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I run the house on a solar power source through a Trace DR2424E 2500 inverter. Everything works great except for the washing machine. I can't get the washing machine to work unless I put heavy load on the inverter, other than that, I get an error on the washing machine. for example: if i want to start the washing machine, I will have to power on the fredge, TVs and lights. As soon as the washing machin starts, I can turn off other devices and it will keep running.

I tried to play with the search mode option in the inverter, but with no luck.

  • Additionally, is it ok to have the inverter running 24/7?
Jaz
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    Change your title - currently just by the title the ques is off-topic for the site as it suggests fixing the washing machine itself. The content seems okay though. – jaskij Nov 03 '18 at 14:19
  • I suspect the washing machine has an electronic circuit that won't let it start if the voltage is too high or too low. The inverter probably does not regulate voltage very well and may have a waveform with a high ratio of peak to RMS voltage. –  Nov 03 '18 at 14:31
  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about the use of two products that don't work well together. Not much information is provided about them and there is little opportunity to apply electrical engineering methods to solve the problem. –  Nov 03 '18 at 14:34
  • Solution: put a heavy load on the inverter. – winny Nov 03 '18 at 14:35
  • @winny, you seems to have the right solution. I just get through multible sites and found your solution suggested by someone and reffering it from the inverter manual. I went through the manual and found this: Some computers and sophisticated electronics have power supplies that do not present a load until correct line voltage is available. When this occurs, each unit waits for the other to begin. This can usually be solved by plugging in an additional load (such as a lamp) to bring the inverter out of its search mode. Also,when using a computer, avoid starting large loads. – Jaz Nov 03 '18 at 15:25

1 Answers1

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That sounds like either:

  • A load regulation problem on the inverter interacting with an under-voltage protection in the washing machine.
  • A load regulation problem on the inverter interacting with an over-voltage protection in the washing machine.

If the machine “tries” to start but it fails, it is the former (the most likely scenario). If it does not even “try” it’s the later.

Adding a load either reduces the inverter voltage, or makes the washing machine a much smaller proportion of the overall load. A motor initial current transient can be quite significant and the inverter might not be able to handle it fast enough.

Check the specifications on the inverter. There are such things as passive ferroresonant AC voltage regulators, but I doubt you would find one that would handle the WM load. You might want to keep an electric space heater handy by the WM.

Electronics age as they are powered, but there has been a long argument regarding how much more aging is done by the initial power-up stresses.

Edgar Brown
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  • Isn't it because my inverter is a Modified Sine Wave inverter? and as I commented in my post I found something in the manuall referring to plug in additional load to start a sophisticated electronics. However, how about running the inverter 24/7?! – Jaz Nov 03 '18 at 16:47