12V inverter with low consumption at idle

Would it be "safe" to use 2 AWG wires with the 12V/1200W Giandel inverter, knowing it won't be running continuously (the sump pump usually kicks in every 10min for ~30sec in the worst case scenario)? And in that case, what fuse should I use?
Or are 2/0 AWG definitely required?
And by the way, it's not about the cost, but more about dealing with thick wires if it's not absolutely necessary

Yeah, 2 AWG would be fine, if you find the wires get hot or you suspect you need larger you can always change them.

Once you get it up and going, I would suggest a thermal review, use a thermal camera to check for any hot spots and determine if you've got any areas of concern. I've been running my 1200W Victron on 4 AWG for a year now and it's fine, however, I'm not running a sump pump so I will only ever have light electronics loads on it.

Here is a link to a thermal imager if you don't have one or might be interested in getting one.


You can typically find them used or on offerup for much less. This has been an invaluable tool for me every time I provision a Solar system I use this to check for loose connections and or to review existing systems I check temperatures and hot spots to see if there are any concerns.

I did a chat with Giandel and asked why they ship their 12V/1200W inverter with 5 AWG cables....They told me itwas tested, and if properly tighten, they are all good being only 2 ft long
Very surprising...........and dangerous it seems !!!

French_guy said:

I did a chat with Giandel and asked why they ship their 12V/1200W inverter with 5 AWG cables....They told me itwas tested, and if properly tighten, they are all good being only 2 ft long
Very surprising...........and dangerous it seems !!!

Click to expand...

For that short of a distance, they're probably right. Running your actual loads and checking the thermals will be the only way to know for certain if you can safely run your configuration.