Inverter usage while underway
Greetings to all. This may or may not be a tough question. I am presently considering the purchase of an inverter to keep my reefer running while underway. I have a single 12v deep cycle battery. ...
Forum Discussion
CA Traveler wrote:
OP While I've run with propane on for 30 years - regarding Method #4.
To me it's a very poor setup, but will work. An outside plug - really? seriously? You're suppose to dangle your cord outside while you drive? And if you do you'll need a water resistant type of cover. Now you have a whole house inverter - any number of appliances will overload it. YES YOU WILL LEAVE IT ON OR TURN ONE ON so carry extra fuses.
Much Much better to install the inverter with a ATS to direct either the 120V shore power/gen (default) or the inverter output to the refer. This may take some AC rewiring but that should be easy.
I have thought about that and thought the solution would be to install a 30a female ended power cord in the shore power cord storage compartment.
pianotuna wrote:
Hi,
I drive a class C E-450. The OEM charging path was a #8 wire. When running the inverter from the house batteries while trundling down the road the house bank would gradually discharge. I doubled up on the charging path which has helped some what. If I were doing it again I'd add a dedicated inverter powered from the chassis battery for running the fridge and converter.
I think the wiring is poor--because mine was poor. The OEM transfer relay lasted less than 12 months and the OEM "hard to find and purchase" 60 amp fuse failed multiple times. I've since replaced the fuse with an automatic circuit breaker rated at 50 amps. I replaced the relay with one rated for 200 amps, and added the 2nd charging path.
I also have solar which contributes to running the fridge while driving--but I would still end the day with a deficit on the house bank.
I also have an e-450 and admit that I do have limited time with it however, since installing the IQ4 on the Iota DLS55 converter the charging is quite good from shore power. We'll see how things go on the road.
OP While I've run with propane on for 30 years - regarding Method #4.
To me it's a very poor setup, but will work. An outside plug - really? seriously? You're suppose to dangle your cord outside while you drive? And if you do you'll need a water resistant type of cover. Now you have a whole house inverter - any number of appliances will overload it. YES YOU WILL LEAVE IT ON OR TURN ONE ON so carry extra fuses.
Much Much better to install the inverter with a ATS to direct either the 120V shore power/gen (default) or the inverter output to the refer. This may take some AC rewiring but that should be easy.
I have thought about that and thought the solution would be to install a 30a female ended power cord in the shore power cord storage compartment.
pianotuna wrote:
Hi,
I drive a class C E-450. The OEM charging path was a #8 wire. When running the inverter from the house batteries while trundling down the road the house bank would gradually discharge. I doubled up on the charging path which has helped some what. If I were doing it again I'd add a dedicated inverter powered from the chassis battery for running the fridge and converter.
I think the wiring is poor--because mine was poor. The OEM transfer relay lasted less than 12 months and the OEM "hard to find and purchase" 60 amp fuse failed multiple times. I've since replaced the fuse with an automatic circuit breaker rated at 50 amps. I replaced the relay with one rated for 200 amps, and added the 2nd charging path.
I also have solar which contributes to running the fridge while driving--but I would still end the day with a deficit on the house bank.
I also have an e-450 and admit that I do have limited time with it however, since installing the IQ4 on the Iota DLS55 converter the charging is quite good from shore power. We'll see how things go on the road.
