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Old 01-28-2016, 04:13 PM   #1
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Some GFI protected circuits work and some don't.

Out on our maiden voyage of FC26U. At campground with 30 amp on shore power. As Subject suggests, some outlets are working and others are not - the ones with the TVs and at base of dinette. Have tripped the gfci breaker in electric panel and comes back on. The only socket with a trip switch will not test (at base of dinette). All worked fine during demo. Did I mention it's raining like cats and dogs.
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Old 01-28-2016, 04:37 PM   #2
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The only socket with a trip switch will not test (at base of dinette).
You don't want to test it, you want to reset it. Pressing "Test" trips the GFCI, so if it's already tripped, pressing "Test" again does nothing. There should be a separate reset switch on the outlet.
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Old 01-28-2016, 04:40 PM   #3
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It appears that the Inverter switch must be on for these sockets to work. I don't recall that being the case with our other AS.
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Old 01-28-2016, 04:52 PM   #4
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It appears that the Inverter switch must be on for these sockets to work. I don't recall that being the case with our other AS.
That should not be the case anyway. You can only use one source of 120vAC power at a time. There is no way to power some circuits from shore power and others from the inverter at the same time.

It's far more likely that there are some circuits that can be powered from shore power but not the inverter, such as the A/C and microwave, while others are powered from either one. There should not be any 120vAC circuit that is powered by the inverter but not by shore power.
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Old 01-28-2016, 05:36 PM   #5
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There should not be any 120vAC circuit that is powered by the inverter but not by shore power.
Protagonist, unlike the Interstates (apparently) in the stock Airstream travel trailers the inverter outlets are not energized by shore power, and the non-inverter (i.e., shore power) outlets are not energized by the inverter, they are basically parallel AC systems. That's why Airstream TTs with factory inverters have two outlets under the television (and usually one or two other locations,) with one being marked as "inverter."
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Old 01-28-2016, 05:45 PM   #6
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Protagonist, unlike the Interstates (apparently) in the stock Airstream travel trailers the inverter outlets are not energized by shore power, and the non-inverter (i.e., shore power) outlets are not energized by the inverter, they are basically parallel AC systems.
That's weird because an inverter/charger can invert or charge but not both at once. So if you've got outlets powered by the inverter and outlets powered by shore power concurrently, you're draining the house batteries to provide power to the inverter, but not recharging them until you shut off all the inverter-powered circuits. That's why it seems weird, that you can potentially drain the house batteries while hooked up to shore power.

But I'll take your word for it nonetheless.
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Old 01-28-2016, 08:40 PM   #7
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The breakers maybe tripped and you don't realize it. The way you reset a breaker is turn it fully off first then back on. Do that with all your breakers and let us know if that fixes it. FYI you can find your inverted and it will have a 110 cord on it. Plug that cord into a regular 110 outlet. My 25FB the inverter is under the bed and I can plug it into the night stand. It will then supply 110 to the inverter outlets. There is a transfer switch built into the inverter.
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Old 01-28-2016, 09:00 PM   #8
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Are inverters common with the newer units? Our 05 doesn't have an inverter. The only source for 120 VAC in the AS is through our 30 amp shore power connection.
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Old 01-29-2016, 05:17 AM   #9
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Thanks for all of your help. Still a couple to check but AnnArborBob got us in the right track. A single outlet, two plugs - one inverter and one shore power. Appliances plugged into inverter side. Factory labels poorly placed. Will rectify today. Safe travels to all!
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Old 01-29-2016, 08:25 AM   #10
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That's weird because an inverter/charger can invert or charge but not both at once. So if you've got outlets powered by the inverter and outlets powered by shore power concurrently, you're draining the house batteries to provide power to the inverter, but not recharging them until you shut off all the inverter-powered circuits. That's why it seems weird, that you can potentially drain the house batteries while hooked up to shore power.

But I'll take your word for it nonetheless.
The factory standard set up for an Airstream trailer is an integrated charger/converter (to charge the batteries and make 12 volts when on shore power) and a separate inverter (with a few dedicated inverter outlets) to provide AC power from the batteries when not on shore power. I never tried using the inverter when plugged into shore power so I don't know if they could work at the same time although I can't imagine it wouldn't but why you would do this?

We've since replaced all the stock Airstream stuff with a high end solar system with a Blue Sky controller and a Magnum inverter/charger so I can no longer test that particular configuration. I believe that Airstream Interstate Class C's have a Magnum inverter/charger as part of the basic package.
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Old 01-29-2016, 08:26 AM   #11
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Are inverters common with the newer units? Our 05 doesn't have an inverter. The only source for 120 VAC in the AS is through our 30 amp shore power connection.
I'm pretty sure that the inverter is an option on most new Airstream trailers. It may be standard on some of the higher end models but I am not sure about that.
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Old 01-29-2016, 09:28 AM   #12
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That does seem odd and I'll double check on our 2016 Classic when out for a few weeks. Leave in a week! But the powered recliners will work when only shore power or if only battery + inverter on. I've looked at the schematics before and it sure seemed like it operated the way Protagonist implied. But I there are clearly outlets that have markings that say they are powered by inverter. Just assumed that are also hot when connected to shore power.
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Old 01-29-2016, 11:48 AM   #13
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For what it's worth, in our 06 the inverter outlets are dedicated to the inverter and the other outlets are dedicated to 120 power... the inverter has to be on in order for the inverter outlets to work.
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Old 01-29-2016, 05:01 PM   #14
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That does seem odd and I'll double check on our 2016 Classic when out for a few weeks. Leave in a week! But the powered recliners will work when only shore power or if only battery + inverter on. I've looked at the schematics before and it sure seemed like it operated the way Protagonist implied. But I there are clearly outlets that have markings that say they are powered by inverter. Just assumed that are also hot when connected to shore power.
Since you can operate the recliners on either shore power or inverter power, then Airstream must have installed some type of automatic transfer switch for the recliners since it would be a PIA to have to move the plug between a shore power and inverter outlet behind the recliners every time you changed modes.
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Old 01-29-2016, 07:01 PM   #15
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I have thought about getting an inverter for our 05 Classic but haven't done so yet. I wasn't aware there were Airstream trailers with factory installed inverters. Proof again there's always something to learn from the forums.
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Old 01-30-2016, 06:02 AM   #16
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For what it's worth, in our 06 the inverter outlets are dedicated to the inverter and the other outlets are dedicated to 120 power... the inverter has to be on in order for the inverter outlets to work.
This is correct and if you want the inverter outlets hot while on shore power plug in the inverter to an outlet. A transfer switch is built into the inverter. The reason I do this is it doubles my outlets. Cell phone and iPad chargers x 2 people uses them all up under the table. And wifi, cable stuff uses the others at the TV and DVD locations.
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Old 01-30-2016, 07:51 AM   #17
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Some GFI protected circuits work and some don't.

My factory installed 1 kw inverter uses 2 amps whenever it is on, whether anything is plugged into it or not, so we leave it off unless we are using it. There are several inverter plugs in the trailer, and they are only "hot" when the inverter is turned on. The inverter plugs are not "hot" when plugged in to shore power, unless the inverter is turned on. There would be no reason to turn on the inverter when connected to shore power, but it does work and I guess you could use it if you want to use one of the inverter outlets, which we have never needed to do. Our 160 w solar panels are adequate to recharge the batteries the next day (as long as it is a sunny day) after using the inverter to watch a movie at night and charge up the cell phones, while also using the batteries to keep the lights going while we're awake, run the water pump, the furnace fan in the morning, etc., so we're pretty self-sufficient electric wise when we're off the grid. This means we have to plug in the TV and sound equip to a different set of plugs when we switch from inverter power to shore power, but I don't want to leave the inverter on when we're on shore power and then forget to turn it off when we unplug from shore power. The thing I usually forget to turn on or off (while I'm also forgetting to latch and unlatch the stove vent cover) is the power switch to the antenna. Oh well, it is only a small power drain, I guess. Another reason I should be using a checklist....

Just read the post above. Don't believe our inverter has a plug that we could plug into an outlet. It seems to be hardwired in.


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Old 01-30-2016, 09:46 AM   #18
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We lost power last weekend while in Borrego Springs on our 2014 25' FC. Breaker was tripped in the panel so re-set. Still, some outlets would not power up; cycled outside shore power source; no issues. GFI in bathroom was also tripped, which was source of my problems.

My inverter outlets also do not work when shore power unless I turn on the inverter. Not sure why AS decided to put 2 sets of outlets instead of making all of them work with inverter or shore power. But, I also wonder why they don't offer the U-shaped dining configuration in the 26U in other models... :-)
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Old 01-30-2016, 10:20 PM   #19
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Okay it seems no one is getting it. IF YOU LOOK at the inverter, there is a 110 volt cord on it. You plug that cord into a live 110 outlet when on shore power and power is transferred to the inverter outlets. You could leave the TV plugged into the inverter outlet and it would be hot when on shore power and off when not on it. You would then turn on the inverter to use the the outlet when boondocking. Plugging in the inverter only transfers shore power to the dedicated outlets. Plugging it in is not the same as turning it on. The inverter could also be hard wired to the plug I am referencing.
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Old 02-01-2016, 08:19 AM   #20
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Okay it seems no one is getting it. IF YOU LOOK at the inverter, there is a 110 volt cord on it. You plug that cord into a live 110 outlet when on shore power and power is transferred to the inverter outlets. You could leave the TV plugged into the inverter outlet and it would be hot when on shore power and off when not on it. You would then turn on the inverter to use the the outlet when boondocking. Plugging in the inverter only transfers shore power to the dedicated outlets. Plugging it in is not the same as turning it on. The inverter could also be hard wired to the plug I am referencing.
Ahhhsooo! Is that noted in the manual? Where is the inverter located with this plug? Still, wonder why they have 2 sets of plugs in the first place if they could have done it with the inverter just hardwired or plugged in as you indicate?
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