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For those of you who use an inverter, in your van or anywhere please read the following.  I have had 10 years caravanning & always have an inverter for running bits’ n’ pieces.  After a recent trip out, I spent the weekend fault finding as my Satellite system had failed to work whilst we were away.  My inverter was on the list to check, it was not the cause of the satellite issue but had not been used for a time.  I always install the inverter near the Batt boxes (to keep cable runs short) but this latest one had come with all leads made up & the isolator switch I normally install was ‘not recommended’ as the leads should not be changed.  So, utilising all the supplied leads & not making any up, I had installed it.  As I tested it over the weekend, the unit went thump as I turned it on & proceeded to crackle & pop for the couple of seconds it took me to get my finger back on the switch & turn it off.  However, it had suffered a catastrophic failure & by the smoke & flames now beginning to emerge, clearly the switch had not turned the power off.  It became apparent very quickly I had a major issue as I now needed to get the unit disconnected from the battery & I store the caravan against a hedge, the side the batt box is on.  As I ran out of the van & started to lift the first rear jack, it was all too apparent that I did not have the 5 mins or so it would take to move the van with a car also sitting in front of it.  I ran into my workshop, grabbed wire cutters & snips & ran back into the van to be confronted by smoke & flames from the unit.  To get to the cabling, which I had neatly cable tied up I had to put my arm through the top of the flames & I cut the +ve lead.  This then curled back, due to the cable ties & re-connected itself to the other side of the cut requiring me to put both arms through the flames to pull the leads apart.  At that point I vacated the caravan & the unit pretty much put itself out.

The moral of the story, ALWAYS use an isolator switch with a hard wired Inverter – don’t rely on a fuse etc just put the switch in.  If I had put one in this van, I could have simply turned it off.  As it turned out, it could have been much worse for me as the van is stored next to my garage with cars in front & fundamentally, apart from the unit, the only thing to suffer was a bit of singeing to my arms.  However, it was a wake up cal - BE CAREFUL.

Marco