flclassb
Florida
New Member
Joined: 11/13/2007
View Profile
 Offline
|
I know that the inverter takes 12VDC and inverts it to 120VAC. My brother who has a Class A RV was told by a service tech to turn OFF the inverter when he is on shore power. Is this correct? What effect does this have on your system? Will this cause the coach batteries to boil the water? I thought that the converter/charger is the device that chargers that coach batteries and not the inverter. Can anyone shead some light on this subject?
Thanks from Ron a newbee from Florida.
|
smkettner
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
What is the make and model of the inverter? Off is fine as long as something else is charging the battery and supplying 12 volts to the RV.
2001 F150 SuperCrew 5.4 Lariat Offroad 4x4 Tow Package 4.10 Truetrac
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
12K SuperGlide, KGE3000Ti 2.3kw rated 2.6kw max
Frank's voltage booster, Prosine 1800 powered by 4 GC2 batteries
|
JFG
TN
Senior Member
Joined: 07/01/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
What make and model of MH?
Fred
|
2oldman
WA
Senior Member
Joined: 04/15/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
Turning it off is such a broad statement.. without further details on what kind of Inverter (charger) it is or how it's hooked up there's no correct answer.
|
flclassb
Florida
New Member
Joined: 11/13/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
I have a 2008 Itasca Cambria 26A. Where do I find the model of the inverter?
|
|
|
davidj54
South Alabama
Senior Member
Joined: 06/23/2006
View Profile
 Online
|
Taken as stated the tech is correct. He said to turn off the inverter not the charger. There is no use running the inverter to produce 120v power when it's already available. Besides, if it's hooked up right the transfer switch automatically switches it out of the circuit so it's just sitting there idle anyway. Wasting power and more importantly clocking hours till failure.
Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab (Yeah, it's got a Cummins)
2006 Forest River Grand Surveyor GS-280
Prodigy Brake Controller
1000/10000lb Equal-i-zer with 4-way sway control
|
Bobbo
Memphis, TN
Senior Member
Joined: 09/16/2007
View Profile
Online
|
When on shore power (or generator) I turn off my inverter. I see no reason to power its electronics while it is doing nothing because the 120v is coming from the shore power cord (or generator). Of course, it passes shore power (or generator) through itself, but I don't see the need to make it do that.
Bobbo, Linda and the furry kid (German Shepherd)
'07 Winnebago Outlook 31C on a Ford E450 Super Duty Chassis
NRA Life Member
Near N35 12 17 W89 50 57
|
JimInMA
Littleton, MA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/27/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
flclassb wrote:My brother who has a Class A RV was told by a service tech to turn OFF the inverter when he is on shore power. Is this correct?
I'd say that it makes sense in most circumstances.
Quote:What effect does this have on your system?
On a completely stock system it shouldn't have any effect. People who have done mods to their rig might have some issues but that would depend on exactly what they've done.
Quote:Will this cause the coach batteries to boil the water?
It shouldn't if the rig has a decent converter...
Quote:I thought that the converter/charger is the device that chargers that coach batteries and not the inverter. Can anyone shead some light on this subject?
The converter does charge the coach batteries but I don't think battery charging had anything to do with the suggestion. If you are connected to shore power then you already have 120v available. Why bother converting the incoming 120v to 12v and then inverting it back to 120v? No converter or inverter is 100% efficent so unless there is some other reason to run your inverter you are just wasting electricity running from the inverter.
Now, if your shore power source is "dirty" (as many CGs are...), you might be better off using the inverter as a way of cleaning up your power.
|
Techie
Pahrump, NV, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 01/30/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
If we have our computers (for work) running we always leave the inverter on regardless of power source.
If we're running on the gen and aren't doing work then we turn it off...likewise while plugged into 120V.
The only benefit of leaving it on when plugged in is that if you do have a power failure your clocks won't reset on you and your DVR won't miss a show from the sat.
2006 CC Allure 40' Quad Slides Tag Axle Cummins 400
2004 Honda Element EX/AWD Toad; Blue Ox Aventa II/USGear
MS S&P/EVDO
FMCA
|
KW5B
Sulphur, Oklahoma
Senior Member
Joined: 08/30/2002
View Profile
Offline
|
In my motorhome. 1998 Mountain Aire
The inverter has to be on all the time. If the inverter is turned off then none of the outlets or AC light will work. Also the battery charger in integral to the inverter. 2000 watt Heart. With the inverter off the only things that work are the AC's the block heater and the refrigerator.
Please don't tell me I'm wrong. This has been checked and is actually supposed to be the simplest way to do the wiring. If I plug a fan into an outlet and then turn the inverter breaker off then the fan quits running.
When I though about it for a while I realized this is the simplest, easiest and probably the best way. The inverter is not actually supplying the power if the rv is plugged into the pedestal, but it has to be on.
Larry
Larry
Never insult the alligator until after you cross the river.
|
|
|
