Are you looking for a silent and clean power solution to power most of the appliances in your RV while you’re out boondocking?
Or perhaps, you’ve got some work at a remote site that will require that you use some power tools?
Depending on your power requirements, a 2,500-watt inverter can be the solution for you.
It is able to supply considerable amounts of power to run many household appliances that you’re lively to find in an RV (double-check each appliances power draw to be sure).
However for it to run reliably and at its maximum capacity, you’ll need to install it in a well ventilated area and size the wires and batteries appropriately.
This post lists examples of appliances you can power off a 2,500 watt inverter, provides some guidelines on capacities of appliances to connect to it for maximum performance, battery capacities and wire gauges you can use with it.
How Many Amps a 2,500-Watt Inverter Draws?
A 2,500-watt 12V inverter draws about 208 amps at maximum load. If you’re concerned about the large currents drawn, you can use a 2,500 watt, 24V inverter.
It only draws about 104 amps (50%) from the battery bank at maximum load.
Note, the current draws indicated above are at maximum load. The actual current draw at any one time depends on the power consumption of the connected appliance (s).
The larger the power consumption of connected appliances is, the higher the power drawn by the inverter from the battery will be.
Inverter No-Load Current Draw
A 2,500-watt inverter can have a power draw of about 55 watts (~4.6 amps at 12V) – equivalent to 5 pcs of 10 W LED bulbs lighting even with no appliance switched on or connected to the inverter. All it takes is to switch on the inverter.
To avoid the no load power draw, switch off the inverter when not in use.
What Size of Battery Wire Gauge to Use with 2,500 Watt Inverter?
Use 1/0 AWG for short cable lengths or 2/0 for long cable runs. These are thick cables and make sure that the lugs are firmly crimped to the cables to minimise voltage drops and accidental shorts.
What Can the 2,500 watt Inverter Run?
Overall, you can connect one or several appliances to a 2,500 watt inverter provided their combined continuous power consumption does not exceed 2,500 watts and surge power is less than 5,000 watts (typically the specified surge power rating of a 2,500 watt inverter).
Note that this maximum power draw assumes that the inverter is installed in a well ventilated space in a cool environment otherwise it will trip with an over temperature alarm.
Examples of appliances* that you can connect to the inverter are shown in the table below. Note, that this list is not exhaustive.
To make sure you don’t exceed the maximum power draw, you can monitor how much current the inverters draw from the battery by installing an ammeter on positive DC cable.
| Several Lights | TV | Selected water pumps | Fridge |
| Selected power tools | coffee maker | microwave | blender |
*Ensure that the combined power draw of the connected appliances does not exceed the inverter’s continuous and surge power ratings
What Size of Battery for a 2,500-watt Inverter?
Use a 12V battery bank of at least 440Ah if you plan to run the inverter at full load (2,500 watts).
This battery bank will provide a runtime of about an hour at full road.
If you don’t plan to run the inverter at full load you can use a smaller battery bank.
For example, if you only plan to connect a maximum of 1,200 watts to the inverter, then a battery bank of 220Ah at 12V can be used to provide a runtime of about an hour.
How Many Batteries for a 2,500 watt Inverter?
There are several possible battery combinations. For example, for a 440 Ah, 12V battery bank, you can have 2 x 220Ah batteries connected in parallel or 2 parallel strings of 2 x 220Ah, 6V batteries connected in series.
What Fuse Size to Use with a 2,500-watt Inverter?
You can use a 250 amp inline fuse between the battery and the inverter if the inverter manufacturer has not specified a fuse rating to use.
This fuse should be connected as close as possible to the battery bank on the positive battery cable.
Keep in mind that the fuse is intended to protect the wire from damage should the current flow increase to high levels that can damage the wire.
Therefore, fuse current rating should be sized lower than the battery wire’s current handling limit to protect the wire. and its rating should be sized lower than the
If using a 24V battery bank to supply power to a 2,500 watt/24V inverter, a consider a fuse with a current rating of 125- 150 amp instead.
Final Word
You can use a 2,500 watt inverter to power several household appliances in your RV and light duty power tools too.
Use at least 4/0 AWG cable to minimize voltage drops that can affect inverter performance. Should you plan to run it at full load, use a 440Ah battery bank or larger.
A 440Ah battery bank will give you a run time of about an hour.
Related Questions
Why your 2,500 watt inverter may stop working when you connect an appliance?
Confirm the expected runtime on inverter for the combined power draw of both the connected appliances. If the inverter and battery bank able to handle the combined load? If not, you need to consider upgrading the battery bank.
Make sure you are also using appropriately <sized cables>. Undersized cables can cause significant voltage drops that cause the inverter to shut down.
Hope this helps!
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