Community Forums

Pauline73 · 12-29-2012, 12:30 PM

Hello,

We are totally new to owning any RV and we are now new owners of a 2002 Holiday Rambler Admiral 32ft

It has been very overwhelming on the amount of info and the things that I'm use to taking for granted.....such as working outlets.

I've been googling and reading the owner's manual. But unless I'm running the generator (and that was after I found the breaker on the generator) I haven't been able to get power to my outlets. The microwave flashes on, can get the lights to work but no outlets.

I thought I should be able to use my outlets on my house batteries, when they are charged and the inverter is turned on.

There is an ACC switch on the dash, should I turn that on? When I did that, nothing happen, but then I had the chassis battery turned off. But didn't think that would effect that since it is suppose to be off the house batteries.

Everything is under warranty, but dealer is 90 min away and don't want to take it there is if something simple that I'm just missing. And I would like to try and figure it out before I end up calling again.....lol

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

RickO · 12-29-2012, 12:41 PM

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The first "simple" thing I would check is to make sure your house battery cut off switch is turned on. If it is, and your inverter is on... you may have an issue. Do the outlets work when you're plugged in to shore power?

Rick

redbaron73 · 12-29-2012, 12:45 PM

RickO has some good points. First test with shore power. Not all plugs are wired to run on the inverter. In my 40ft dp only 6 outlets work of the 12.

Kazoo Tom · 12-29-2012, 12:51 PM

In addition to the above suggestions, you might want to check all gfci outlets to make sure they are not tripped.

As stated above, your inverter probable only powers just a couple of outlets, not all of them. The best way to check the outlets is to plug in to shore power to make sure they all work. Then you can disconnect and see what the inverter powers.

Pauline73 · 12-29-2012, 02:51 PM

Thank you for all the responses....much easier then the manual....lol

Unfortunately, don't have access to shore power. No place to park our RV where we live so it is at storage until we go full time in mid Feb. Good thing we aren't leaving until then....grin So trying to learn everything before we hit the road.

Did not know that about the outlets being that limited. Time to rethink how we are going to work it.

To the answer to question of making sure the house battery was turned on, yes, it was. And I turned on the inverter

I also checked the fuses and the circuit breaker and that is when I discovered that there was 2 breakers on the generator and one was tripped. Once I got that flipped, I was able to use a few of the outlets while the generator was going.

Since you mentioned shore power, generator power does the same thing correct? Just a different supply of power.

So since we were able to use a few of the outlets when that was going (lost track while trying to get them to work) would it be safe to say that if we should be able to test all the outlets while it is going? And if a they don't all work, there may be an issue?

redbaron73 · 12-29-2012, 02:56 PM

Yes, the generator should supply power the same as the shore power.

TXiceman · 12-29-2012, 02:58 PM

Make sure the power transfer switch is switching to the generator for power.

Ken

wa8yxm · 12-29-2012, 05:27 PM

Regarding shore/generator power.. I have seen issues, So I will list them.

NOTE I'm not an RV Service professional so these are just problems with rigs parked near me.

I have seen shore cords (2) with improperly attached outlet ends, (Actually not at all attached might be a better way of saying it) Loose screws one fell off in my hand.

I have had a transfer switch fail.

Both of these are fairly rare, And both are "less than an hour" to fix.

Oh, the one where the end fell off the cord.. Brand new "Sticker in the window".

Pauline73 · 12-29-2012, 07:19 PM

Thank you for the responses. I will be heading over there the next day or so to test it out. Hope that I have at least 1-2 outlets that will work on house batteries/inverter.

I did contact Monaco and they told me to : Check the breaker in the invertor

Don't remember seeing that. But it all new to me, so there is no telling what I've missed....lol

Kazoo Tom · 12-29-2012, 07:27 PM

Yes there is a breaker in the inverter, but not being familair with your unit I can't tell you where to find it. It is also possible that you have a GFCI tripped. Most times you will find one on each side of the coach (controlling that side). One GFCI will control several outlets and may be part of your problem. Also remember if you are depending solely on the inverter for power you will drain your batteries fairly quickly. Use the generator when you are there to keep the batteries charged while working on your electrical problems.

Aggie · 12-29-2012, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pauline73

Since you mentioned shore power, generator power does the same thing correct? Just a different supply of power.

Let me add just one gentle caveat.

Depending upon the KW rating of your installed jenny, you may not (probably won't) be able to run as many 120v appliances (either installed or plugged in) from the generator as you will be able to when plugged in to shore power.

Happy trails

Pauline73 · 12-29-2012, 10:01 PM

The good thing, the previous owner installed 5 solar panels and we have 4 house batteries. So that is why I think we should be able to use some of the outlets.

I will say, every time we are in there, I'm constantly checking the house battery volts....a little paranoid....grin

Bad news is that I have no idea how many watts we have....lol

So goals are to figure out the outlets, then the furnace (the brain was died....dealer replacing), the water pump/heater system and then the watts on the solar.

I'm trying to break it down so I don't get myself lost and overwhelmed.

Warning, our site is running slow and I have a ticket in with our hosting :

http://wherethehellarewe.com/2012/12...dmiral-ackbar/

Aggie · 12-30-2012, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pauline73

Bad news is that I have no idea how many watts we have....lol

Both your generator and inverter should have data plates indicating their maximum (theoretical

) output capability. Regardless of your battery bank capacity, you will not be able to use more wattage than the rated inverter output. The extra battery power will simply provide a longer running time for the inverter, not a greater output capability. And it's highly unlikely that the solar panels will be able to recharge your batteries as quickly as the inverter will draw them down. Properly functioning, the solar panels should be able to recover your batteries more quickly when the amperage load is reduced/removed but will not support high amperage demands on the batteries themselves.

The same rule holds true for your generator. You will not be able to support a KW load greater than the generator's capacity, and it's hard on a generator to operate continuously under full load.

As you get settled in, take a look at the data plates on your electrical appliances. Items like microwave ovens, electric skillets, coffee makers, air conditioners, ceramic heaters and anything that incorporates a heating element (hair dryer, etc) quickly add up. Microwave ovens consume more than 1 KW operating at full power; most coffee makers and skillets/toaster ovens consume 1.5 - 2 KW each. It takes surprisingly few appliances to bring a 4.5 or 7.5 KW generator to its knees and battery powered inverters are usually not as capable as a generator.

In the hierarchy of power supply, shore power is best, generator is second, inverter is a distant third and solar is only useful to rebuild the charge on the batteries when the electrical load is significantly reduced or completely removed.

Just my .02

Pauline73 · 12-30-2012, 01:21 PM

Thank you, a lot of what you stated, helps to reinforce the info I've been learning.

Solar is good for helping keep the batteries charge, but not the full solution. I'm looking to those to just help keep the generator/fuel usage down when boondocking. Which is why I'm always checking the battery volts when we aren't shore/generator.

When reading the responses, I had figured that the washer/dryer (that is next item to research more on) and microwave/convection oven will be shore/generator only. For kitchen appliances, that is the only one we us on a regular basis other then the toaster. And if need be, we can toast the camper way on the stove top.

We were going to get a heater for shore power only and are going to get us a Mr Buddy, easier to fill up a portable propane then the rv during cold weather.

I really want to keep the load down as much as possible, because if we don't have hosting/volunteer jobs, we would like to boon dock as much as possible...that is the goal. Looking at LEDs lights that run on batteries to save on battery pull....plus, we dislike the yellow lights that bulbs give off...use to the sunlight ones

Still need to learn all the readings. So far, I'm trying to remember the voltage reading for battery life. I was looking into amp, but you just reminded me of watts also... I know I'll get it...I usually do, it is just when you are new to it and so much of it, it is kind of crazy.

Where the load is going to come in, is that we work online. We need to be able to run our 2 macs, monitors, charging phones and hopefully the TV (no satellite at this time, just lots of movies). And we'll need to be in the habit of unplugging anything we aren't using to protect against vampire pull...like the printers I'm use to having online all the time....that is going to be a tough one.

The online power, will be my biggest concern once I figure out the rest.

Every time I think I'm getting some where on knowledge, I learn that I really don't know much....lol Never ending battle