Inverter use while boondocking

[THMiller]

While boondocking and with the A/C circuit breaker tripped, can I plug the output of my 1000W inverter into the nearest trailer duplex receptical to energize the 120v outlets in the trailer? Obviously the connection would need to be removed before utilizing an external 120v supply. Any problem with the GFCIs installed in the trailer wiring.

[xrvr]

Are you talking about an inverter generator like a honda 1000.? Or am i misunderstanding?

[Rich W]

They're talking about using a male to male plug to connect the inverter and the closest wall plug, to send AC power to all of the AS 120 vac wall outlets.

[kittmaster]

Using a cheater plug is bad business.

Don't do it.

[lsbrodsky]

Yeah, if you have a small portable inverter that you plug into a 12v outlet, it has one or two AC outlets on it. Just plug your TV or coffee maker into that. That is how it was designed. Don't do the wrong thing with your trailer.
Larry

[THMiller]

Thanks for your advice on the cheater cord. I will not go down that path.

[Ephraim]

Originally Posted by richw46

They're talking about using a male to male plug to connect the inverter and the closest wall plug, to send AC power to all of the AS 120 vac wall outlets.

We always called those suicide plugs.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

In general, inverter use while out and about is not a good idea. They really suck the batteries down in a very big hurry. They are something you use for "minutes at a time" rather than all the time. Running this or that in the kitchen for food prep is ok. Watching a half dozen movies - not so much.

For the intended use, getting something to the inverter plug is not that big a deal. It also reminds you to unplug things and shut down. Powering the whole trailer is very likely to get you powering up lots of odd things. One obvious example is the fridge ....

Is this a "always" sort of thing? If you have a KW of solar on the roof and it's sunny out ... certainly not. If you have a 600AH (usable) battery bank, probably not. If you are set up with the normal batteries in a normal trailer, it's the way you should do things.

Bob

[Ephraim]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

In general, inverter use while out and about is not a good idea. They really suck the batteries down in a very big hurry. They are something you use for "minutes at a time" rather than all the time. Running this or that in the kitchen for food prep is ok. Watching a half dozen movies - not so much.

For the intended use, getting something to the inverter plug is not that big a deal. It also reminds you to unplug things and shut down. Powering the whole trailer is very likely to get you powering up lots of odd things. One obvious example is the fridge ....

Is this a "always" sort of thing? If you have a KW of solar on the roof and it's sunny out ... certainly not. If you have a 600AH (usable) battery bank, probably not. If you are set up with the normal batteries in a normal trailer, it's the way you should do things.

Bob

That really depends on how your trailer is setup. I have a camping trailer that is really a cargo trailer with shelving in it. it's what we used pre-airstream. I have a solar system that can be set up in varying positions. Inside the trailer, I had a 9 cuft fridge/freezer (apartment style with compressor) When boondoocking with that setup, I ran an inverter to power the fridge, computers (cause i can't get away from work), lights, and camera equipment. The Canvas tent was wired for 110V with lights. The fridge was a self defrosting unit.

I had 800 watts of solar panel I could set up, but the fridge would work off of 200W on a good day and have the batteries completely rechagred befor noon. 400 W on a so-so day. Bad cloudy days required the full 800W. As long as you have enough battery to make it through the night and enough solar to run your "stuff" as well as charge your batteries the following day, there is no problem running an inverter 24/7. I did it for a month at a time with no other power sources available.

You can't just make a blanket statement of yes or no on the OPs question. You have to find out what loads he is running (or wants to run) and how he will replenish the batteries.

However, also in the ops original question was the use of the male-mail plug to run with it. Another name we used for that kind of cord was "widowmaker".

[cazual6]

Originally Posted by THMiller

While boondocking and with the A/C circuit breaker tripped, can I plug the output of my 1000W inverter into the nearest trailer duplex receptical to energize the 120v outlets in the trailer? .

Please clarify. It is not clear what you are asking. If I think what you are trying to do, then that would be dangerous.


You would have to make a custom extension cord with both ends being male.

[rmkrum]

Which would be a) dangerous, b) a serious safety hazard, c) violates electrical codes, and d) could cause a ‘back feed’ situation. Not a good idea under any circumstances as many of us have pointed out.

If you need to do something like this, install a manual transfer switch and a proper connector for the inverter.

[pteck]

Originally Posted by THMiller

While boondocking and with the A/C circuit breaker tripped, can I plug the output of my 1000W inverter into the nearest trailer duplex receptical to energize the 120v outlets in the trailer? Obviously the connection would need to be removed before utilizing an external 120v supply. Any problem with the GFCIs installed in the trailer wiring.

As others have mentioned, that's not the way you want to do it.

Appropriate candidate solutions:
1) Make a cable that goes between the inverter and the 30amp input port on the outside of your trailer. Important to make sure you turn off your converter charger.
2) Install a transfer switch that allows the inverter to feed the 120V circuits internally. Again, important to turn off your converter.
3) This goes above and beyond your question, but consider a standalone high power lithium power station for your 120V uses. This will give you a lot for capacity and flexibility to boondock and power 120V devices.

[suncoasteng]

NO! Plug whatever appliance you want to run directly to the 1000 W inverter.
And I assume you would only plug the 1000 W inverter into the cigarette lighter on your TV.

If you are charging your phone, no problem. If you are running your electric razor or TV, no problem but you probably want to have the engine idling in the TV so you do not drain its battery.

If you are running the coffee pot, make sure you know the wattage of the coffee maker.

[TouringDan]

We pretty much camp without hookups exclusively. We have a 2,000 watt inverter with a remote switch and 200 Ah of lithium batteries, see photo. We only turn it on when we need it for the microwave, toaster, hair dryer or small 5,000 btu/hr AC.

We don’t need 30 amp service, so we down graded our service to 20 amps, see photo. We installed a simple 3 way switch that selects either the hot leg from the inverter or the hot leg from the 20 amp shore power connection to feed the panel box.

With this setup, all our receptacles are powered by the inverter. This works well for us. The biggest problem is remembering to unplug the converter when we turn on the inverter.

Dan

[polarlyse]

We dry camp / boondock for weeks at a time while in Key West, Florida and staying at the Navy base there. I have 400w solar on the roof and a 400w plug in inverter to use. It plugs into the 12v plug (round lighter type) of which we have 2 in our trailer. One located in the rear bedroom presumably put there for using a 12v television. The other located on the wall in the galley area adjacent to the refrig and microwave. The inverter has 2 120v plugs and 4 USB ports. So long as we stay within the limits of the 400w inverter this works well even for extended use. We can run a TV and a desktop fan together but that's the limit. We also can run a crock pot on low all day. High will exceed the limit so you need to check your appliances. With a good sunny day we are back to 100% by noon most days. I suspect MOST coffee makers will exceed the 400w limit so I'm a tea drinker.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

[TouringDan]

It is pretty amazing what you can operate with a 400 watt inverter. One of my favorite appliances is a small rice cooker that requires 350 watts. I haven’t cooked any rice yet, but heated lots of stuff up.

You may want to check on the specs for your 12v plug ins. The one for the 500 watt inverter that I carry in my car is limited to 150 watts. Any higher wattage than that, they recommend connecting directly to the battery.

Dan

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by polarlyse

I suspect MOST coffee makers will exceed the 400w limit so I'm a tea drinker.

Our coffee pot doesn't require any watts.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Boil water on whatever heat source you have, pour it over a Melitta filter rig into a thermos "pot". We've been doing it that way for many decades. Most of that time we were in tents and the heat source could easily been a wood fire. The insulated pot will keep it hot / warm / not really cold pretty much all day. No need to fire things up multiple times.... unless you run out of coffee before it's time for beer ...

https://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Coffe...s%2C148&sr=8-3


=====

Of course you *know* what's going to happen as soon as you hit send on this message. The coffee prep staff turns to you and says " this is our last filter ....". I *hope* the rest of the inventory is in the back of the truck ...

Bob

[Rocinante]

If you have an inverter, the only safe way to use the AC power that comes from it is to use it in the manner intended.

If your inverter has plugs on it, then plug stuff into the inverter.

If Airstream wired your inverter into your trailer and it is already configured to feed power to a couple of outlets (usually marked with a bue sticker), then use those.

If you've completely re-wired your trailer such that every outlet in the trailer is fed by your hybrid inverter / charger, then they are all hot every time the inverter is active. This is what we did as part of a major solar / battery upgrade.

As to whether it's generally a good idea to run an inverter while camping, that entirely depends on the capacity of your batteries and your ability to charge them. Inverting burns lots of DC amps. Lots. If you have enough in your battery bank, you'll barely notice. If you have a pair of standard Group 24 batteries, then turning on and/or using the inverter will be a relatively energy expensive move. Just so we're clear, the very act of turning on your inverter burns DC amps while it sits there waiting for you to plug something in so it can get busy inverting.

Lastly, if you're camping off-grid and don't have a big enough battery bank, it's far more rewarding to figure out how to do as much as possible without AC power. As another poster suggested earlier, brew your coffee on the stove in a good old-fashioned stainless steel percolator. If you do it right, perc coffee is surprisingly delicious - certainly at least as good as any electric drip coffee you're ever going to make. Also, your coffee urn won't shatter at the tiniest provocation. It's a win win win!

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by richw46

Our coffee pot doesn't require any watts.

I'm with you..we love fresh brewed percolated coffee the best! We were using the inverter each morning with our electric pot because our stainless stove top percolator would boil over when you weren't watching it on the cooktop. Then we discovered that some of the new stainless models on line, have holes drilled in the grounds basket cover, all around the sides so the water can drain back thru the basket and not boil over. So I drilled a few small holes around our older pot, and viola! Works like a charm...still love the convenience of the electric cause you don't have to watch it...but when I cook outside now, or bad weather forces inside cooking in the morning, we use the stove top without any fear...still have the inverter option if needed..