Inverter install ?

I found the 30A breaker on the far left disables the converter but it also disables all of the 120v circuits as well.

From your comments, you're a bit confused about the converter and the wiring in general, I think.

The converter does not output 120VAC in any form. It only outputs 12VDC. Its output does not go through the 120VAC circuit breakers.

One of the circuit breakers does control the circuit that the converter is on, though there's a good chance there are other things on the same circuit as well. If you're really lucky, the other things will all be other items you don't want running off the inverter, like the fridge. If Mr. Murphy has his way, it'll be the outlet for the TV and DVD player. If that's the case, pianotuna has the right idea—stick a switch in the power lead to the converter. If you're feeling kind of clever, also put in a pilot light so you have a visual confirmation to check when you want to use the converter (on shore or generator power).

Hi,

Add a switch between the converter and the 120 volt source.

BTW the converter being powered by the inverter will rather quickly drain the battery bank. DAMHIK

Put the converter on a separate breaker. It appears you have one more position to add a circuit breaker. Remove that cover panel and take a breaker down to Home Depot to match it up.

No....you must turn off the 120v to the converter

You need 12v for the fridge controls, water pump, lights
The circuits in the converter will still use , more power than you want too waste, just keeping the transformer etc.. powered even though not charging, in fact your 12v systems would most likely be using converter power, from the inverter, turn off the circuit breaker that power the converter

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. Initially I plan to go with the shore power route suggested by some. The challenge I am finding as mentioned above is with disabling the converter. Doesn't appear to have any type of switch and I don't have direct access to the backside of it. I believe all the breakers in the pic below are to the AC circuits on the output of the converter. Its most likely hardwired to AC on the input side.

I understand the point of disabling the converter is to not charge the batteries off the inverter AC power. Wondering if using my battery cutoff switch would accomplish the same (or close to it). The converter would still be powered but nothing to charge at that point. Power draw may be minimal but would need to test to verify.

Ron3rd wrote:

N-Trouble wrote:
It is a pure sine. Only plan on using it to run my TV (~50W) my sons Xbox and for charging of small electronic devices.

I'm running dual 6v batteries and have 160W solar.

I use my 300w Samlex PSW inverter for the same purpose, ie, TV, dvd, etc. I kept it simple and plug my shore cord into the inverter like pianotuna does, and in fact, got the idea from him. With this method, you must turn off your charger, etc, as he mentioned in his post. I turn off ALL breakers in my panel, except the one labeled "GFI" outlets which powers all my outlets of course.

Same here, this is the easiest approach with nothing additional to install once the inverter is wired to the batteries. Although depending on how your converter receives its 120V AC power, there may be some more work up front to do. You need a way to shut it off and they don't typically have their own on/off switch. So you need to cut the converter off from the 120V AC supply that it gets when you plug your shore power cord in. If it has its own standard 120V AC plug that you can access, then just unplug it and you're done. But many are hardwired into the AC distribution panel. My converter was wired into the breaker for GFI, the wire coming out of that breaker had a "Y" with one end leading to the 1st GFI outlet and the other leading to the converter. So I added another breaker to my AC distribution panel and moved the converter power supply wire from the GFI breaker to the newly installed breaker. So now the converter is on its own AC breaker which serves as its on/off switch. The reason for shutting the air con/elec water heater/micro breakers off is to prevent you from accidentally turning these large draw items which would overload the inverter and shut it down. You just want the outlets left on. If you're careful about not turning these things on when on inverter power then shutting their breakers off isn't necessary, but shutting the converter off is required. Don't forget to turn it back on when you are plugged in to true shore power or a generator if you want the batteries to get recharged!

N-Trouble wrote:
It is a pure sine. Only plan on using it to run my TV (~50W) my sons Xbox and for charging of small electronic devices.

I'm running dual 6v batteries and have 160W solar.

I use my 300w Samlex PSW inverter for the same purpose, ie, TV, dvd, etc. I kept it simple and plug my shore cord into the inverter like pianotuna does, and in fact, got the idea from him. With this method, you must turn off your charger, etc, as he mentioned in his post. I turn off ALL breakers in my panel, except the one labeled "GFI" outlets which powers all my outlets of course.

pianotuna wrote:
No it won't make a significant difference. The clock on the microwave will run, but that is barely measurable.

N-Trouble wrote:
Will powering all of the AC outlets in the rig vs only a couple of dedicated outlets mean a significant difference in load on the inverter? Even if nothing is plugged into any of the other outlets?

In my rig, the converter is plugged into an AC outlet. Better flip the breaker off on that one.

No it won't make a significant difference. The clock on the microwave will run, but that is barely measurable.

N-Trouble wrote:
Will powering all of the AC outlets in the rig vs only a couple of dedicated outlets mean a significant difference in load on the inverter? Even if nothing is plugged into any of the other outlets?