulating device and the battery. If a current shunt is placed between the charge source and the regulating device, then the current reading may be incorrect.
Do I need to zero the current shunt reading once installed?
Yes, there are “Zero Shunt” buttons in the SP LINK software's Service Settings. Ensure that no current is flowing through the shunt and press the button. The SP PRO will ignore any request to zero if more than 5mV is detected.
Do I need to connect Battery Sense wires?
No, but it is highly recommended. If you choose not to install the sense wiring, then the supplied link wires must be fitted to clear the Service Required alarm.
Can I connect the Battery Sense wiring without the mid-point as well?
Yes, the midpoint detection will automatically de-activate if measured levels are unrealistic.
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