Community Forums

wa8yxm · 05-13-2011, 08:39 AM

There is no point in leaving the inverter on... . Why would you leave it on?...

First for this discussion there are TWO types of inverters.. "In-line" and "Stand alone" I have both at my disposal.. Both come in both MSW and TSW models but that is another discussion so in this one we will just discuss IN-Line and Stand Alone.

With a Stand alone inverter, there are but two connections (May be more than one of each) 12 volt in and 120 volt out.. The inverter is either ON or OFF, when on it powers the 120 volt loads..

This type of inverter I would indeed turn off if plugged in. In fact I'd disconnect it on the 12 volt side when plugged in.. But it's now what I use (I have 3 or 4 or 5 of them scattered about storage bins ranging from a 75 watt Plug in in my computer bag to a Xanterx X-power 1,000 watt in storage)

In-Line: This type of inverter is often also a converter/charger, the 12 volt lines are bi-directional (Both charging the battery when shore or generator power is on or discharging them to provide 120vac to selected loads when off)

It has the 12 volt connection(s) it has 120 volt out, just like the stand alones, but it also has 120 volt IN from the "Mains" breaker box. Generally this type of inverter (IN fact I think always) has a built in transfer switch so when there is "MAINS" power it switches over and simply passes the power through. The transfer switch also places the inverter (if enabled) in STANDBY mode (The control panel can disable the inverter if you choose) and places the converter in CHARGER mode.

SHOULD shore power fail, for any reason, or, in some cases, should shore power become "Undesierable" due to any of several chriteria (Frequency, voltage, waveform) the inverter monitors.. It will switch to inverter mode and if you are say watching TV,,, it won't even blink

A very anemic version of this kind of inverter is called a UPS in fact.

This is what I use, and I leave it on because wife has Eva Gabor disease.. (What's E.G. Disease? Well recall the TV show: Green Acres... Ms. Gabore played Mrs. Oliver Douglas,, And the farm they had did not have mains power, they used a generator,, it could only power so much, so every electrical item had a number on it, 1,2,3, whatever, and you could only plug in up to N (Say 5) Well, Mrs Douglas (Ms. Gabore) could not figure out that 3 + 4 + 2 was more than five and thus keep blowing the generator. My wife can not figure out that Air Conditioner, plus Microwave Plus Water heater = More than 30 amps either).

RJay · 05-13-2011, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbeane

Not to steal a thread, but why would you leave the inverter on when you don't need it to run something. Thats about the same thing as leaving the water pump on when you hooked to city water, or leaving the fridge on when the coach is stored for long periods with nothing in it. Food for thought electrical componets are like any thing else they are only going to run so many hours then they die, so why use them when you don't need them?

With the inverter on it senses if external AC power is available. As long as external power is sensed a relay inside the inverter is open allowing external power into the RV. If external power is lost the internal relay closes and the coach is immediately supplied by AC power from the inverter. The benefit is the coach doesn't experience an outage and you don't have to reset the clocks. So when the inverter is on its on “standby” as long as external power is available waiting to connect if the external power goes out. If the inverter is off and external power is lost the coach loses power until the inverter is turned on. That's the difference.

YC1 · 06-04-2011, 06:14 PM

If you have the EMS panel with the round knob you may want to check the settings of the inverter. They can be programmed to sense demand or programmed to run all the time.

targaboat · 06-04-2011, 07:13 PM

Rjay is correct. Amasing there is so much misconception about electricity.

CoolJourney · 06-05-2011, 08:07 AM

If you leave your inverter on all of the time you can have a problem if the power goes off in the park where you are staying (assuming you have electrical hookups).

I used to leave my inverter on all of the time. One time the park's electrical power went out and we didn't know it. It was a cold evening, we had a cube heater going and the TV was playing. We noticed our lights start to dim and I investigated. When I went outside I found people walking around talking about the power outage that had occurred an hour or more earlier. We didn't know and had nearly drained our batteries via the inverter powering the whole rig. I have an auto-gen start feature for a low battery situation, but had never thought to enable it, so we could have easily fully drained our batteries. Now I just turn the inverter off when we arrive at a park and turn it on when we leave (like to run some AC powered devices when on the road). It is a little more hassle when the electricity goes off, but at least I know when there is an issue with the park's power.

Bill

YC1 · 06-05-2011, 05:26 PM

To answer a couple of "why to leave the inverter on" questions. In a power interruption situation the inverter will kick in and my direct tv won't take 10 minutes to reload the guide. Or the DVD won't have to start all over again too.