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Old 09-17-2020, 03:48 PM   #1
Borntodubb
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Add 120 volt inverter?

Hi, this may sound strange, but I would like to have 120 volt power at night after we have to turn off the generators. So I was thinking that if I put a 120 volt inverter on my batteries, and make sure the batteries are disconnected from the onboard charging by an additional batter selector switch (to prevent a feedback loop), can I just plug-in to my shore power plug on the back?
 
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Old 09-18-2020, 08:36 AM   #2
padredw
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If I understand your plan correctly, I can assure you that it can be done. We started with a different priority: our main source will be solar and generator only for backup. We have made two trips from East Texas to Colorado with a mix of hookup and non-hookup campsites and our system worked perfectly. We have a manual switch to turn off the converter/charger when we are using the inverter. We use a regular 30 amp cord to run from the inverter in the front bay area to the regular input for power at the back of the trailer. We can use every plug and any AC appliance that is within our power/storage constraints when the inverter is on. In practice we never had to use the generator and only turned on the inverter when we needed AC power. Our lights, refrigerator, water heater, and furnace worked with DC and propane without need for the inverter.

Send me a PM if you want more detailed information. I will be happy to answer any questions--for which I have an answer.
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Old 09-18-2020, 02:05 PM   #3
raygreg
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I just shut off the breaker for the converter/ battery charger when using the inverter to power all the outlets and tv's
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Old 09-18-2020, 07:40 PM   #4
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Just remember that for every one amp of 120 vac you will be pulling a little over 10 amps of 12 vdc (little more is due to losses in the inverter). You don’t want to run any heavy loads. Or at least not long.
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Old 09-18-2020, 07:57 PM   #5
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In our old rig we had 6 golf cart batteries and still had to be very careful what we ran and how much. Putting an inverter in isn't as much of a problem as getting the battery storage you need to run much.
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Old 09-19-2020, 01:02 PM   #6
Mike639
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You have several ways you can go about getting your inverter installed. We use a 1500 Samlex inverter paired with a transfer switch. I have a relay (see link) installed that when the inverter is on it turns off the converter. With the relay I don't have to worry about forgetting to switch a breaker.

Depending on what you want to run off the inverter depends on the size. I can run my microwave without issue but that does put a hurt on the batteries. We change our electronics overnight, have a baby monitor on to watch the toddler down below, and run a fan all night. We use about 10% of our DC power over night. With our solar setup we are fully charged between 11am-2pm depending on solar coverage.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 09-20-2020, 08:39 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Mike639 View Post
You have several ways you can go about getting your inverter installed. We use a 1500 Samlex inverter paired with a transfer switch. I have a relay (see link) installed that when the inverter is on it turns off the converter. With the relay I don't have to worry about forgetting to switch a breaker.

Depending on what you want to run off the inverter depends on the size. I can run my microwave without issue but that does put a hurt on the batteries. We change our electronics overnight, have a baby monitor on to watch the toddler down below, and run a fan all night. We use about 10% of our DC power over night. With our solar setup we are fully charged between 11am-2pm depending on solar coverage.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That's brilliant and really maks sense. How did you run the wires from the relay to the converter? On my 3820 FK I have the inverter in the center storage.
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Old 09-20-2020, 09:10 AM   #8
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That's brilliant and really maks sense. How did you run the wires from the relay to the converter? On my 3820 FK I have the inverter in the center storage.

So I went to the breaker panel and ran romex from the converter breaker to the relay. It was not fun but I can’t forget to flip the breaker.
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Old 09-20-2020, 09:58 AM   #9
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Thank you!!!!
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Old 09-23-2020, 07:42 PM   #10
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You can but I found that I lost so much in line loss with my 2000 watt Inverter that I wired it in permanently. I use a transfer switch that only powers one load side in the breaker panel and moved circuits around so only the essential circuits are drawing down the batteries. Works very well now
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Old 09-23-2020, 07:52 PM   #11
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You can but I found that I lost so much in line loss with my 2000 watt Inverter that I wired it in permanently. I use a transfer switch that only powers one load side in the breaker panel and moved circuits around so only the essential circuits are drawing down the batteries. Works very well now
What do you mean with you has loss in line?
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Old 09-23-2020, 08:10 PM   #12
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The batteries are up front as is the inverter but the shore power plug is in the rear some 40 ft away. With the CB panel at mid beam that’s over 60 ft of line loss which is a big deal if you want to run a 1500 watt coffee maker
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Old 09-23-2020, 08:35 PM   #13
Dreamersandtravelers
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With 4 12v golf cart batteries we've powered two inverters. One is a 1200 w for a power strip in bedroom and apt fridge in basement. Lasted quite well. So we then added a 3000w pure sine which really used more power. We ran a 25' heavy duty construction cord to plug into rv 50a with a 15a adapter to power all outlets, tv, satellite and kitchen appliances. For that we had mutliple 'human errors' by forgetting to turn off battery charge function when on inverter AND forgetting to turn it ON when back on shore power or generator. next plan is installing Lithium batteries and Victron solar sys.
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Old 09-24-2020, 08:19 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by bigdawgfinley View Post
The batteries are up front as is the inverter but the shore power plug is in the rear some 40 ft away. With the CB panel at mid beam that’s over 60 ft of line loss which is a big deal if you want to run a 1500 watt coffee maker
That 60' you speak of is 120V AC. Very little in the way of voltage drop.
So insignificant, it doesn't even matter.

If it were the 12V DC traveling 60' then it absolutely does become a problem.
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Old 09-24-2020, 12:14 PM   #15
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That 60' you speak of is 120V AC. Very little in the way of voltage drop.
So insignificant, it doesn't even matter.

If it were the 12V DC traveling 60' then it absolutely does become a problem.
This is correct. You may want to review my post above. My experience is that the power FROM the inverter is AC not DC so very little loss from line. I use the regular 30 AMP cord just as I would from a campground pedistal. 30 AM because that is the way I had mine wired
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