Replacing magnetek 6300 with inverter/charger

[nakedgun]

Hello all,

I have a 1994 coachmen class B RV which I'm in the process of re-modelling. It has a stock magnetek 6300 converter. It has been upgraded with solar and a battery isolator for charging the house battery when driving.

My goal is to be able to use all of the built in outlets whether on-grid/off-grid. We mainly boondock so 80% of the time this is going to be without shore power. But having this as an option is handy.

I've found a relatively good deal on a xantrex 2000 pure sine inverter/charger which I'd like to hook up. My plan was to remove the charger on the magnetek 6300 but re-purpose the AC/DC distribution panels.

Does anyone know whether this is safe? Or is it better to remove the entire unit and add a new AC/DC distribution panel instead?

I have mainly worked with DC systems before (very basic) so still learning. Appreciate any advice or tutorials which might be relevant here!

Pictures of the magnetek panel:

***Link Removed***
***Link Removed***

[nakedgun]

2oldman wrote:

nakedgun wrote:
I am thinking though that the 2000w might be over kill. We mainly just need it for charging laptops.

All of the "affordable" ones have regular outlet sockets which I have read are not suitable for connecting to a distribution panel?

trying to add some kind of disconnect switch to the magnetek charger

For now, yes, but you may grow to love inverting to want to run big wattage stuff.

You can simply fashion a plug into a smaller inverter and feed your ac panel. For small loads that's fine. Hard-wire lugs are for getting the full-rated wattage from a larger inverter, as the sockets are not designed for that. You don't 'mess with the panel', you find the 30a supply line TO the panel (presumably where your shore line enters the coach) and intercept there.

I found the 120v supply wire to my Magnatek and put an spst switch on it. Hasn't been run in 15 years.

Thank you - I had no idea that for small loads you can fashion a plug. That helps a lot! I can access the 30a supply line to the panel easily enough. What would be ideal would be to tap the 30a supply line (somehow) with an additional 30a receptacle which the inverter plugs into - just for ease of connecting/disconnecting. Not sure if there's a gizmo for this use case - I guess this is the role of a transfer switch? Just to clarify - the 120v supply wire to the Magnatek. This should probably be the black wire going into the lower charger unit right?

time2roll wrote:
I would skip the big inverter/charger for your described use. 300 watt inverter will work fine. Add a small transfer switch to the branch circuit and use the existing outlets. Replace the converter for faster charging of the AGM batteries.

Thank you. Pardon my ignorance, but the transfer switch would connect the 30a shore supply line/inverter output and feed into the 30a supply line into the distribution panel? In this scenario, is it necessary to disconnect the Magnatek charger to prevent a power loop, or would the transfer switch handle that automagically? A link to an online product would appreciated, so I can investigate more.

Thanks all for your help.

[time2roll]

I would skip the big inverter/charger for your described use. 300 watt inverter will work fine. Add a small transfer switch to the branch circuit and use the existing outlets. Replace the converter for faster charging of the AGM batteries.

[2oldman]

nakedgun wrote:
I am thinking though that the 2000w might be over kill. We mainly just need it for charging laptops.

All of the "affordable" ones have regular outlet sockets which I have read are not suitable for connecting to a distribution panel?

trying to add some kind of disconnect switch to the magnetek charger

For now, yes, but you may grow to love inverting to want to run big wattage stuff.

You can simply fashion a plug into a smaller inverter and feed your ac panel. For small loads that's fine. Hard-wire lugs are for getting the full-rated wattage from a larger inverter, as the sockets are not designed for that. You don't 'mess with the panel', you find the 30a supply line TO the panel (presumably where your shore line enters the coach) and intercept there.

I found the 120v supply wire to my Magnatek and put an spst switch on it. Hasn't been run in 15 years.

[nakedgun]

Thanks all. Plan is for 200ah deep cycle AGM initially. Maybe 400ah in the future.

I am thinking though that the 2000w might be over kill. We mainly just need it for charging laptops. Maybe a few other devices but nothing like a microwave or coffee machine. Just liked the idea of re-using the outlets as they are well placed.

A 600w inverter would be more efficient I guess. I just can't find a relatively affordable inverter/charger with hardwire outputs for connecting to an AC distribution panel. All of the "affordable" ones have regular outlet sockets which I have read are not suitable for connecting to a distribution panel?

If I let go of wanting to re-use the outlets, things are much simpler! A 600w pure sine inverter with a few dedicated outlets would be fine. I was also considering trying to add some kind of disconnect switch to the magnetek charger so I could safely hookup the inverter to the AC panel. Since we will rarely use the shore hookup it is fine if this is a manual process to re-connect. I have read not to mess with these panels so not sure if this is a safe/smart approach. Curious if anyone has any thoughts on this as a middle ground solution.

image links:

https://ibb.co/K5Fqrsg
https://ibb.co/gTGrqnV

[enblethen]

How many and what type of batteries are you installing?
You should still have a converter charger but wise to upgrade it to a replacement lower section or a stand alone unit.

[2oldman]

I hooked my inverter directly to the input of the AC panel. Everything works. No problem..except when you forget about the HW and air con. 🙂

For some reason new members don't get to post links.