Adding Inverter/Charger.Questions

[Talisman61]

Hi all,

Looking at getting a budget inverter/charger unit from Tripp Lite for my 71 caveman Truck Camper.

Currently my 110v and 12v systems are totally separate. I have shore power that feeds a single breaker, feeding my outlets/fridge/lights etc.

I have a Single 12v battery feed connected to my water pump and a few small 12v light fixtures.

Looking at this:
Tripp Lite APS750 Inverter / Charger 750W
And just wanted to clarify some things.

Using the above unit,
I planned to feed my 110v breaker box from one of the available outlets.
Hardwire shore power cable into the units AC input feed.
Run 2awg wire from this unit to my battery bank (adding a second battery in series)

Am i correct in assuming that when shore power is connected it will straight pass through this unit to my breaker and run everything as it does now while charging my battery.

When disconnected from shore my fridge will run off propane, not the converted 110v feed from my batteries.

I was looking at a simple converter/charger but felt the inverter/charger would suit my needs better. Since I have to add one or the other to charge my battery bank from shore power, I would like to be able to use my outlets when disconnected from shore if i ever have to.

New to camper configurations, not necessarily wiring and electrical.

[time2roll]

Yes two wires will come off the breaker. One to the TS and one to the Charger.

There might be a wire nut involved to split the circuit. Doubt the breaker is made to have 2 wires in the connector.

Charger and inverter can share the 12v connection to the battery depending on where everything is mounted.

[Talisman61]

time2roll wrote:
Just wire the converter before the inverter and the power will flow correctly when plugged in. And no inverter charging loop on battery power.

And here do you mean wire the converter before the transfer switch? The inverter you linked should only be wired from Battery>Inverter 12v Input>Inverter 110v Output>Transfer switch right?


So I should have Shore Power > 15a breaker > Converter/Charger branched to Transfer Switch 110V Input?

[time2roll]

I had a Xantrex Prosine 1800 that gave up way to soon. Since then I have moved to GoPower and my perception is that they run cooler and are better built. Samlex is probably fine for what you need. Not sure it is a big deal at this level.

[Talisman61]

time2roll wrote:

Talisman61 wrote:
So just to clarify, since all of these inverters have outlets and are not hardwire mounts, I'd just wire a pigtail 15-5 plug into the transfer switch that just plugs into one of these inverters?

Yes. The transfer switch I linked would just plug into the inverter.
The transfer switch also has hardwire input connection for the utility power coming off your 15 amp breaker.
Then an output connection to connect your branch circuit.

The charger would get power right after the breaker, before the switch.

Most inverters transition to hardwire at 1500 to 2000 watts rated.

Note the GoPower has very low idle draw if it gets left on and also has a provision for a remote power switch so you can hide it in a cabinet.

great, might just go that route. Like you said, the individual components make it nice if only the transfer switch or charger fail.

What brands of inverters are no go's? I see true sine wave samlex has decent reviews and have a few lower priced 300-500 watt inverters

[time2roll]

Talisman61 wrote:
So just to clarify, since all of these inverters have outlets and are not hardwire mounts, I'd just wire a pigtail 15-5 plug into the transfer switch that just plugs into one of these inverters?

Yes. The transfer switch I linked would just plug into the inverter.
The transfer switch also has hardwire input connection for the utility power coming off your 15 amp breaker.
Then an output connection to connect your branch circuit.

The charger would get power right after the breaker, before the switch.

Most inverters transition to hardwire at 1500 to 2000 watts rated.

Note the GoPower has very low idle draw if it gets left on and also has a provision for a remote power switch so you can hide it in a cabinet.

[Talisman61]

time2roll wrote:


Here is some equipment to consider:
GoPower 150w sine wave inverter $150

You could spend more on a larger 300 watt inverter or spend less and get a MSW inverter. The smaller inverter also means you don't need monster 12v wire connection. I only recommend sine wave.

So just to clarify, since all of these inverters have outlets and are not hardwire mounts, I'd just wire a pigtail 15-5 plug into the transfer switch that just plugs into one of these inverters?

[Talisman61]

Great, thanks all.

Since the current system is low amp rated I'll probably add a new circuit to my panel for the AC/Microwave when that time comes, and this will only be wired to the shore power/genny input. I also plan to swap all the lighting to led bulbs to save power draw as well

[TrailerTravele1]

Talisman -- we know it wasn't technically correct, but we charged and ran many things from the modified sine wave inverter on our sailboat (including the Keurig coffee maker for 152 mornings in a row) for 15 years living aboard. Never (that we know of) had anything die except a battery for David's Makita power tools. We charged sat phone & cell phones, VHF handheld radios, David's Dell, my macbook and ran the Garmin GPS hardwired for navigation underway. Everything (and everyone) said not to do it, but we couldn't afford a true sine wave inverter - and didn't have space for it if we could have afforded it. We tried to use it sparingly when we started living on the hook, but after several years it was just easier to use it than to work around it. Guessing we were just lucky ....

[westend]

If installing an inverter or inverter/battery charger, it may be a good time to upgrade your 120V system. A small load center and a few circuit breakers, a new shore cord or power inlet w/ cord, would make everything easier to control.

[time2roll]

OK common problem with inverter/chargers with transfer switch is the switch is only rated for about what the inverter is rated. The manufacturers don't always consider different usage with utility power vs battery power. Besides that if one of the three components fails you have to repurchase all three. For these reasons I prefer separate components.

For what you describe you only need 150 to 300 watt inverter. Easy to get a USB adapter to charge the phones direct from the battery.

Here is some equipment to consider:
GoPower 150w sine wave inverter $150

PD9245 RV converter $160

15 amp transfer switch $50

Just wire the converter before the inverter and the power will flow correctly when plugged in. And no inverter charging loop on battery power.

You could spend more on a larger 300 watt inverter or spend less and get a MSW inverter. The smaller inverter also means you don't need monster 12v wire connection. I only recommend sine wave.

[Talisman61]

Lol. Breaker is a 15amp.

[BFL13]

Our old camper has original limited shore power 120 too. I put in a 2000w inverter that can run all 120 things (not all at once) like the microwave, toaster, kettle, hair dryer, TV/DVD, etc, etc. With enough battery bank to run the inverter. (Can add batteries in the truck bed before the wheel wells connected to the batteries in the camper if need be--such as when no solar input is expected)

The converter/charger is the only thing left that runs from the shore power cable. That gets plugged into any shore power or generator.

On shore power, the inverter sucks from the battery bank same as when off grid, but now the converter supplies the battery bank. (along with any solar) The inverter can supply more 120 than limited shore power can sometimes.

Sometimes you gain on battery charging and sometimes you lose battery "depending", so you have to do "management" to keep the batts above 50% and to get them full at times.

This way, you are not limited to the original skimpy 120v set-up, and you have enough shore power juice when available to run the battery charger, which is on longer than the short high draw 120 hits so you can stay ahead over time.

[MrWizard]

DC INPUT: Full continuous load - 72A at 12V DC. AC INPUT: 8 amps at 120VAC with full inverter and charger load (4.2A max charger-only)

so if you used the inverter and the battery is low
you have limited 3+ amps pass thru for appliances
unless there is some kind of power management on the charge control

i like tripp lite
i have the 1250w power verter, no charge, just invert
and it is a very robust unit

and no problem with most phone chargers, only with some 'apple' products ?

my phones, tablets and laptop all get charged from this inverter

[kerrlakeRoo]

Why not add a 120 VAC line to just a charger to top off the battery when plugged in and a single outlet wired to a separate inverter, placed to allow charging or appliance use?
This would be sa simple mod and no chance to have the systems cross.

[Talisman61]

MrWizard wrote:
You can't use this the way you have it drawn

You must understand that a combo inverter charger has a built in pass thru circuit that is relay switched between inverter and shore
The way you have the drawn
You are feeding the breaker/camper and the inverter while splitting the shore power which goes thru the unit then back to camper
While it is the same source it is dangerous and illegal
The inverter power will be going back to the shore cord thru the breaker

I suggest you use plugs to move camper power circuit back and forth or install a transfer switch

The Tripplite can stay wired to the battery
But can not wire the 120 from inverter back to the breaker circuit
The way you have drawn it

I understand that, and didn't plan to do this with the Tripp Lite. I just meant in an ideal situation there would be a unit capable of doing this with internal transfer switches to do it properly.

Using the tripp lite unit, I'd wire it inline as it is supposed to be. However the limited amperage pass through does bug me. As it sits now it will not affect a thing.

I'd basically just need to add a second circuit that is wired direct to shore power to run an A/C or Microwave, and I probably should have those on their own circuits regardless.