Power inverter

I am hardwiring a 700 watt RMS 1400 watt max husky power inverter in my 2002 avalanche. It came with 8 awg wire, so i have 8 awg run about 6-8ft to the (+) battery terminal, and I grounded it about 6 inches to some steel with 8 awg.(measuses .4 ohms in relation to the battery). However, when i turn it on, and try to run a heat gun (type for shrink wrap) as a test, it keeps going into protect mode. Does anybody know why this happens? What size fuse should I be using in-line? Can I leave it on always or should i run a switch to the inside? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! Dyer

The heat gun is consuming alot more current than the unit can provide, trust me. The gun may be rated at XXX or 1200 watts, etc. But, in reality, it is consuming alot more than its stated output. The other side of the coin, would be that the invertor is not rated correctly. Like any amplifier maker, you do not know for a fact how they came up with their power rating. Power rating, and current load is often times given based on time / duration, or duty cycle(s). Remember, alot of makers rate their gear for XXX load for a period of seconds, or minutes, not actually hours. That is why you will see unknown names advertising XXX watts for insanely low prices. The only real way to know the invertors power output is to plug your unit into something you have reference as to its consumption such as a TV or similar UL classed device. The reason being is that the UL rating *idealy* should be accurate within 10% of wattage or current consumption. Regards EVIL Teken . . .

wouldn't a heat gun consume as much juice as something else like say a power tool? Also, I figured "HUSKY" to be a fairly trustworthy brand. Anyways...Thanks for the input, i'll try another device in the morning DyerDyer

Ok, so no matter what power tool i try, it cuts off immediately. I also tried plugging in a light with a standard 60 watt bulb. It works for about 5 min, then keeps going on then off. This should be able to handle power tools right? -that is why i got it. Can anybody else run power tools? Dyer