Transfer Switch Idea

[Mark77]

Beginning to acquire everything I think I need to totally re-work my shore power / portable generator / Inverter setup in my Montana BEFORE I go on a cross country road trip again. I lot was learned on the first one.

I bought this transfer switch on eBay after a real battle with a Progressive Dynamics PD52 I purchased a couple of years ago. I posted about this issue then on MOC's sister site "IRV2". Used to kind of bounce back and forth between the 2 platforms, lately have settled here more so than IRV2.

None the less, here is a link to the issue I was having with the PD52 posted there if you are interested.

If not, check out this short video if what is going to be the transfer switch I am going to install when I get started in the next few months.

 

[Daryles]

I would install a SoftStartRV on the AC units.
Mike Sokol of
RVELECTRICITY FB group
Did a test on the SoftStartRV. He has detailed his results here.

RVelectricity: Hard start capacitors vs. SoftStartRV. Big difference!

By Mike Sokol Dear Mike, It would be informative to also show a plot of a "hard start "capacitor with both the standard capacitor and the SoftStartRV.

www.rvtravel.com

I installed a SoftStartRV on the forward AC unit and I can run it on a 2000w inverter.

I also installed a ATS. I got tired of doing a Redneck way of transferring power for boondocking.

Automatic Transfer Switch install

Automatic Transfer Switch install. We boondock (dry camp) frequently using generators and Solar (800w) with a 3000w inverter powered by a 554Ah lithium battery bank. We did NOT have an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS). I have been using a "manual" (red neck) method for distributing 120vac power...

www.montanaowners.com

 

[Mark77]

I would install a SoftStartRV on the AC units.
Mike Sokol
Did a test on the SoftStartRV. He has detailed his results here.

RVelectricity: Hard start capacitors vs. SoftStartRV. Big difference!

By Mike Sokol Dear Mike, It would be informative to also show a plot of a "hard start "capacitor with both the standard capacitor and the SoftStartRV.

www.rvtravel.com

I installed a SoftStartRV on the forward AC unit and I can run it on a 2000w inverter.

I do watch Sokol and I have installed a soft start on the rear A/C. I have never had trouble running the A/C, even before the soft start was installed, but I did have trouble with the PD transfer switch before and after the soft start install. Like I said in that other thread, PD tech support led me to believe that they were having some trouble with that switch when coupled with inverter generators, but stopped short of telling me so. I was way past return time for that switch, so the conversation did not go much further.

But, the point is in this thread is just to show another option for a transfer switch that does not try to protect us from ourselves (PD52) and could in fact cause more problems with the "hunting" I described. 25 years ago I remember installing a transfer switch in a friends Excel 5'er (30A) that was simply a DPDT relay with a 120 V coil in a metal box. Simple, right? The switch I posted above is pretty much the same thing, except it has separate coil connections and dry contact relays for each source. It won't care if the voltage drops south of 100 volts for milliseconds when it switches.

I'll let everyone know how it goes before the end of the summer.

If anyone would like a good deal on a PD52 switch, PM me!