Inverter Trips When Keurig CoffeeMaker Used

Joined
Jun 12, 2024
Messages
16
Location
Central Oregon
We had a 2000 Watt inverter installed in our brand new 2024 Imagine 17MKE. It was pre-wired at the factory, with the inverter installed at the dealership. The first time we used the TV, the inverter tripped and would not reset. Back to the dealership we went. They said they installed a new plug on the inverter. Then we went on a one night camping trip a few days ago. In the morn, we turned on the Keurig Mini Plus Coffeemaker. As soon as I touched the brew button, the inverter made several loud beeps and tripped. What happened??
 
Thread moved to Electrical Systems and Wiring.

The TV is a relatively low-draw appliance. The Keurig has a resistive heating element which, along with toasters, etc., are high-draw appliances.

Rob
 
It takes a pretty stout battery and wiring to handle a load like that. It draws 1470W, which is going to be well over 100A from the battery. It’s highly likely the dealer didn’t upgrade the wiring to handle that kind of load, so you see a voltage dip and the inverter alarms.. Dealers in general are a poor choice for upgrades like that.

In general, it’s not very practical to run resistive heating items from an inverter unless you have a significant battery bank and a means to recharge it.
 
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It takes a pretty stout battery and wiring to handle a load like that. It draws 1470W, which is going to be well over 100A from the battery. It’s highly likely the dealer didn’t upgrade the wiring to handle that kind of load, so you see a voltage dip and the inverter alarms.. Dealers in general are a poor choice for upgrades like that.

In general, it’s not very practical to run resistive heating items from an inverter unless you have a significant battery bank and a means to recharge it.

Are you referring to the wire that is left for "inverter prep"? I was going to ask my dealer to install an inverter in my "inverter prep" trailer.
 
We had a 2000 Watt inverter installed in our brand new 2024 Imagine 17MKE. It was pre-wired at the factory, with the inverter installed at the dealership. The first time we used the TV, the inverter tripped and would not reset. Back to the dealership we went. They said they installed a new plug on the inverter. Then we went on a one night camping trip a few days ago. In the morn, we turned on the Keurig Mini Plus Coffeemaker. As soon as I touched the brew button, the inverter made several loud beeps and tripped. What happened??

Too much draw....what else was on 120 when you tried to run the Keurig?
 
Are you referring to the wire that is left for "inverter prep"? I was going to ask my dealer to install an inverter in my "inverter prep" trailer.

Really just not trusting a dealer to do the installation properly in general. I don’t know that the 17MKE has the inverter prep.
 
We use to run an electric frying pan off an inverter circuit. Every time it kicked on our inverter (2000 watt Xantrex XC with tons of battery(s)) would alarm with an overload message but nothing would trip. And if we had the electric coffee pot along with the electric pan on that circuit the inverter alarm would chirp every time the coffee pot cycled to keep the brew hot.

I took the outlet we use for the electric cooking pan off the inverter. Now no more alarms.
 
It takes a pretty stout battery and wiring to handle a load like that. It draws 1470W, which is going to be well over 100A from the battery. It’s highly likely the dealer didn’t upgrade the wiring to handle that kind of load, so you see a voltage dip and the inverter alarms.. Dealers in general are a poor choice for upgrades like that.

In general, it’s not very practical to run resistive heating items from an inverter unless you have a significant battery bank and a means to recharge it.

I need to ask if you have a Lithium (LiFePo4) battery, or a Lead Acid battery powering your Inverter.

In either case, It sounds like your battery is not powerful enough to run your Inverter.

Presuming that your Kureg actually draws 1470 Watts, You would need at least one (probably 2) 100ah Lithium batteries to power that load.

When you upgrade to the Lithium batteries, you need to make certain that your cables running from the batteries to the Inverter are large enough to safely carry the load. Also, once you add the Lithium batteries, be certain to install the appropriate sized fuse as close to the battery as practical to protect the cables and Inverter.

There is a lot of information on batteries and Inverters in the following thread:

Affordable-Solar-How-To-Design-and-Install-an-Affordable-Solar-System

Be sure to click on the embedded links for detailed information on Lithium batteries (LiFePo4).
 
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The frig....would that be too much 'pull'?

Yes, between the fridge and the coffee maker, that would exceed your 2,000 Watt Inverter's capacity.

I think the real issue is that your batteries are not fully charged when you are trying to run the coffee maker. Presumably, you are trying to make coffee in the morning, after you have camped all night. This means that your batteries have been running your lights and refrigerator overnight and they simply do not have enough energy left in them to power your Inverter for a full 2,000 Watts.

If you want to test this, one morning, at a campground where you have access to shore power, and after you have been plugged in for more than 8 hours, disconnect your shore power and ensure your fridge is turned off, and try to run the coffee maker. If you get coffee, then your batteries were at a low State of Charge (SOC) when you tried to make coffee in the past.

The good news is: that if the above test gives you coffee, you can fix your issue by installing an adequately sized Lithium battery bank.

What is an "adequately sized battery bank" you ask????

Well, the answer is different for every family, and is based on how much energy your family uses each day, the weather, and how many days you want to camp without being plugged into shore power (aka: Boondocking).

When you read the above linked thread, you will get some idea of what is involved in figuring out your battery bank size.

PS: you can use the "Reply With Quote" button at the bottom of the post you are replying to, as I have done here, to let people know what post you are referencing when you are replying to someone.
 
I installed 3 100ah LiFePO4 batteries and wired in a 3Kw inverter. It will handle two out of three of my largest loads simultaneously: coffee maker, microwave, air conditioner. Meaning that if my microwave or coffee maker are on and the AC kicks in, it won't trip the inverter. Since each battery can handle 100amps, 3 of them should handle 300amps of load. My inverter is 3Kw can easily handle 20amps, which is what the breaker and AC wiring is sized at.
This is in a cabover camper, but the premise is the same no matter what RV you have. It's all installed inside the step up to the bed.


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I installed 3 100ah LiFePO4 batteries and wired in a 3Kw inverter. It will handle two out of three of my largest loads simultaneously: coffee maker, microwave, air conditioner. Meaning that if my microwave or coffee maker are on and the AC kicks in, it won't trip the inverter. Since each battery can handle 100amps, 3 of them should handle 300amps of load. My inverter is 3Kw can easily handle 20amps, which is what the breaker and AC wiring is sized at.
This is in a cabover camper, but the premise is the same no matter what RV you have. It's all installed inside the step up to the bed.


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