Flashing digital display using new inverter

I would check and make sure the output voltage is right on the inverter. This is new to me, but I don't have the digital read either.

Try hooking a DMM to the output of the inverter under load. Some cheap inverters might not put out 120v. Strange things happen with electronics when not getting the proper current/voltage.

OK, took the inverter and battery to a client of mine that manufacters some big time digital electronic equipment. They put some of the meters on the inverter and it was hitting 126.7 volts. The battery and inverter are operating fine. The invertery is rated at 1200 watts with a 2400 watt peak. It says it is rated at 10 amps.

They believe the problem is probably at startup with the builtin igniter. It probably pulls more than 10 amps at startup.

Question - The digital display is flashing, will I damage the circuit board if I continue to let it run, will it settle down once the igniter turns off? Has anyone tested an inverter on a new model FE with a digital readout?

I really would like to be able to use a battery and inverter at competetions.

The ignitor, as Eddy as stated, is rated at 300 watts. Plus the fan and auger supposedly have a rating of 25 watts. At best we are talking 3 amps max. However that rated consumption is after the element has stablized at its rated power. At start up the current can be 2, 3, 4, times, or more, the rating due to the type of material the element is made of. By using an ohm meter find the cold resistance of the element then divide the voltage by that resistance. That will give you the cold start up current in amps.

Also the wave form of the inverter, power supplies and other electricial devices may have a sensitivity to something other than a sinusoidal (sine) wave. The Colemen may not comply to its needs. You may have to ask about that from the design engineer of that digital board. Treager may know the answer or surely should be able to find out. Or try a known better power supply.

There is a reason why you can buy a 2500 watt inverter for $400 and another rated the same for $2500! You may have just found out why.

Peter

Hey Pete,

You are speaking my language. If it is drawing 3-4x's the rated current they need to change their specs. I believe the ignitor is a simple resistive heat element which probably draws more that 2-3 amps. The fan and the auger should be very low current.

One thing to check out is the ability to hold a voltage under load. When you hook a DMM to a voltage source it doesn't draw any current; but when it is under full operating conditions it may drop the voltage trying to draw enough current.

Power=voltage*current

Another possibility is how clean the voltage source is.

You won't wreck the electronics. That only happens in an overvoltage/current situation which should not be a problem.

The more I think about this I think CS has the spec's wrong. A simple hair dryer draws about 12 amps @ 120 V. It would be interesting to talk to Traeger to see if they have a current probe that they could measure the initial 4 minutes when you turn the unit on. I am thinking that it only uses an amp or 2 after the initial burn.

Hi again, time for my two cents.
I have run my FE on two different inverters.
The first one is a 350-700 watt surge.The cooker ran fine on this one. The second was a 700-1400 watt surge, on the big one the FE started surgeing on and off. I stoped it and charged the battery. This did not help.
I turned on the FE and when it started surging I put the charger clamps on over the inverter clamps. It corrected the problem before I could plug in the charger.
The bottom line is that the inverter was not getting enough power with the alligator clamps. Look at the amount of clamp surface
that is touching the battery terminal.
It is small and relys on the spring in the clamp to make the connection. I hardwired
the cables to the battery with bolts and have not had anymore problems. Both inverters were from Wal-Mart (cheap).
Hope this helps.
Charles
BS'r

Duck...BS Pitmeister has brought up an intersting point that he may have also missed and could also be your problem...now don't forget we are really reaching out here for something that might be quite a simple fix, and many times it is!

BS Pitmeister mentioned about using the alligator clips supplied with his larger inverter. My question to the two of you is are you sure you are making a good clean contact to the battery. To do this I have placed those clips on the battery terminal and with my fingers I help the spring by squeezing the 2 arms together of the clip around the terminal post while I twist it back and forth to get the clip to either clean any crud or cut into the lead to create a new clean surface. The clips electrical surface should be sufficient. Also check the connection of the wires to the clips for corrosion. Usually not much you can do there accept remove the clips and do what BS Pitmeister did, hardwire them or replace the clips. Don't think you can always see corrosion on the battery terminals. If they aren't shiny they have something on there that can create a higher resistance. Sometimes not high enough resistance to make much of a difference and sometimes to much.

I used to live a board my sailboat, ask me about corrosion! I have written a lot about batteries on my web page and have a few links to detailed battery info and its chemistry. There is a lot to know particulary about deep cycle batteries. If I were those that are going to be using the inverter/battery setup indoors I'd go gel cells but then you need a battery charger with a gel cell charge option. There is no external gassing with a gel cell battery, hence no explosive gasses, and you can turn them upside down if needed. But believe it or not when they are upside down opposed to right side up or on any side the capacity, ampere hours, are reduced! Don't ask me why.

Peter

CaptnPete, my clamps were not making good contact and that was the main point.
Good luck!
Charles
BS'r

I wish it were so simple. I hard wired the connectors with stainless bolts to the side terminals of the battery to the inverter. My client also checked the connections with a meter at the battery, then at the input to the inverter and also the output of the inverter. The Coleman Inverter is a nice unit. Cost about $180.00, does not have cheap clamps, uses quality electronic fittings.

BS Pitmeister...
Yes I know the bad connections was your point but I was going a little further as to why or where exactly the connection could have been bad rather then just a weak spring. I was just doing a basic troubleshoot. It could have been a high resisitance where the clips and wire came together and you might not have noticed that but cured the problem by hardwiring.

Duck...
Same with you...just looking at anything and everything as I would be troubleshooting. My profession in the 80's was a yacht electrician in Ft. Lauderdale. I did a lot of troubleshooting and almost always it was corrosion. I recall on one boat all the instrument back lighting in the wheel house dash would come on as soon as the key to either engine in the wheel house or the fly bridge were turned on. It took quite awhile to discover that the cigar lighter in the fly bridge was exposed to the weather because of a poor designed cover. Eventually rain water and/or salt spray had corroded the interior of the lighter and caused a low resistance back path to that circuit which is where the dash instrument lighting was fed. To this day I always remember that simple $15 fix on that $2 million 70 foot sport fisherman when I think of a lenghty troubleshoot. Samething with light sockets on automobiles when one of the element contacts in a light receptacle corrodes and makes a low resistance path to ground. Other lights use that device as a back ground path. Anyway that was just some interesting troubleshoots I have encountered.

Hope I didn't bore you but you must realize I have been known to ramble on! LOL...Oh well!

Peter