INVERTER - help

[pumpshep]

So i have a inverter installed, and i have to run a extension cord to the tv to the inverter, is there any way to plug a cord from the inverter into the wall and have it power all the sockets?

[jrnymn7]

I modified a mini school bus. I ran 120v to receptacles/switches throughout.

I'm not a fan of led lighting (perhaps it has improved since I built?), so I went with 15w florescents, throughout, in the overheads, closet, cabinets, over the sink, etc. And I have a monster power bar for my laptop, speakers, AA/AAA battery charger, etc. My 12v sink pump runs off a basic 120v-12v 5a adapter, plugged into a switched receptacle, which I can operate with my knee, for hands free operation.

12v stuff is wired to batts; fridge controls, heating fan/pump, meter, etc. Very simple set-up. No distribution panels, etc. And batts, inverter, charger(s) are all within close proximity, with short heavy (2ga) wiring.

[ewarnerusa]

Did you camper need 120V wiring because it didn't have it already?

[jrnymn7]

I wired my entire camper with 14/2 for 15a/120v, just like a house. At the beginning of the 120v line is a heavy duty male plug. I plug that into the inverter's gfi receptacle when drawing off batteries. (There is no hardwire output).

I also have a short 12/2 cord, from outside to inside, for hooking up to either shore power or generator power. When running off shore or gen power, I simply unplug the 120v plug from the inverter, and plug it into the shore/gen cord's gfi receptacle. Works perfectly fine. No different than plugging in any extension cord.

Not sure if the OP could arrange a similar set-up. Just be sure to use quality parts.

[Ron3rd]

SDurbak wrote:
Well, I had been grounding the inverter to the negative battery terminal, so I switched to grounding it to the trailer tongue of the camper. It didn't make a difference. So, I went to Harbor Freight and bought their 2000/4000 watt inverter, came home and hooked it up exactly the same way as the other one. AND IT WORKED! PERFECTLY! I can even run my microwave! The other inverter is going back to Amazon tomorrow.

So it wasn't anything in the way I was connecting everything, it was just that inverter.

Thanks everyone for your helpful input. I have certainly learned a lot about inverters in the past few days.

That's really weird. I'm powering my shore cord with the inverter like others do. I have a Samlex 300w that I use only for the TV's and DVD, so no high wattage draw and it works great. I have all breakers off except the main and the gfi wall outlets.

Must be something different about your inverter.

[teejaywhy]

SDurbak wrote:
... But, it would be nice to be able to plug in a crockpot, small coffee pot, etc., which is why I am trying the inverter.

Glad you have it working.

Just an FYI, even with your solar, I would advise against using the crockpot. Things that make heat draw a lot of power and a crockpot implies "slow cooking" which implies you will have it plugged in for a long period of time. That will most assuredly take down your battery in just a few hours.

I wouldn't even use the coffee maker but for sure that will do its job in just a few minutes then you can shut it off.

[SDurbak]

Well, I had been grounding the inverter to the negative battery terminal, so I switched to grounding it to the trailer tongue of the camper. It didn't make a difference. So, I went to Harbor Freight and bought their 2000/4000 watt inverter, came home and hooked it up exactly the same way as the other one. AND IT WORKED! PERFECTLY! I can even run my microwave! The other inverter is going back to Amazon tomorrow.

So it wasn't anything in the way I was connecting everything, it was just that inverter.

Thanks everyone for your helpful input. I have certainly learned a lot about inverters in the past few days.

[ewarnerusa]

SDurbak wrote:

ewarnerusa wrote:
Some inverters don't work. I'm not savvy enough to know why. The first inverter I bought was a Samlex MSW 800 watt and it acted the same as you describe. I later saw in the manual where it said to not use it to supply an ac panel. I suppose that is what I was essentially doing. Every other inverter I have owned has worked fine like this though.

Edit: I found my old thread asking about why it wasn't working. There might be some useful knowledge in there. It's funny reading my old comprehension level about this stuff and it was only a couple years ago!
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25837086.cfm

I read through your old thread - WOW - my problem is EXACTLY the same as yours was. I'll try a couple things tomorrow, and if that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to try a completely different inverter.

I just read through it again, too. It seems like there were a couple suggestions to ground the metal body of the inverter to chassis ground. I don't recall trying that myself since I ended up with a new PSW inverter that worked fine.

[agesilaus]

OK I screwed up, that was the wrong link. Here is the right one:


The right link

And here is his note about inverters:

"New inverter warning in 2010. UL has a new safety requirement that requires GFI protection be installed in inverters. Any with receptacles on them and no hard wire connection will likely be built this way. This has made most small inverters not suitable for connection to electrical distribution panels. All you can do is read the directions looking for this warning in the small print. If you try to connect to the whole panel with one of these inverters it will shut down, showing an AC output fault. You can use any inverter in an RV with an extension cord run to whatever you want to power; you just can’t tie some into the AC panel. Great, our government is making us buy expensive inverters with built in transfer switches to protect us from something that was not dangerous because our rigs already have GFI protection. See the high voltage warning below."

Check the link out tho since it is full of good info but very very wordy.

[John___Angela]

SDurbak wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
Howdy again. Just want to be sure I understand. With ALL the breakers off the inverter is still loading down as soon as you plug the shore cord in.

Slightly off topic, how many batteries do you have.

Yes - all the breakers are off, including the main breaker. And it is alarming and shutting down. I have two 6V batteries wired in series.

In the wintertime, when the weather is cool enough that I don't need to run the AC, I like to dry camp. I have a 100W solar panel which keeps my batteries well-charged, and I am able to run the fridge on propane, heat on propane, and stove on propane. I have replaced all my lights with LED's so they draw almost no power. But, it would be nice to be able to plug in a crockpot, small coffee pot, etc., which is why I am trying the inverter.

I'm out of ideas my friend. If I was there I would chase down a couple of ideas (neutral crossed etc) but other than that, sorry I couldn't help.

Good luck and please let us know what the end result was.

John and Angela

[agesilaus]

OK I read thru this very long website

link

a few weeks ago when a thread was talking about installing a solar system. The author is an electrical engineer. And somewhere in there he mentions that the Feds mandated changes to inverters some time ago that prevented them from doing what you want to do. Ones made before then would work, newer ones won't.

I just quick scanned it and didn't see it. But since you are motivated more than I am, especially after eating turkey. You can read it and find the reference.

[SDurbak]

John & Angela wrote:
Howdy again. Just want to be sure I understand. With ALL the breakers off the inverter is still loading down as soon as you plug the shore cord in.

Slightly off topic, how many batteries do you have.

Yes - all the breakers are off, including the main breaker. And it is alarming and shutting down. I have two 6V batteries wired in series.

In the wintertime, when the weather is cool enough that I don't need to run the AC, I like to dry camp. I have a 100W solar panel which keeps my batteries well-charged, and I am able to run the fridge on propane, heat on propane, and stove on propane. I have replaced all my lights with LED's so they draw almost no power. But, it would be nice to be able to plug in a crockpot, small coffee pot, etc., which is why I am trying the inverter.

[John___Angela]

SDurbak wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
Did you remember to change your fridge to propane. Thats about 4 amps. How about the water heater electric element. Theres another 11 amps. Those two together would drag down a battery to the alarm voltage quick and probably kill the battery in about 20 minutes.

The fridge and water heater were both off. I even turned all the breakers off. So there should not have been anything pulling any power out of the battery. I'm really stumped.

Howdy again. Just want to be sure I understand. With ALL the breakers off the inverter is still loading down as soon as you plug the shore cord in.

Slightly off topic, how many batteries do you have.

[SDurbak]

ewarnerusa wrote:
Some inverters don't work. I'm not savvy enough to know why. The first inverter I bought was a Samlex MSW 800 watt and it acted the same as you describe. I later saw in the manual where it said to not use it to supply an ac panel. I suppose that is what I was essentially doing. Every other inverter I have owned has worked fine like this though.

Edit: I found my old thread asking about why it wasn't working. There might be some useful knowledge in there. It's funny reading my old comprehension level about this stuff and it was only a couple years ago!
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25837086.cfm

I read through your old thread - WOW - my problem is EXACTLY the same as yours was. I'll try a couple things tomorrow, and if that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to try a completely different inverter.

[SDurbak]

John & Angela wrote:
Did you remember to change your fridge to propane. Thats about 4 amps. How about the water heater electric element. Theres another 11 amps. Those two together would drag down a battery to the alarm voltage quick and probably kill the battery in about 20 minutes.

The fridge and water heater were both off. I even turned all the breakers off. So there should not have been anything pulling any power out of the battery. I'm really stumped.