Hello All. I know it has been discussed a million times but I'm struggling to find posts that start with "step 1". Feel free to simply point me to a post if you know if one.We started doing a lit more boondocking 2 years ago. We upgraded to dual portable generators, added more water storage, and upgraded the single 12V battery to a pair of 6V. The 6V upgrade was huge and allows us much more time with out the generators. I might add to that but the next thing I'd like to do is power some AC devices such as coffee maker and TV off the battery. When I search, most of the inverters have AC plugs directly on them but I would like ours hard wired in. Ideally we would like to have any AC plug have the ability to run off the battery with an inverter before the panel but I'm not sure how to do that or which (relatively affordable) inverter to go with. If I learn from your replies that picking 2 or 3 AC outlets is easier then I am fine with that as well, but I still want it hardwired with either an auto switch over or manual switch but where it feels to the user as if you had AC power to the trailer. Auto switchover would be preferred.Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance

With an adequate solar system you’ll have no generator time unless air conditioning is needed. The TV will work fine with a 200 to 300 watt cigarette plug-in PSW inverter. Coffee makers pull more juice.

Automatic change over will limit the selection, cost more and is unnecessary. When the RV has AC power the battery charger will supply the DC to operate the inverter, less efficient but no need for any type of switching. Start with the AC watt load for your devices, add a safety factor even up to 2X for the inverter size. Inverters are generally MSW modified sine wave or PSW pure sine wave. Some devices like a TV may/may not work with MSW.Also the DC amp draw is about 11x the AC amp draw. Example: A 360W appliance would draw 360/120=3A AC and 33 amps DC. So be aware of the higher battery discharge when boondocking and solar become a consideration.

There are probably several different ways of doing what you want. I will tell you of our way. I will try to make it simple so let's just start with the inverter (ours is 2000 W) which is wired to the battery bank in the front compartment of our fifth-wheel. [we have solar and lithium batteries, but I will leave out that part and just start with the inverter.]We have hardwired from the inverter to a normal 30 Amp outlet which is open to the outside of the trailer. This required a hole and a cover for the outlet:OutletI could go into much more detail and if you PM me I will be glad to answer any questions. But this is how it works. I simply use the regular 30 AMP cable and plug into the inverter just as I would to a campground pedestal. Everything in the trailer is "live" just as it would be in the campground. Of course, I cannot power everything, but all my plugs are "live", my TV is live, my refrigerator and heater are live [if I have enough battery to run them.]

Probably should be in tech issues

A stand alone unit is a lot easier to install (even if hard wired).If you try to automate it, you need to have a way to disconnect the charger. Otherwise, it will draw battery power to run the inverter, which will run the battery charger, to charge the batteries and the cycle continues...unless you have come up with a perpetual motion machine, there will be losses all along the way and it will quickly deplete the battery bank.You can kill the charger breaker manually but expect at some point to forget and wake up with a dead battery bank.Keep in mind, AC loads are often higher wattage, so your pair of 6v golf cart batteries may not be up to the task.

DC to AC help | Good Sam Community

pianotuna
Nomad III
Jun 06, 2022
valhalla360 wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
Hi kfp,

I ran a thirty amp cord from the inverter to an outlet. I cut the 30 foot cord and added a new male end.

Commonly referred to as a "Dead Man's Cord" or "Suicide Cord". Goes against pretty much every electrical code.

Be very careful following this advice. Even if you are aware and understand the risks, someone else may not be aware and get themselves killed.

You misunderstood. I added a dedicated outlet powered by the inverter. Then I plug the shore power cord into the outlet.

All of my modifications are up to code. It costs almost no extra money to do it safely and correctly.

If you are replacing the 30amp male end with a 15/20amp male end, so you can plug directly into the female outlet on the inverter without an adapter, that's fine.

A cord with 2 male ends (which is what your original post appeared to imply as there was no indication of changing the type/amp rating of male end), is used by some people, so they can just connect the inverter to a convenient outlet near the inverter and back feed power to the AC system. This is dangerous.

What part of dedicated female outlet do you not understand? The inverter powers the outlet. The RV is plugged into the added outlet.

In my particular case the outlet happens to be hard wired to the inverter, using 3 #10 wire rated for 30 amps.

The inverter is 3000 watts and the no load voltage happens to be 123. That means a wire rated for 24 amps would be adequate. However I chose to use 80% load which means using wire rated for 30 amps.
valhalla360
Navigator
Jun 06, 2022
pianotuna wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
Hi kfp,

I ran a thirty amp cord from the inverter to an outlet. I cut the 30 foot cord and added a new male end.

Commonly referred to as a "Dead Man's Cord" or "Suicide Cord". Goes against pretty much every electrical code.

Be very careful following this advice. Even if you are aware and understand the risks, someone else may not be aware and get themselves killed.

You misunderstood. I added a dedicated outlet powered by the inverter. Then I plug the shore power cord into the outlet.

All of my modifications are up to code. It costs almost no extra money to do it safely and correctly.

If you are replacing the 30amp male end with a 15/20amp male end, so you can plug directly into the female outlet on the inverter without an adapter, that's fine.

A cord with 2 male ends (which is what your original post appeared to imply as there was no indication of changing the type/amp rating of male end), is used by some people, so they can just connect the inverter to a convenient outlet near the inverter and back feed power to the AC system. This is dangerous.
philh
Explorer II
Jun 06, 2022
I did something interesting on my new 5th wheel

It came generator ready, but I chose to not get the gen. I put a 50a plug on the front of the trailer, and tied it into the transfer box. I then mounted a 2200w inverter in the front, tied to s dual 100a LiFePO4 battery bank and attached a 30a cord to it, and added a 50a plug. I turn on the inverter, plug in the connector, and I have 120v throughout the entire trailer. I also added a switch to turn off the charger too.
pianotuna
Nomad III
May 28, 2022
valhalla360 wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
Hi kfp,

I ran a thirty amp cord from the inverter to an outlet. I cut the 30 foot cord and added a new male end.

Commonly referred to as a "Dead Man's Cord" or "Suicide Cord". Goes against pretty much every electrical code.

Be very careful following this advice. Even if you are aware and understand the risks, someone else may not be aware and get themselves killed.

You misunderstood. I added a dedicated outlet powered by the inverter. Then I plug the shore power cord into the outlet.

All of my modifications are up to code. It costs almost no extra money to do it safely and correctly.
ewarnerusa
Nomad
May 27, 2022
kfp673 wrote:
Thanks! I like the simplicity of your method of simply plugging the shore power cable into the inverter, but doesn't that cause the batteries to try to charge themselves? With onboard chargers in the camper any time I have AC plugged in the charger is on. Does this cause a problem?

Edit- Actually, I see you dedicated a breaker to the onboard charger so you can isolate and turn that off. Found a youtube video of this exact install. I guess the only downside is having to change the shore power cord back and forth from inverter to generator throughout the day.

Thanks again

You got it, converter must be off when doing it this way. I personally have my converter off by default and rely on solar. Converter would be a backup charging method which would then trigger the need to hit the switch.

When we camp in summer heat, then the generator comes along for running the air conditioner. But otherwise, no swapping going on and we're plugged into the inverter for the whole stay.
valhalla360
Navigator
May 27, 2022
pianotuna wrote:
Hi kfp,

I ran a thirty amp cord from the inverter to an outlet. I cut the 30 foot cord and added a new male end.

Commonly referred to as a "Dead Man's Cord" or "Suicide Cord". Goes against pretty much every electrical code.

Be very careful following this advice. Even if you are aware and understand the risks, someone else may not be aware and get themselves killed.
kfp673
Explorer II
May 27, 2022
ewarnerusa wrote:
kfp673 wrote:

Curious, where did you mount the inverter to make in convenient for your shore power cord? Also, what size inverter do you run and off what size cable from the battery system? Thanks!

Front pass through storage of a travel trailer. Battery connection is about 5' of 2/0 gauge.1500 watt pure sine wave inverter

Thanks! I like the simplicity of your method of simply plugging the shore power cable into the inverter, but doesn't that cause the batteries to try to charge themselves? With onboard chargers in the camper any time I have AC plugged in the charger is on. Does this cause a problem?

Edit- Actually, I see you dedicated a breaker to the onboard charger so you can isolate and turn that off. Found a youtube video of this exact install. I guess the only downside is having to change the shore power cord back and forth from inverter to generator throughout the day.

Thanks again
ewarnerusa
Nomad
May 27, 2022
kfp673 wrote:

Curious, where did you mount the inverter to make in convenient for your shore power cord? Also, what size inverter do you run and off what size cable from the battery system? Thanks!

Front pass through storage of a travel trailer. Battery connection is about 5' of 2/0 gauge.1500 watt pure sine wave inverter
pianotuna
Nomad III
May 27, 2022
Hi kfp,

I ran a thirty amp cord from the inverter to an outlet. I cut the 30 foot cord and added a new male end.
kfp673
Explorer II
May 27, 2022
ewarnerusa wrote:
My technique is similar to pianotuna's. When boondocking I do the following:
1. Fridge and water heater on propane
2. Disconnect converter. I isolated my converter's power supply to its own AC breaker that I switch off. I also have air conditioner, electric water heater, and microwave breakers switched off to avoid accidentally running them (too much load for my battery system)
3. I plug my camper's shore power cable into the inverter's AC outlet.
4. Turn on inverter, now all outlets are live in the camper.

Curious, where did you mount the inverter to make in convenient for your shore power cord? Also, what size inverter do you run and off what size cable from the battery system? Thanks!

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