Power inverter to battery hook-up

[kikboxr1]

I picked up a 400W power inverter today.I want to wire it straight to the battery. It has a built in 40 amp fuse. What size (gauge) of wire should I use to connect to the battery, and what size (amps) of a fuse should I put in the power wire?
I was thinking of using 8ga. wire with a 60amp AGU fuse/fuseholder. Would that suffice?

 

[shttygtstang]

youll kill your battrie slowly having a strain on it all the time y not go from the key on position under the dash

 

[HISSIN50]

i take it the invertor is only 'on' when something is hooked up to it. i would NOT hook it up to an existing circuit, as suggested.

how long a run of wire do you need to run? that will affect the AWG you choose.

good luck.

 

[kikboxr1]

The unit has an on/off switch that will prevent it from draining the battery. Now if I go off and forget to switch it off, then I am screwed. But I don't think that will be a problem. The length of wire I need will be about 5 feet or so.

 

[hllon4whls]

It looks that 8 gauge is good for 40 amps. 5 feet is a reasonable distance.

Even though we beat this to death, might be time for a 3g upgrade. If you assume 30amps load, that is a good chunk of your alternator's capacity.

What do you need an inverter for?