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Old 04-07-2021, 07:32 PM   #1
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Inverter Question?

Hi my new tech guy recommends an inverter if I want to watch tv or use 110 outlet camping. He can put in a juction box to make all 110 outlets hit like the outside tv etc.. I hear they do not power the A/C system.. but are people here fans of the inverter?

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Old 04-07-2021, 07:45 PM   #2
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It gives you more options with how you can access and utilize the power that you have available...
Big fan of them here!
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Old 04-07-2021, 07:53 PM   #3
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i found this video nice overview for us new folks
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Old 04-07-2021, 08:30 PM   #4
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Many coaches haev Inverters to power a limited number of AC apliances (refrigerator, TV, etc.) when shore power is not avaialble or you can't use the generator.

You will be limited to its use by...

- The capacity and condition of your batteries
- The size of the chosen Inverter
- The amount of power being drawn from the Inverter based on the number of devices using AC power.

You may not necessarily want every outlet on the Inverter circuit. Unless you have enough battery power, you can drain down your batteries before you know it if you try to run too many things at one time.... like the TV, Coffee Pot and Refrigerator.

You also need a Full Sine Wave inverter to run a Microwave, Residential Fridge or small A/C unit. A modified sine wave inverter can damage those devices.

You also need an Inverter large enough for what you want to power and the larger the Inverter the more battery power you need.

I have a Magnitude SV34 with a Xantrex Freedom X 2000 Inverter. It powers my residential fridge, outdoor kitchen fridge and a couple TV's. I have four 6V batteries and can power the fridges all night long without any issues and watch a little TV.
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Old 04-07-2021, 08:36 PM   #5
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thx Judge i was thinking every outlet but not using every outlet..for ex near the bed we plugs our phones in or watch tv in bed ot the dining room... i saw vedios where folks ran craxy extension cords to the one outlet.. that would kill me ? so only 1 or 2 outlets every used at a time. also i can use an electric space heater if propane is low
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Old 04-07-2021, 08:43 PM   #6
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On my last coach... a Class C Outlaw 29H.... it had a 1000W Inverter and I rewired it so the Inverter could power any outlet. I wired it like my home is wired for the backup generator.

I added a 15A breaker to the WFCO Power Distribution Panel and wired the Inverter to backfeed the breaker box through that circuit breaker. This breaker would always be off unless I wanted to use the Inverter.

When I wanted to use the Inverter, I would turn the main breaker off so as not to send power out to the shore power connector (just as I woud do at home so as not to feed AC current out to the power lines on te street). I would then turn off every breaker except for the circuit I wanted to use. I would then turn the breaker on I added for the Inverter and it would power that circuit.

When I was done with the Inverter, I would turn off the breaker for the Inverter to shut own power to the breaker box and then turn all of the other breakers back on. That worked great..... as long as you know what you are doing. I had a written procedure and check-list in case I was not around to do it.
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Old 04-07-2021, 08:47 PM   #7
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Hi Judge ..Kurt my new fast 25 year experience rv repair person (who answers the phone or text everytime i call) amazing said he may do an 30amp at the power source so that when plugged into shore or generator it switches and if not theinverter will always take over? that way he can intercept the wires to the fuse box and make all wire hot for the inverter (i am new to all this!!)
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Old 04-07-2021, 08:51 PM   #8
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You can purchase Inverters with an Automatic Transfer Switch so that when on shore power (or generator), the Inverter is bypassed. When off shore power, the Inverter automatically uses the house batteries to provide AC power.

You just want to be careful how this gets wired. You don't want to be powering the Converter when you are running the Inverter and your don't want to have AC power going to the shore power connector or back to the generator (depending on which relay is on in the coach Transfer Switch).
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Old 04-07-2021, 09:41 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Scubawise View Post
Hi my new tech guy recommends an inverter if I want to watch tv or use 110 outlet camping. He can put in a juction box to make all 110 outlets hit like the outside tv etc.. I hear they do not power the A/C system.. but are people here fans of the inverter?
If you do decide on an inverter, you need a a fairly large battery bank (200 amp-h or more for a 1,000 inverter). LCD TV's do not draw much power but most other things you plug into duplex receptacles do. Although all inverters have an automatic overload shutoff, there is always the chance of a failure or hard lock-out, so the inverter should also be sized for the anticipated load. Small 1,000 watt inverters only can supply just over 8 amps to all receptacles, where as the same receptacles can draw 13 amps for each circuit without overload. RV inverters can be found with automatic transfer relays from 15 amps to 50 amps. So if you have the coffee maker plug into a 1000 watt inverter supplied circuit, on shore power and the shore power dies, your inverter will try to pick-up the load and overload fault. I would suggest if you plan to power anything beside TVs and small refrigerator with an inverter, you look at at least a 2,000 watt (16.7 amps @ 120 volts) model with a 30 amp transfer relay, powered by at least 100 amp-h usable battery bank.
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Old 04-07-2021, 09:56 PM   #10
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My coach came with a 1000W inverter for several outlets and I hardly ever use it. I wired it to my absorption fridge so I can drive with the propane turned off at the tank. It has an ATS so I don’t have to remember to switch it over when we arrive at a destination. Only on propane when we boondock - pretty much never.
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Old 04-07-2021, 10:00 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Scubawise View Post
Hi Judge ..Kurt my new fast 25 year experience rv repair person (who answers the phone or text everytime i call) amazing said he may do an 30amp at the power source so that when plugged into shore or generator it switches and if not theinverter will always take over? that way he can intercept the wires to the fuse box and make all wire hot for the inverter (i am new to all this!!)
I believe he's right and from what I understand, that's possible.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention thinking about how you want to use this. Beau makes some good points about inverter size and battery bank. If you want full time AC off-grid and plan to use more than one thing at a time, you need to plan for that - inverter size, battery bank, wiring, etc.

In simplistic terms, you have the line side (input) and load side (output). The line side feeds the juice, the load side consumes it, sometimes via a buss.

My inverter is an inverter, charger, ATS.

In my current setup, the OEM ATS 'output' feeds a 30A main as input. I plan to remove the existing load side (output) of that breaker and send it to my inverter as input, and send the inverter output (load-side) to the AC load, neutral and ground busses of the distribution panel.

When shore power is not present, the inverter will draw on the batts and send 120 to load side of the distribution panel, as well as supply the 12v needed to run control boards, slides, levelers, etc.

I sense this somewhat inefficient because, they'll be two ATS's involved and both will have have to do their part. I'm contemplating intercepting the ATS line-side altogether and sending that line directly to the inverter. Someone mentioned keeping them both was a better idea. Jury's out on that. I may bypass the OEM ATS and leave it as a backup. For what, I can't imagine.

I'll have to throw the OEM converter/charger breaker or completely remove it. I'm pondering removing it and using that breaker slot in a different way. I'm sensing I can use it as some sort of failsafe and need time to think. The line side comes to a 30A breaker. That gets routed to the inverter that also has 30A breaker, The distribution panel's secondary circuits are 15A, 20A for the A/C. Maybe, using the 15A converter charger breaker before the AC load busses, would provide addiotnal protection.

I may experiment with an A/C soft start that requires 20A and may have to rethink that.

Think about the way you want to use the system. If you want to run a toaster, coffee pot and pop something in the microwave all that same time, you need a good 2.5-3kw inverter and a battery bank to back it up and/or a generator standby.
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Old 04-07-2021, 10:44 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scubawise View Post
Hi my new tech guy recommends an inverter if I want to watch tv or use 110 outlet camping. He can put in a juction box to make all 110 outlets hit like the outside tv etc.. I hear they do not power the A/C system.. but are people here fans of the inverter?
On 3/28 you asked us about inverters in another thread.
And we gave you lots of opinions and options.
Read here again for the answer...

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f2...etc-25713.html
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Old 04-08-2021, 03:42 AM   #13
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The_Breeze. For us we will use the TV 1 at a time, small coffee pot, Kurt said will not work for A/C, charging computers and cell phones
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Old 04-08-2021, 03:43 AM   #14
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Only use Microwave to re heat with maybe computer cell phone tv in use?
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Old 04-08-2021, 03:45 AM   #15
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Taylorbob1 thx. It became fresh to me again..should have added to other threads
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Old 04-08-2021, 09:35 AM   #16
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Inverter Question?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scubawise View Post
Only use Microwave to re heat with maybe computer cell phone tv in use?


If you are going to try and run a microwave, you are talking about a lot of power depending on the microwave. You will want a full sine wave Inverter and at least 2000W. That also means more battery capacity as was previously mentioned.
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Old 04-08-2021, 01:29 PM   #17
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Thx Judge i may go lower and cheaper
And only turn the generator on for microwave use

Good info
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Old 04-14-2021, 07:03 PM   #18
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I love having an inverter, and did the low-tech method of hooking it up. I ran a heavy extension cord from the inverter ac output to my black tank compartment, which is near the external 30 amp plug. You can buy a pass-through outlet on Amazon, or elsewhere, and when I want to use the inverter I just plug it into the motor home in exactly the same way I would plug in to a campground outlet. All you need is the 30 to 20 amp adaptor, which should be part of the standard motor home tool kit anyway. With this method you must remember to turn your converter off, or it will make a battery-draining loop - battery dc to inverter to ac to converter to dc to battery to .....

This makes all outlets and charging ports live and is extremely convenient. All tv's can be used, and I can use the outside outlets for power tools, which I have done on numerous occasions.

No wiring alterations, or expensive and often undependable additions to the system.

I would only use the inverter for tv, dvd player, microwave (briefly), or music. Propane for the fridge and heating if necessary. Using inverter power for heat or air conditioning is a huge drain on the batteries, but I can go all day and night for the other things. The solar panels keep the batteries up sufficiently for extended boondocking.
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Old 04-14-2021, 08:34 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rsgarrett View Post
I love having an inverter, and did the low-tech method of hooking it up. I ran a heavy extension cord from the inverter ac output to my black tank compartment, which is near the external 30 amp plug. You can buy a pass-through outlet on Amazon, or elsewhere, and when I want to use the inverter I just plug it into the motor home in exactly the same way I would plug in to a campground outlet. All you need is the 30 to 20 amp adaptor, which should be part of the standard motor home tool kit anyway. With this method you must remember to turn your converter off, or it will make a battery-draining loop - battery dc to inverter to ac to converter to dc to battery to .....

This makes all outlets and charging ports live and is extremely convenient. All tv's can be used, and I can use the outside outlets for power tools, which I have done on numerous occasions.

No wiring alterations, or expensive and often undependable additions to the system.

I would only use the inverter for tv, dvd player, microwave (briefly), or music. Propane for the fridge and heating if necessary. Using inverter power for heat or air conditioning is a huge drain on the batteries, but I can go all day and night for the other things. The solar panels keep the batteries up sufficiently for extended boondocking.
My converter has two extra wire posts. So I can hook inverter into the leads from the batteries there, and then plug shore power line into the inverter. Most modest size ones come with standard 110 sockets.

I can disconnect converter either by pulling its 110 plug or with the dedicated 110 breaker.

I only want it for quietly watching satellite tv. I use the generator for anything else.
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Old 04-14-2021, 09:45 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by rsgarrett View Post
I love having an inverter, and did the low-tech method of hooking it up. I ran a heavy extension cord from the inverter ac output to my black tank compartment, which is near the external 30 amp plug. You can buy a pass-through outlet on Amazon, or elsewhere, and when I want to use the inverter I just plug it into the motor home in exactly the same way I would plug in to a campground outlet. All you need is the 30 to 20 amp adaptor, which should be part of the standard motor home tool kit anyway. With this method you must remember to turn your converter off, or it will make a battery-draining loop - battery dc to inverter to ac to converter to dc to battery to .....

This makes all outlets and charging ports live and is extremely convenient. All tv's can be used, and I can use the outside outlets for power tools, which I have done on numerous occasions.

No wiring alterations, or expensive and often undependable additions to the system.

I would only use the inverter for tv, dvd player, microwave (briefly), or music. Propane for the fridge and heating if necessary. Using inverter power for heat or air conditioning is a huge drain on the batteries, but I can go all day and night for the other things. The solar panels keep the batteries up sufficiently for extended boondocking.
I am afraid that would not work with my DW. She still used a manual Underwood typewriter and a flip phone for communications. I have to make sure everything is totally automatic and fool proof; thus, a 2000 watt always on inverter with a 30 amp transfer switch (Xantrex Freedom Xi) with and load shedding sub panel for all the duplex receptacles in the coach except for the three GFCI duplex receptacles. Rewiring the coach is so much cheaper than a divorce after 57 years.
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