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Old 12-10-2017, 09:52 AM   #1
Idalogger52
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Inverters

For those that have installed inverters, how did you wire them ? There seems to be a few different methods from what I’ve researched. Interested in hearing what actual users have done.
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Old 12-10-2017, 10:24 AM   #2
Lenny K
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Even though I have 50 amp service I wired in a 30 amp Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) and a subpanel. The ATS is powered from a 30 amp breaker installed in the main panel. The inverter and subpanel are connected to the ATS and this way only the circuits I want powered are when the inverter is in use.
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Old 12-10-2017, 11:14 AM   #3
boat391
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I did my install very similar. Only I bought a inverter with a built in transfer switch. The one i bought has the capability to be hard wired in so I took the circuits I wanted to use and wired them is it’s very easy to do. If we are boondocking I just fire up the inverter and just leave it off the rest of the time. With the auto transfer switch built in I can run my generator and it switches to shore power and back without turning the inverter on and off. I had a plan as to exactly what I wanted power too and just went to those circuits. This is the second 5’er I have installed this inverter in. It works flawlessly for us.
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Old 12-10-2017, 11:22 AM   #4
Carl n Susan
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We have a much less sophisticated system. While we dry camp for months at a time, our 110V needs are minimal. But we did want the TV, DirecTV receiver, sound system, DVD player, laptops, and WiFi to be powered without running the Honda 2000i. To achieve this we installed a 2000 watt inverter and four 6V batteries. It turns out there is only one circuit in our 3700RL which powers the entertainment center and a wall plug in the rear. That is all we need to run the above devices.

I installed a Double
Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch in the coat closet and ran the circuit from the inverter to one side of the DPDT, a circuit from the CB in the power panel to the other side, and lastly the circuit to the entertainment center to the center pole. This allows us to select the power source for the entertainment center independent of the rest of the RV's power source. When in a park with power, the DPDT is switched to allow the shore power to provide power.

When dry camping, the DPDT is switched to allow the inverter to power the entertainment center. This way we can run the entertainment devices without running the generator and keeping other campers awake (I am a bit of a night owl). We do have to run the generator couple of hours per day to recharge the batteries via the shore power cord feeding the converter. This is also when we run the ice maker to rebuild our supply of this important commodity.

Early on we tried using an auto transfer switch in place of a manual switch. We couldn't find one that switched fast enough when the generator came online. The DirecTV (and Dish too) receiver is very sensitive to power interruptions and will re-boot when it detects one. Very inconvenient to be watching (or recording) a show and having to wait as the system goes through its setup routine.
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Old 12-10-2017, 02:09 PM   #5
Lenny K
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Early on we tried using an auto transfer switch in place of a manual switch. We couldn't find one that switched fast enough when the generator came online. The DirecTV (and Dish too) receiver is very sensitive to power interruptions and will re-boot when it detects one. Very inconvenient to be watching (or recording) a show and having to wait as the system goes through its setup routine.
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I have never run into that problem with our Shaw receiver. It works flawlessly.
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Old 12-10-2017, 06:17 PM   #6
mhs4771
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Carl, I power our DirecTV Receiver and Power Inserter through a UPS because we seem to get frequent power drops at our Winter Park, and agree seems to take forever to do a re-boot, but no problem now.
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Old 12-10-2017, 06:39 PM   #7
Carl n Susan
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Yup Michele, a UPS would solve the slow switch time of the auto transfer switch. I preferred to not use one when dry camping. But I do camp in a park that is notorious for dropping power (actually low voltage that the Progressive doesn't like) and I will use one there.
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