Inverter Information Overload

[bennettommyd]

OK, I've read tons and tons of stuff on this site about inverters, I'm on overload.

I've read about control panels and a bunch of stuff. I need ideas on how to hook-up an inverter. I wouldn't mind making all the 110 plugs hot, but I'm only going to run the livingroom television and such off battery. I have a portable generator if needed. Any and all ideas are appreciated.

[Alwims]

The easiest and simplest way is to hook up an inverter to your battery and run a cord or 2 from it to whatever you are going to power. You run into a lot of technical stuff if you try to hard wire one into your rig. You're are going to be very limited on what you can run from just 1 12 volt battery. How you choose to charge your batteries is a whole other subject. If you haven't bought your inverter, PM me. I've got a same as new, pure sine wave 1000 watt I just listed on Craigslist.

[2Wanderers]

Alwims has a good suggestion. I did the same thing. I ran a 14 gauge extension cord with 3 outlets on one end from below the TV down through my cabinet into the basement and over to the inverter. Had to remove the plug and install another to get it through to small hole in the cabinet back (cosmetic issue), but that was it. I am able to run my DVR, Satellite box, and TV with no issues. In fact, using my inverter as a power source also protects all three from surge issues which might get through my surge arrestor.

[brenkco]

I got slightly more complicated. I installed a 1500w inverter with 4, 6 volt batteries. I run an extension cord from my inverter and power the entire rig. I installed a single pole switch on my converter so I can turn it off when running off the inverter. My goal was to have enough power to run my cpap machine (with heater) and make coffee in the morning. Mission accomplished.....with one problem.

Every time I switched from generator power to inverter, my Dish tailgater resets and has to go through the setup process including downloading the program guide...start to finish about a half an hour (caused by the software in the Tailgater). If I ran the generator in the morning and evening, that was 4 cycles or about 2 hours which really messed up the DVR recordings.

The solution (that might help you Tom n Diane).... To avoid having the dish tailgater reset so many times daily, I decided to install a single pole, double throw switch just for the entertainment circuit. I ran romex from the inverter to one side of the switch. From the electrical panel, I ran romex to the other side of the switch. The center pole runs to the entertainment circuit. Now I can keep the entertainment running off of a/c when plugged in to shore power or the inverter when boondocking. Thanks to Carl N Susan for the switch suggestion.

Hope that helps.

Ken

[Alwims]

quote:Originally posted by brenkco

I got slightly more complicated. I installed a 1500w inverter with 4, 6 volt batteries. I run an extension cord from my inverter and power the entire rig. I installed a single pole switch on my converter so I can turn it off when running off the inverter. My goal was to have enough power to run my cpap machine (with heater) and make coffee in the morning. Mission accomplished.....with one problem.

Every time I switched from generator power to inverter, my Dish tailgater resets and has to go through the setup process including downloading the program guide...start to finish about a half an hour (caused by the software in the Tailgater). If I ran the generator in the morning and evening, that was 4 cycles or about 2 hours which really messed up the DVR recordings.

The solution (that might help you Tom n Diane).... To avoid having the dish tailgater reset so many times daily, I decided to install a single pole, double throw switch just for the entertainment circuit. I ran romex from the inverter to one side of the switch. From the electrical panel, I ran romex to the other side of the switch. The center pole runs to the entertainment circuit. Now I can keep the entertainment running off of a/c when plugged in to shore power or the inverter when boondocking. Thanks to Carl N Susan for the switch suggestion.

Hope that helps.

Ken

I wish I could claim this idea, but it belongs to Ozz. We bought a $40 UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply from Tiger Direct. Plugged the Dish receiver into it and now when switching the power doesn't make it reset.

As for my inverter, mine is hardwired into a switch box.

[RickW]

I have the MagnaSine 2812 in both the Monty & Truck. (Found the one for the truck on EBay. It was new but scratched and dented. Paid 1/2 price for it so it serves as a backup in the event of a failure in the trailer.) I love it, it is great. When the inverter is turned on all the 110v plugs in the trailer have power. Which is nice but things like the TV & Microwave which draw power even when not being used are sucking on the power in the battery. So I just flip all the beakers off and only turn on the ones we need. I only have 2-6v batteries (220 amp hours).

Keep in mind the extent of our boondocking is primarily just a overnight in a parking lot. So it is not really a inconvenience to have to run back and forth turning on/off breakers as needed to conserve power. But if we were in one spot for an extended period of time off grid, I could see it then becoming a problem. For that I would either have a very large battery bank with the ability to recharge it daily via solar with a generator backup. Or I would drop a couple of plugs in various parts of the trailer that would only be powered by the inverter. Then I would only have the items that I needed connected to power so that no phantom draws run down the batteries unexpectedly. You can put the inverter plugs on a sub panel that is fed thru a transfer switch. When you are on shore power the sub panel goes thru the shore power side of the transfer switch and then when the inverter is on and shore power is not present the panel is powered by the inverter. Little bit more work to set up but when parked you are not having to run extension cords all over the place or plug & unplug things from the 2 different panels.

[bennettommyd]

I appreciate the input, but still kinda lost (electrically challenged).

This is what I was thinking about doing based on some of the input.

Install a inverter, flip the breaker for the converter, use a 50 amp pig tale and run a heavy duty extension cord from the inverter to the back of the rig. I think this should provide power to the outlets. I would also flipthe circut breaker for the micro. I can always ues my generator for a few hours to charge the batteries.

[2Wanderers]

If you go with your idea, then don't forget to turn off the ckt breaker for the hot water heater. It will really load down the inverter or a generator. Put the hot water heater on propane. Been there, done that with the generator (Where's the load and why the low voltage !!!)

[mtheo]

I put two double pole double throw switchs, one one tv/entertainment center and one to the bed room tv. That way I don't have to worry about forgetting to turn something on nor off and don't get unexpected battery drain. With the DP/DT switch you can't accidentally leave it on and some how hook up to shore or generator and back feed your system/ neutral and power are both disconnected.

[Carl n Susan]

Your solution will work. You will have to turn off the inverter and turn on the CB for the converter when you run the generator.

Switching back and forth is disruptive. Probably not a problem if all you are doing is watching TV for an hour or two. If you plan to watch longer or use a DVR and satellite to record shows, the disruption will be a problem.

The outlets for the entertainment center and the driver's side outlet in the rear wall, on a 3700RL, are driven by one circuit breaker. I run the TV, Satellite receiver, stereo, WiFi router and amplifier, and laptop computers all from that circuit. As Ken and Mark wrote, a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch for that one circuit is easy to do once you understand how it works. It does require some mechanical ability to install but it is not difficult.

PM or email me if you want more detail.