AJO wrote:
I'm confused as I org. Thought it was called a converter. I have a pic on my phone bit cant seem to upload it.
Hi Ajo. Nice username. Now I need some pasta and oil.
Inverters and converters can be confusing. They're related, but they each do the opposite thing. (Note that I'm going to oversimplify things here for the sake of explanation.)
Think of them as switches. They both switch the power between AC & DC, except one goes one way and the other goes the other way.
AC & DC are confusing and it's hard to remember which is which, so think of 12 volt power from your batteries versus the 110 wall plug outlets that you're used to in your home.
(If you care, your home is AC and your RV batteries are DC.)
So a
converter is also known as a "converter charger" (usually). The converter switches the 110 shore power to 12 volt power to charge your batteries. (AC to DC)
An
inverter switches the power the other direction, except it doesn't send it back to the shore power. The inverter switches the 12v power from your batteries into a 110 current that your household devices can use via the wall outlets. (DC to AC)
As a rule of thumb, every RV comes standard with a
converter so you can charge your batteries. People who want to use their 12 volt batteries to run 110 household devices from the wall outlets will install an
inverter to create this 110 power.
As you look through your coach, you can identify which items use which power. Your lights, water pump, fridge (probably), cigarette outlets (if you have them), etc. all use 12 volt DC power.
Any wall outlets and possibly a residential fridge if you have one use 110 AC power.
The big test to know whether you have an inverter or not is to unplug your shore power. Anything that runs off your batteries is using 12 volt DC power. If your coffee maker, TV, and electric toothbrush don't run, then you probably don't have an inverter.
It's a lot to absorb and it's easy to get it wrong. I'm sure someone can find fault with something I got wrong here, which kinda proves the point. For your purposes though, you need to know that the converter is what charges your batteries and the inverter is what runs your goodies. The converter ONLY charges your batteries, so if the converter is zonked but your batteries are charged, then your 12v DC stuff will still run, but not for long (because your batteries will eventually run down).
I hope this helps.
