Inverter

[magwa]

You're camping...At least you have internet.

Which inverter are you running? What MH/TT? If there is no reset on the inverter, you possibly blew a circuit breaker when you overloaded. A simple flip of the circuit breaker switch should do it....without the heater plugged in.

Did you try the socket on the inverter (after a "cooling down" period for you *and* the inverter) with something within the inverter's load range? I'm assuming your batteries are charged adequately.

Again, I'm not the one with good answers...I have mostly questions for the Veteran members here. But I'm on line and would be happy to help if you need me to look up the inverter stats to see if there's a "reset" button or something.

First, I'd start with the above.

[dsrtgrls]

i have to get to the inverter under the dinnette seat and see about that switch you mentioned. i will never do this again so it was a great lesson to a newbie. none of the circut breakers were tripped off that i could see behind the brown door under our closet they were all switched on. the 2 inverter outlets were not listed as being on a breaker like that as far as i could see but this is an adventure and we are hooked to shore power and all the other outlets are working normally.

[magwa]

Sure enough. I ended up with the Airpax Dimensions 3600N hooked to two 12v Northstar batteries hooked in parallel. These things are 131 lbs each, 170.8Ah deep cycle, and made for the telecom industry. The charger is a Go Power 10 amp, three stage that I have wired in immediately upstream of the shore power plug.

In the bedroom on the wall, I'm using a remote on/off for the inverter, a 110 switch for the charger. I'll turn it "off" when on inverter power. The simple "manual" switch for the inverter/shore power: I get out, open the electrical bay, plug into either shore power or inverter power using the 30amp plug.

I tested the heck out of it and two hours with TV, lights, plugging a mini-die grinder in and turning it on and off, running the air (just for a minute)....all work well and almost no "measured" drop in battery storage. Of course, (also on the bedroom wall) I only have a mickey-mouse volt gage that I'm running remotely. If anyone knows of a good digital gage, that would be a help. All I can find on EBay are garbage Chinese units that are panel mounted.

Anyway, until I report back based upon actual use, "all systems are go". Thanks again to all for the help.

[76sovereign]

Good to know

[76sovereign]

What Webcam did you use to take that picture of you and the kids?!!!! Amazing quality....[QUOTE=magwa;744801]So, I've been researching the inverter stuff and find many available that will work. I added up the wattage requirement of the "stuff" that The Boss uses...

[magwa]

Originally Posted by 76sovereign

What Webcam did you use to take that picture of you and the kids?!!!! Amazing quality....

It's the one that came with the Apple computer. So easy, *I* can even use it!!!!

[76sovereign]

My Apple does not have the camera in it...I think that came out the year after i bought mine....Everyone was using the isight which I don not have.. Really nice quaility

[76sovereign]

We want to be able to run our electric fridge while running down the hwy. So we are looking at an inverter of some kind as well. It would be nice if it could power the Tele/DVD as well....I guess I need a list of what I will need and how to hook it up....That sounds so simple doesn't it?

[magwa]

Originally Posted by 76sovereign

....I guess I need a list of what I will need and how to hook it up....That sounds so simple doesn't it?

It really *is*. If I can do it.......then....

Start with a list of appliances you want to run. Then check which ones you want to run at the same time. Then check the continuous wattage requirements for each. Then check the maximum surge of which appliances will start up at the same time. All that is needed to decide on what size inverter to buy.

I don't know about the fridge. Seems the general consensus is that you don't want to use electricity to run it while boondocking...or if you do, be ready to "pay" for the wattage through both inverter size and amp hours used from your battery storage. I get mixed messages on the "running down the road with the propane on......". I'm sure that the fact that I do run the fridge on propane while running down the highway....(Although I immediately shut-'er-down at the gas station) will open a can of worms. I have not heard of folks burning down from doing so. (Flame suit on...Mfg. Lawyer's three-piece flame suits on).

After you check out the correct sized inverter, you have to decide whether you want pure sine or modified. It apperas you want to run TV and computer. My money goes solidly on pure sine...More money. But I, personally, think it's a must.

Next, you figure out whether you need to purchase an inverter with a built-in switch (for auto switching between generator or shore power or inverter power) and/or one with a built in three-stage charger.

More personal choice and money choices. As I said before, I happened on a pure sine inverter at 3600 watts that had no charger or switch. I'm simply switching by taking the shore plug and plugging in to a 30 amp female socket I installed in the bay that holds the shore power cord. So, I'm either on shore power, inverter power, or unplugged and just using the existing system (gen set w/converter or 12v house batteries). For charging, I bought a 3-stage 10 amp Go Power charger and wired up a proprietary 110 socket with an on/off switch that I turn on whenever I'm hooked to shore power.

All of those choices will determine your wiring into or separate from the existing system.

Finally, the batteries. There's too much good info on this forum to discuss the pros and cons of which batteries, etc. But the two primary determinations should be how much room you have and weight you can/want to carry, and the amount of storage capacity you'll think you'll need/want. Pretty easy to figure out amp hours...But I think the real way to tell is start the system up with your best guess, run it for a while, and then add if you've shorted (bad pun) yourself.

As I stated, it's really easy. But I did it the easy way....I just created a completely different and separate system. When and if I ever want to integrate the inverter system into the house system, or when I want to get the inverter system's batteries charged up with the MH alternator, or add a switch, I'll have to get some professional help.

I would not have even tried the system I now have without the help from all the folks on this Forum. And I thank you all. It's working perfectly.

[76sovereign]

MAGWA: I can't thank you enough for taking the time to answer my post!
It is very helpful and I'm sure will help us make the right decisions as to what size inverter to buy.. Love the check list...

[magwa]

My pleasure. Hope it helps.

[dsrtgrls]

thanks for all who gave help with my blown inverter outlets. it wound up a easy reset. all i had to do was push the inverter button on the wall by the vanity and it all came back. another lesson learned.

[76sovereign]

This is awesome...What is it????

Originally Posted by magwa

My pleasure. Hope it helps.

[magwa]

Alaskan First People's carvings in the village house in Wrangell. Incredible work.

[Howard Lefkowitz]

Go to the Airstream.com site and locate the customer service area which has Motor Home Manuals. Select the 2004 Diesel Motor Coach Manual. This one has the schematics and description of the 12 volt system which incorporates a converter/inverter system that does what you want. This is a relatively complex system that automatically provides computer controlled battery charging and 110 VAC output power on many of the outlet plugs. This is not just a 'buy a few boxes and screw them together' operation. There are many considerations other than just figuring out the loads. As I recall your unit has the batteries in the front compartment, either two or three. Four 6 Volt units would be much better than 4 12 Volt batteries, however, they are much larger and considerably heavier so you will get into front end axle and tire capacity questions. Doing an automatic switch from shore-power, handling charging and selecting outlets to be powered is usually done by an Intellitec unit designed to do the complete job. Check their web site for several different models. Then what about providing a solar add-on in the future. You should certainly provide for this option.

My recommendation is to find a good dealer and let them design and install the system after you have provided the requirements. The hardware is expensive and will be the major cost component. If you are buying hardware almost all of the good shops will do the design at no cost. However, you will need wiring (including some very heavy duty cables), new fusing and a control panel that will require expertise. Trying to save a few bucks on labor may not really be cost effective.

I will be happy to help you select a vendor and also to review his design before you make the final purchase.

Howard
WBCCI Tech Help Group

[n2916s]

One of the great things about the Forums is seeing how the other half lives. I thought I was living large with my 300 watt sine wave inverter powering the lcd and the satellite rcvr.

Some of you guys can plug a welder into your battery bank! Very cool.

Guess I am a Luddite.....

mike