Generator/Inverter question
We have a XANTREX inverter and an Onan onboard generator. Should the inverter be turned on when the generator is? there is a "battery state" guage on the left that is red when low, yellow med...
Forum Discussion
My 1996 Trace inverter has three positions. Off, Charge only and set to standby. Set to standby is the inverter on position, where it will charge the battery while the generator is running.
So yes I must turn on the inverter at it's remote panel while running the generator to have it recharge. I could leave it in 'charge only' and then it will sit there waiting for the generator to come on, and then start charging. Leaving it in 'charge only' will not consume much power daily.
If left 'on' or set to standby, it will discharge the battery fairly quickly, as it will be providing 120 volt power to all receptacles, any USB adapters, and consuming around 2 amp hours all the time it is in set to standby from the 12 volt battery.
Your RV is also not very energy efficient. Mine consumes about 35 amp hours per day to run the CO and propane detectors and the refrigerator controls.
The 'incoming breaker size' is a great feature if you need it, otherwise can be left on 50 amps forever without any problems. What it is there for is in case you might be using a really small generator, you can set it at say 5 amps. In that case, the inverter will monitor the pass through power, and it that exceeds 5 amps, it will stop charging. Yet if it only sees say 3 amps going through it, it will charge, but only use 2 amps at 120 volts to slowly charge the battery and not exceed 5 amp total. It can also be helpful while plugging into someone's home, if you trip the circuit breaker, because the household loads and your RV exceed the 15 amp circuit breaker limit.
At 5 amp charge rate (at 120 volt input) it might take all night to recharge your battery, but it will get done. Normally I have mine set at 30 amps. However if I where to plug into a 20 amp circuit, I might set it for 15 amps, to not exceed that amperage while charging the batteries.
While charging at 70 amps, the charger might be consuming 7 amps 120 volts. So any setting over 15 amps while running on the generator will allow the charger to run at 100% of it's capacity. Leaving it on 50 amps forever will not harm anything, even while plugged into a 30 amp circuit, or even when visiting friends and plugged into a long extension cord and 15 amp receptacle. You just have the 'advantage' of setting the inverter to limit power consumption while charging to reduce the possibility of tripping a incoming circuit breaker with this feature. It is a handy feature for someone using a 1,000 watt lightweight and quiet generator to charge the batteries. But basically it is not needed by most RV'ers with a 4,000 watt and larger generator.
I can also limit my charge max rate in 10% steps from 7 amps to 70 amps! Normally I set mine to only about 40% max charge rate, as high charge rates can warm the battery. I also normally have a long time that I can charge the battery, not from a generator. If I was dry camping, and running the generator, I would have the charge rate at 100%, to lessen run time and generator noise!
Good luck!
Fred.
So yes I must turn on the inverter at it's remote panel while running the generator to have it recharge. I could leave it in 'charge only' and then it will sit there waiting for the generator to come on, and then start charging. Leaving it in 'charge only' will not consume much power daily.
If left 'on' or set to standby, it will discharge the battery fairly quickly, as it will be providing 120 volt power to all receptacles, any USB adapters, and consuming around 2 amp hours all the time it is in set to standby from the 12 volt battery.
Your RV is also not very energy efficient. Mine consumes about 35 amp hours per day to run the CO and propane detectors and the refrigerator controls.
The 'incoming breaker size' is a great feature if you need it, otherwise can be left on 50 amps forever without any problems. What it is there for is in case you might be using a really small generator, you can set it at say 5 amps. In that case, the inverter will monitor the pass through power, and it that exceeds 5 amps, it will stop charging. Yet if it only sees say 3 amps going through it, it will charge, but only use 2 amps at 120 volts to slowly charge the battery and not exceed 5 amp total. It can also be helpful while plugging into someone's home, if you trip the circuit breaker, because the household loads and your RV exceed the 15 amp circuit breaker limit.
At 5 amp charge rate (at 120 volt input) it might take all night to recharge your battery, but it will get done. Normally I have mine set at 30 amps. However if I where to plug into a 20 amp circuit, I might set it for 15 amps, to not exceed that amperage while charging the batteries.
While charging at 70 amps, the charger might be consuming 7 amps 120 volts. So any setting over 15 amps while running on the generator will allow the charger to run at 100% of it's capacity. Leaving it on 50 amps forever will not harm anything, even while plugged into a 30 amp circuit, or even when visiting friends and plugged into a long extension cord and 15 amp receptacle. You just have the 'advantage' of setting the inverter to limit power consumption while charging to reduce the possibility of tripping a incoming circuit breaker with this feature. It is a handy feature for someone using a 1,000 watt lightweight and quiet generator to charge the batteries. But basically it is not needed by most RV'ers with a 4,000 watt and larger generator.
I can also limit my charge max rate in 10% steps from 7 amps to 70 amps! Normally I set mine to only about 40% max charge rate, as high charge rates can warm the battery. I also normally have a long time that I can charge the battery, not from a generator. If I was dry camping, and running the generator, I would have the charge rate at 100%, to lessen run time and generator noise!
Good luck!
Fred.
