Electrical question/suggestions
Good day all, Have an inverter than is wired to a separate circuit than runs just the entertainment area 1500w off 2 6volt batteries. ( thought this would be least drain on batteries ) Question ...
Forum Discussion
For the very simple way to transfer everything for less than $15, get a power strip. Plug everything into the 5 - 8 receptacle power strip (no light it will use battery power) and plug that into the inverter powered receptical or shore power receptical as required. Only one plug to move.
Yes a transfer switch is a $75 to $100 item. Then a box would be required to install it safely (because it has terminals that have 120 volts running to it) and wiring that seems complicated to many.
The 1,500 watt inverter is quite large for a entertainment center, it might be a bit to large. When I was dry camping, I might be using my 1,500 watt inverter to watch TV and run a DVD or Satelite receiver. This used about 80 - 100 watts, and would draw about 8 amps from the batteries. If I changed to a 100 watt inverter, then amp draw would drop to about 6 amps. The extra 2 amps is used by the larger inverter to run it's larger capacitors and transformer and switching equipment. The small inverter is more efficient at a 100 watt load.
However the extra 2 amps for 6 hours per night is not a deal breaker. It works out to about 12 amp hours from your 220 amp hour battery bank.
You would be best off by changing some of your most used lights to LED's and then run the generator a bit more to make up for the extra power being used.
Have you thought of changing over to solar power to recharge the battery? SunElec.com Look for some 12 volt panels, in the 100 - 150 watt size range and make sure they will fit in the space on your roof without crowding the A/C or the roof vents. And run the wiring down the back of the refrigerator, to the controller. Then to the battery.
Fred.
Yes a transfer switch is a $75 to $100 item. Then a box would be required to install it safely (because it has terminals that have 120 volts running to it) and wiring that seems complicated to many.
The 1,500 watt inverter is quite large for a entertainment center, it might be a bit to large. When I was dry camping, I might be using my 1,500 watt inverter to watch TV and run a DVD or Satelite receiver. This used about 80 - 100 watts, and would draw about 8 amps from the batteries. If I changed to a 100 watt inverter, then amp draw would drop to about 6 amps. The extra 2 amps is used by the larger inverter to run it's larger capacitors and transformer and switching equipment. The small inverter is more efficient at a 100 watt load.
However the extra 2 amps for 6 hours per night is not a deal breaker. It works out to about 12 amp hours from your 220 amp hour battery bank.
You would be best off by changing some of your most used lights to LED's and then run the generator a bit more to make up for the extra power being used.
Have you thought of changing over to solar power to recharge the battery? SunElec.com Look for some 12 volt panels, in the 100 - 150 watt size range and make sure they will fit in the space on your roof without crowding the A/C or the roof vents. And run the wiring down the back of the refrigerator, to the controller. Then to the battery.
Fred.
