I recently aquired a small inverter generator (900watt) to keep my batteries charged in my 19' Passport travel trailer. The generator will power everything except the converter. It was tripping into overload and it took some playing around with breakers to figure out the culprit. The genny will run the hot water heater no problem, but not the inverter, the only thing I wanted it to run. Does the converter draw that much power? Or could there be an issue with my converter?

I assume your one reference to the inverter is a typo. Your converter AC current draw will depend, in part, upon the condition of the batteries if they need a large charge. Also the current supplied to the 12V loads like lights, frig, etc adds to that. Do you have a way to check the status of the batts or a way to measure the the AC current draw with & without the converter enabled?

Another thought if you do have an inverter. Anything that requires 1 amp @ 120V (television, computer)from an inverter will draw roughly 10X that (or 10 amps)from the 12V circuit. A 900 watt genny probably only delivers about 7.5 amps. When using the genny, run everything else off of propane that you can.

A typo yes. I don't have the equipment to measure the Ac current draw. The batteries should be fully charged as I just unplugged from the outlet in my house and plugged directly into the genny. Also I tried running with only the converter breaker turned on. Same result.

I don't have an inverter in the trailer. The genny I'm running is the inverter type. I have everything running on propane that I can as well. Does anyone know how many watts the converter draws? Didn't think it was more than 900W.

brianfowler wrote:I recently aquired a small inverter generator (900watt) to keep my batteries charged in my 19' Passport travel trailer. The generator will power everything except the converter. It was tripping into overload and it took some playing around with breakers to figure out the culprit. The genny will run the hot water heater no problem, but not the inverter, the only thing I wanted it to run. Does the converter draw that much power? Or could there be an issue with my converter?Very unlikely your charger is drawing that much power. For example IF you have a 50A charger it will draw about 5.5A AC which is well within the gen capability. I would guess your charger has less than 50A capability.Are you sure the gen is a inverter gen and are you sure it's a pure sine wave (PSW) gen? If it's not PSW your charger may not "like" your gen power and trip the CB.

Inverter/Generator Issue | Good Sam Community

25 Replies

tatest
Explorer II
Jul 12, 2016
What size is your converter?

Looking at specs on PD replacement converters, 45 amp model has max continuous draw of 750 watts, 55 amp model is 950 watts. Peak or surge draw could be higher. There is most likely a plate on your converter with current draw information.

Compare to continuous (not peak) output rating for the generator. I suspect the smallest size needed for this load might be 1000-1200 continuous, likely advertised as something higher.
Boon_Docker
Explorer III
Jul 12, 2016
CA Traveler wrote:
I'd be very careful with the gen as fires can have many ramifications.

True story: A friend had a blowout in eastern AZ that started a huge forest fire. They received a $3M bill.

Did they ever pay that $3M bill ?
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 10, 2016
I'd be very careful with the gen as fires can have many ramifications.

True story: A friend had a blowout in eastern AZ that started a huge forest fire. They received a $3M bill.
huachuca
Explorer
Jul 10, 2016
CA Traveler wrote:
Leave your charger CB off and instead use a portable auto charger with say a 20A+ capacity that will work on the gen. There are a number of good 3 stage ones available.

This would be my suggestion as well. From a brief google, it appears these were recalled in 2011 due to potential fuel leaks and the associated fire risk. Good luck.
time2roll
Nomad
Jul 09, 2016
30 amp IOTA should serve you well $173
tvman44
Explorer
Jul 09, 2016
At 55 amps on a well discharged battery that ginny is just too small, do as suggested and get a smaller smart charger and all will be fine. Will take longer to charge with a smaller charger but what is the rush?
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 09, 2016
Leave your charger CB off and instead use a portable auto charger with say a 20A+ capacity that will work on the gen. There are a number of good 3 stage ones available.
brianfowler
Explorer
Jul 09, 2016
I have the generator that is pictured above, and yes its the one that is recalled. My converter is 55 amp output. I would return it but I didn't buy it, but rather dug it out a pile of trash in my buddy's shed. It was seized he said. Turns out he had changed the plug and the replacement was longer than the original and made contact with the piston. New plug, fresh gas, and second pull, free generator. I am not overly concerned if it doesn't work, I have a 3000 watt Champion genny I can carry with me but it is so **** loud. Can't justify spending the money on a new inverter generator. Was hoping this would work ,but not so lucky. Thanks everyone.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 09, 2016
The first few hits I got on the gen is that it has been recalled by Canadian Tire due to a potential fire hazard. Not repaired but purchase refunded. Is that the unit you have?

The spec I found was PSW, 950W maximum, 850W continuous. So 850/120 = 7A continuous. I didn't find anything on a DC output for charging.

Besides your charger model number to help is it possible that there are other loads on the charger circuit? Perhaps connect the charger AC input directly to the gen AC output and see if that works?
time2roll
Nomad
Jul 08, 2016
900 VA is good for maybe 40 amps into the battery. Everything else must be off or the amps must be even less. What is the converter model number?