Quote:
Originally Posted by gmc
While this setup may work for Judge, and I expect he understands the care needed - If you do not understand how dangerous this can be - do not attempt this...
The intent of the transfer switches in our RVs is to isolate input power sources and insure there is one and ONLY ONE active at any time...
It is also why the inverter has a built in transfer switch.
This process leaves to a ‘checklist’ and ‘human error’ the isolation... and if not followed properly can result in damage to components, a fire, or injury to people.
Have I back fed a house after a storm from my genny? Absolutely... but VERY carefully and knowing there was no one else touching anything involved... and still prefer the transfer switch setup albeit more expensive.
The clean way to do this is running a circuit from the current panel to the inverter at or below the rating of the inverters transfer switch - the output of the inverter goes to a sub panel, and the desired circuits are moved from main panel to sub panel..
The total normal load on the sub panel must be less than the transfer switch rating... but already insured that with the input feed.
You can still select with circuit breakers what is actually receiving power from inverter, but there is no way for more than one input to be active on any circuit.
To each their own... just please understand the risks...
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You are correct.... you do have to know what you are doing and understand how things work and risks for doing something wrong.
When I built my garage a few years ago I had the electrician add an outdoor receptacle so I could just plug in my portable generator when we lose power so I can run the well for water, fridge, etc. as needed.
When that happens I throw the master breaker so as to not feed power out to the lines where the electric company workers are so as not to injure them and then I turn off every breaker in the house and garage except for what I need to run off the generator. This works great but you need to know what you are doing.
Now back to the Inverter.....
Thor did not follow any of Xantrex recommended procedures for hard wiring their Inverters.
They do tell you that you do not need to use the AC input / transfer switch of the Inverter if you do not want to. However, they do recommend using a subpanel for the AC output of the Inverter when hardwiring. You should use a 15a breaker for a 1000W Inverter or a 20A for the 200W models.
Thor took the cheap and easy way out. They hardwired to the internal GFCI outlet wiring in the Inverter instead of the actual AC output lugs. This way they could use the built-in circuit breaker for the Inverter GFCI outlet instead of adding a subpanel and breaker.
I used Thor's wiring for this but I had already bought s small subpanel and 15a breaker for the AC output if I want to add it. My challenge at the moment is finding a place to mount it and have easy access to it.
I have plenty of protection with my current setup. I have the built-in 20a breaker in the Freedom XI for the output, which is the recommended maximum for the AC output. Then I have a 15a breaker on the WFCO panel for the AC output from the Inverter that supplies power into the AC busbar in the WFCO. So I actually have two breakers in the circuit.
Then I have the physical breakers installed by Thor for each circuit that I choose to run..... fridge..... garage AC..... kitchen.
I am very comfortable from an electrical design and safety aspect of the system at the moment. But I would prefer to use the AC out lugs in the Inverter with a subpanel and a 15a breaker for the AC out of the Inverter even though 20a is the recommended max.
The only advantage of using the Inverter's transfer switch is if I was powering something mission critical such that if shore power was lost, the Inverter would automatically kick in to keep power flowing.
The only thing that critical would be the fridge and since I don't have a residential fridge, I don't need it since the fridge would switch to propane automatically if shore power was lost.
There is a difference with the transfer switch of the Xantrex Pro and the Freedom XI. The Xantrex Pro Inverter can be turned off completely when shore power is being used. This is how I always used it. I never had it on when using shore power.
The Freedom XI Inverter automatically turns on and can't be turned off when shore power is being used. That way it can fail over to the batteries automatically without human intervention.... again to protect mission critical needs, which I don't have.
All in all it is a very simple setup with very little rewiring in order to provide Inverter power to any outlet in the coach where and when I need it.
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