Can run a Inverter from the fuse box?

You can with a direct connection to the batteries, but the circuitry in the fuse box is rated for around 30 amps. A 2kW inverter will pull around 180 to 190 amps at full power and low battery voltage conditions.

 

i have a 400 watt, 800 peak invertor. it's plugged in the cigarette socket. with a 6 foot extension cable. that's been my setup since i came back out on the road 2 1/2 years ago. it was my setup when i first started 13 years ago.

i've had no problems running a tv, satellite dish, laptop and printer. and a fan.

the sockets are rated for 10 amps.

 

Either you're not pulling anywhere near 400W, or someone helped you out with a very large fuse in a circuit not rated for that kind of current.

 

don't know what the watts pulled is. but i've no problems running all 5 items on a power strip. the only things i see needing more power would be a fridge. then a stove. and i have neither of those. so i'm just fine with 400 watts.

as far as a fuse goes. all the trucks were company trucks except the one i'm in now. and i don't think a company would install a bigger fuse.

now, here's the question of the day.

you all talk about big fuses and what not. but how many watts is the invertor pulling, compare to what it's pushing?????
it pulls 12 volts in. but pushes 120 volts out. what's the watts rating being pulled to what it's pushing.

i've gotten by with 10 amp fuses in ALL trucks i've been in. with the socket for my power supply. and i've never ran anything but a 400 watt invertor.

 

A 400 watt inverter running at 400 watts will draw 33.3 amps plus the resistance. A cigarette lighter is on a 30 amp circuit. snowwy is running about 200 watts or around 15 amps.

You want 8 gauge wire on a 40 amp circuit if possible for max usage on a 400 watt inverter.

Leon, look in the fridge covey hole. Pull the carpet back and you should see a factory pre drilled hole with a rubber plug in it. Sometimes it's easier looking from outside the truck at the bottom of the floor to locate them rubber plugs. If you want you can cut an X in the middle of that rubber plug and go to the batteries from there. That's the most important part of an inverter install because if you don't protect the wire at that hole it can rub and short on the floor over time. Use silicone as added protection. If you are using 8 gauge wire put a 40 amp fuse inline fuse on it. Keep the run to the battery as short as possible. Under 4' is idea but that small inverter you can get away with a little more. Cobra even sells fuse kits for their inverters.

There are inverter install threads down in the Electronics forum. Some with photos.

 

The added protection for where anything goes through a metal surface is called "wire loom" generically. Look at your truck and I'm sure you'll see that plastic tubing the manufacturers use to route wire in and around the engine compartment. Same stuff generically... it's very thick plastic or nylon that can be used to enclose wires. You can usually get something like it from Home Depot, Lowes or the like.

Just take extra precautions in routing any conductors in your truck. Many truck fires are caused by shorted cables, especially stuff drivers install themselves. We're not talking about "little" fires... shorting your battery cluster to ground will start a mongo fire that will consume your truck. If you happen to be sleeping at the time, it's doubtful you will get out alive.

Inverters... an electronic power device that takes a DC input (12.8V truck battery to 13.8 alternator voltage) and converts it to 120 VAC output suitable for running AC appliances. The power rating is for the output (AC) side of the device, so the current draw from your DC side is always higher because of efficiency loss through the circuit. Also... as you draw current from the batteries, the terminal voltage drops over time. When you think about how much current is going to be drawn, use the low-battery voltage of say 11V to make the calculation:

Watts/Voltage = Current

To keep from tripping the protection circuits in an inverter, always buy one that will supply more power than you will use. If your microwave is rated at 700W, buying a 400W inverter ain't gonna work. But that microwave will also draw more power when it starts than just 700W... so a 1000W inverter or better a 1500W job is what you really want to put in your truck.

Never skimp on the wire you use to run from the batteries to the inverter, and keep those runs as short as possible. Look at the cable that runs from your batteries to the starter, and you'll get the idea of what you need.