I know what an inverter is. I use a portable one now. Its a 350 watt. I use in in the bedroom to plug my tv in the cig lighter. works great. Little loud from cooling fan.
I can also put the clamps on and hook it up directly to the batteries and run a cord in the window and plug in the main TV and sat reciever. I have 2 good 6 volt batteries. The inverter seems to handle the power ok, but I think I need a little more. I would like to put an inverter in the motorhome so all the 120 plugs work on the inverter. I don't wanna run anything big. biggest thing will be the tv's, dvd, sat.
How big of an inverter do i need? how does it work if I plug in? When I start the genny, it takes 5-10 seconds for the power to come on, so there is some sort of brian controlling the power. I don't know how all this stuff works.
I would like to keep the inverter on so I don't loose power to the sat dish when the wife need to turn on the genny for a few in the eve after her shower for her the hair drier.
is this possible?
What would be my ball park cost on inverter and then install?
1999 Bounder 36' -Workhorse 454
26' Interstate enclosed trailer
2001 Sand Cars Unlimited 5 seat sandrail- Northstar V-8
1995 21' TPR tunnel hull Deck boat-528 cu Ford. 736 HP on pump gas
To keep the sat receiver from resetting when the generator starts, just use one of the portable uninterrupted power supply (UPS) readily available for desk top computers.
You need to start by mapping out all outlets and record what breaker controls each outlet and device. Don't forget the fridge, exterior and converter.
My trailer has two strings for convenience outlets. One is GFI for kitchen, bath, & exterior. The other is for general use in the other areas. You might skip on the GFI circuit to run stuff like coffee or a hairdryer from the generator only. Use a transfer switch to choose between the inverter and the main panel to supply power. I mounted my small inverter right behind the electric panel. I used the main 12v battery connection for power. This also avoids pulling wire, just make the connections.
The delay you have for generator power is normal. It is in the transfer switch that chooses between generator and the main cord. The idea is to allow the gen to stablize voltage and frequency before the loads are connected. Probably about a 20 second delay.
Not all transfer switches are fast enough to avoid a reset of electronics when switching power. You can switch the breaker off when inverting to avoid the power switchover. Everything else would still get power from the generator.
If the inverter is going to be permanently wired into the 120vac system, it is supposed to be a hard-wired connection only. That means something like the 1800 watt type inverter designed for that use. Unfortunately more expensive than the little inverter that you have, but the right way to do it. The transfer switch, which can be built into the inverter or separate, is there to automatically switch the source between the normal source you use (pole plug or generator) and the inverter. This approach is necessary for both safety and to meet insurance requirements.
mena661 wrote: Just use the same one you have. If it works now, why change it? All you need is a transfer switch.
I want to hook it up to the whole motorhome. I can't watch sat TV in the bedroom then. I will need two of them. Can I hook it up to the whole 120V system in the RV? Then when I know I need more power just crank on the genny? Will the inverter need to be turned off? Will there be an interruption in power to the sat receiver?
I want to hook it up to the whole motorhome. I can't watch sat TV in the bedroom then. I will need two of them. Can I hook it up to the whole 120V system in the RV? Then when I know I need more power just crank on the genny? Will the inverter need to be turned off? Will there be an interruption in power to the sat receiver?
I know exactly what you want to do which why I suggested a transfer switch. That's all you need. You don't need a big honking inverter to run the TV and stuff. Your present one already does that. I use a 300W PSW to run my two TV's, sat box, blu ray player, laptop, and can recharge cell phones if needed (I don't...I use the 12V outlet and a 3 way "splitter") all at the same time.
Don't even attempt to wire an inverter into the whole house outlets until you learn more about HOW IT'S DONE. The inverter that you have now is a MSW inverter and is not compatible with the ac from either the genny or the shore power. Complete isolation (both hot and neutral wires) is important. If the situation ever occurred (trust me it has happened) where the inverter and generator or shore power were trying to power the same circuits, at the same time, you would certainly burn up your inverter and possibly your RV.
Now, if you would just run the TV's, SAT and DVRs on inverter(s) all the time, they won't glitch when power is switched from gen to shore.
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