How to make inverter and new refer "talk"

[num1dgh]

We love our new residential refrigerator. This weekend at a park, however, they lost power. We figured that when we turned on the inverter, it would automatically provide power to the frig. We figured wrong. Is there something we need to do to tell the inverter to put the frig as a priority? I tried yelling at it, but that didn't help.

[whem2fish]

did it go to propane been there

[num1dgh]

Not sure what you mean . . . the residential refer can't go to propane.

[Perry White]

You probably have it plugged in where the old refer was plugged in. That won't work on the inverter. Plug it in where the ice maker was plugged in. That stays hot shore or inverter.

[az bound]

Several possible causes. Bad transfer switch. Low coach batteries. breaker tripped on main panel or inverter.

[KIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by num1dgh We love our new residential refrigerator. This weekend at a park, however, they lost power. We figured that when we turned on the inverter, it would automatically provide power to the frig. We figured wrong. Is there something we need to do to tell the inverter to put the frig as a priority? I tried yelling at it, but that didn't help.

When I changed the Norcold out for a residential reefer there was not an available plug that was supplied by the inverter. So.....I moved the microwave which was supplied via the inverter to a non-inverter circuit. The reefer is now connected where the microwave WAS connected to the inverter. If you do switch some wiring be sure you re-label your new connections correctly.

[wa8yxm]

On the fridge, most likely on the rear but it might be on the front, is a metal tag that will give the power requirements of the Refrigerator RUNNING, For example it may say 250 watts.

Multiply by at least FIVE

So if your Fridge says 250 watts, then five times that is 1250.. A 1500 Watt TRUE SINE inverter should power it. a 1,000 won't.. At least that's been my expierence.

Some folks tell me MSW inverters won't work with motors... I am not convinced of this.. however I've not done a full study of it either...

I have, however, attempted to run a 100 watt refrigerator (Dorm/office size) off a 450 watt inverter without success. Ran fine on a 2kw True Sine though. Ran fine on 1KW, Never tried it on the 1KW MSW I have though.

[mr300ce]

That's what I was wondering. Running a house fridge on an inverter. The compressor motor uses a lot of power when it first comes on, then levels off. You'd need a good size inverter. And what about the battery drain when boondocking ??

[sparkydog]

My Samsung residential refrigerator draws 7amps when it's running through inverter. Fridge, TV, direct tv sat box all together were drawing 22amps when on the inverter.

[dons2346]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perry White You probably have it plugged in where the old refer was plugged in. That won't work on the inverter. Plug it in where the ice maker was plugged in. That stays hot shore or inverter.

+1
You have to use an inverter supplied source and the ice maker is the closest.

[Techie]

When we didthe same on our last rig ('06 Allure) a new line had to be run to be able to use power off of the inverter. The fridge outlet was not on the inverter and neither was the ice maker. Wasn't a big job at the time as the residential fridge had not been installed yet. They (OMCC) ran the new outlet to a new breaker as well.

[Perry White]

All icemakers should be on the inverter. What if you boondock for a week. Mine has a double 110v outlet one on bottom shore power for refer and the one on top from inverter for ice maker.

[Pigman1]

Sounds like a lot of rigs are wired all different ways. Our Tiffin plug behind the refer was hot whenever the inverter was delivering power, but because we boondock a lot I installed a separate inverter just dedicated to the refrig. This way I can turn off house power completely (a 3000W PSW inverter) and still have the refrig on. Also eliminates the parasite draw that gives you little or nothing. The inverter I installed was 10% more efficient than the house 3000W.

[JohnFreyja]

John & Cathy,
I recently changed my wiring so that I could run my Norcold refrigerator with the Inverter while I am driving. I followed some very good directions posted by dallas_evans in message # 74463 and # 74465. You may have to check with the manufacturer if there will be enough power to run your refrigerator. The down side is if you are not plugged into shore power you could run your batteries all the way down but a Auto Gen. Start would probably take care of that.
John
05 Inspire #51399

I forgot to mention that those posts are on the Yahoo Country Coach Forum.