Shore power and inverter on together?

time2roll wrote:
It can take time to reboot, especially a satellite to get a signal after interruption.

Are you sure when the tv came back on it was on inverter power vs the EMS allowing utility power again?

Depending on how your inverter is wired you could just cut utility power when voltage is running low and run full time on inverter. If it just runs some outlets you can probably turn off the breaker that feeds that branch circuit. This will avoid the reboot.

Actually I think what happened is that the inverter kept the dvr powered and only the tv rebooted because there was no dvr reboot, signal seeking, etc as is usual. The picture just reappeared again on the tv. It seems as though the tv was on the shore power all along and came back on when the surge protector restored power. Strange, since I have run the tv, dvr, and satelitte all on inverter before.

It appears that having the inverter on all the time does prevent dvr reboots so it is worth have in even if the tv goes off

My PI EMS has 2 different delay settings before shore power is connected. My ATS has a delay that is used when switching to the gen. My inverter ATS has a few millisecond delay also.

All 3 of the above use relays and by design they are of course break the prior power connection before connecting to the new power connection. Therefore a few millisecond delay plus any built in delay.

It can take time to reboot, especially a satellite to get a signal after interruption.

Are you sure when the tv came back on it was on inverter power vs the EMS allowing utility power again?

Depending on how your inverter is wired you could just cut utility power when voltage is running low and run full time on inverter. If it just runs some outlets you can probably turn off the breaker that feeds that branch circuit. This will avoid the reboot.

My original question has now been answered by recent events. We have had two brief power interruptions in the past day with the inverter on. Both times the tv and dvr shut off and power returned in a few minutes. Looking at our voltage monitor revealed the park voltage was dropping too low and our surge protector did it’s job and shut power off. The inverter did not pick up the load quick enough to prevent the units from shutting off.

The one thing that puzzles me about that is why it took a few minutes for both the tv and the dvr to come back on. Seems like they should have come back on faster. I have run the tv and dvr and the satelitte dish many times on these outlets with the inverter and no shore power. must have something to do with the transfer switch/inverter/outlet connections I would guess..

KD4UPL wrote:
Since you don't say what inverter you have nobody here knows really what to tell you.
Likley the answer is yes, leave the inverter on and it will act as a UPS. If you have a Magnum, Xantrex, Outback, or something similar it should switch fast enough that your TV and dish won't re-boot.
You should not ever have the inverter output and the shore power hooked to the same outlets but no factory set up would be done that way. Only if a DIY guy hooked something up himself might you have this problem.

We have a Xantrex 1000W installed by Winnebago it powers some outlets but not all.

Since you don't say what inverter you have nobody here knows really what to tell you.
Likley the answer is yes, leave the inverter on and it will act as a UPS. If you have a Magnum, Xantrex, Outback, or something similar it should switch fast enough that your TV and dish won't re-boot.
You should not ever have the inverter output and the shore power hooked to the same outlets but no factory set up would be done that way. Only if a DIY guy hooked something up himself might you have this problem.

time2roll wrote:
Yes you can run the tv etc full time from the inverter regardless of utility power.

X2, we run our entertainment center (HDTV, HD Sat, Bluray gaming console, Bose, and laptops) via 350 watt PS inverter whether plugged into shore power or when RVing off the power grid, keeps our satellite service from rebooting when genny kicks on/off or power momentarily drops from pedestal.

Yes you can run the tv etc full time from the inverter regardless of utility power.

The inverter has been on in our coach 24/7 for the last 11 years except during very minimal maintenance times. That said, we also have installed Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) on each DVR because we have found that the DVRs would reboot about 30% of the time when switching between generator and inverter power especially when the generator started automatically with the auto gen start system. UPS are about $40 to $50 each.

Never allow 110 AC to back feed an inverter thru the inverter 110 AC outlets as all I've seen will smoke for a second if it even takes that long and then you'll get to but a new inverter. Only happened to me once before I learned the hard way.

After that bad experience back in the very early 1990's. When we got back home I went to an electrical supply place locally and bought 3 little enclosed in clear plastic 10 amp DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) relays having 6 little connections lugs that are roughly 1" wide, 1-1/2" long, and about 3/4" thick in size. They can vary in enclosed plastic case size and/or amp capacity as needed or wanted but all do the same task. It's just an auto switching relay and not expensive. Mine cost $10.50 each and have purchased 4 more recently also for other things/uses. The joys of being a retired engineer!

Also a blue shallow electrical box, a standard duplex outlet receptacle, and a plastic 2 outlet receptacle cover to enclose the outlet box, also very cheap at around $3 total. Mount the new box and covered outlet in a hidden location like inside a cabinet or behind a removable access cover or as I do, right next to or near an OEM outlet clearly labeled "110 AC shorepower/inverter ____ amp only"

I use a simple off the shelf 10 amp mini fuse wired on the shore power hot side incoming black wire as the OEM circuit is 15 amp min. After the fuse the wire goes to the relay's solenoid activation lug so the shore power is only going thru to the duplex outlet when the shore power has current because the solenoid had moved the contacts to the shorepower contacts side inside the relay only. When there's no shore power, the contacts instantly move back to the inverter AC powered pass thru relay contacts.

Thus, both power sources cannot be connected at the same time and both can be safely connected to the relay at the same time. You won't even nor can you tell the relay is even there as it auto and instantly switches from shore power to inverter should the shore power fail and back when the shore power comes back on.

I also did this for the RV microwave for shore power/inverter auto switch over AC outlets. Another in the bedroom, in the bathroom vanity also and one in the kitchen slideout for laptop etc use and charging while using. Only limited by your imagination. We always have 110 AC powered outlets inside the RV anytime anywhere as needed without starting the generator and it's so quiet for making coffee and toast etc in the morning even if right next to another RV with people sleeping inside.

It's not a difficult thing to do and works great and is very reliable and so many uses.

Another way is using 3 way switches for an AC outlet. Center is off, down connects power from one source, and up connects power for a different source. Only requires a flip of the switch. isolates both inverter and shore power AC power connected until you flip the switch up or down as desired. Can all be in one square electrical standard box outlet or in separate single box outlets or just adding to an existing duplex outlet area. Must select the power source as it's not auto switching for maybe the real lazy.