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WWFan · 09-15-2005, 05:34 PM

Boy! You HAVE been busy!! You got more done that I do!!

How the heck can you read the panel sticker? Wow...you must have alot younger eyes than I do...can you spot where it is telling you that?

If so, I think it would relatively easy to just add another breaker and circuit in the breaker box for the outlet that the CONverter is plugged into (make it a dedicated circuit), OR, add another breaker for the TV circuit (probably easier). But I am still a tad puzzled why it would be such a big deal...the CONverter is just another load, albeit a small one, and has the benefit of somewhat recyling the juice back to the batteries for the INverter to use again. The only drawback that I can see and admit, is that if the CONverter is working too hard to keep up, it could fry I guess, ey?

Next time I see my electrician buddy (could be any night now- he's over quite a bit), I'll ask him...we've already been over Howie's drawing a while back, and he would know the exact scoop.

Thanks for keeping this going...we'll get a definiteive answer here come he!! or high water!!

Sean

WWFan · 09-15-2005, 05:36 PM

Aaron:

Ahhh...I think I just spotted it..it's on the top label, 3rd one down, huh? (I opened up his original pic).

Grizwald2 · 09-15-2005, 06:00 PM

Aaron This is the picture you should be looking at,Inverter Mod not the one of the breaker box. That pic is the finished pic of where 56Nomad mounted his addional box for the DPDT switch to live. it's how things are wired inside that counts. Also the converter is in the power cord storage area that you access from the outside. (EDIT) NOT ALL ARE LIKE THIS. WW seems to have different wireing schemes even for the same model depending on what time of the year yours came off the line. What you are looking at in that picture is simply the breaker box where all the breakers that feed all the 110V circuits live. It is in here that you want to move the one romex wire (black=hot white=neutral to the DPDT switch and then from the switch back to where they were in the breaker box.
Griz

WWFan · 09-15-2005, 06:18 PM

Hey Everyone:

Just got off the phone with my electrician, and he says the same thing that Dave brought up...no matter WHAT that 3 position switch does, you'd still be powering EVERYTHING on the TV circuit, and if the CONverter was on THAT circuit, you'd be running it and it would be trying to reinstate the batteries. Now...not neccessarily a bad thing, but if the converter didn't have the gumption to go 4,5, 7 or 8 hours that the inverter could run off the batteries, you'd simply burn it up. If it DID, and let's say it's replenishing the batteries at a 10% rate vs. the 100% inverter pull, then in effect, you'd have 110% capacity for your inverter. But my electrician did say it's not a good thing to try to run the CONverter off an INverter in any case. Also...ALL of this is assuming you don't have shore power or a genset running.

SOOOOO....like I advised Aaron, the easy way out of this connundrum is to put the outlet on it's own breaker in the panel- it's close enough that you wouldn't have to run a whole bunch of wire, and there is still some room for another breaker.

Darn...I was hoping Howie would be right, but now that I've had this discussion, I'm 110% sure now that additional modifications are needed (except me!...my SLC's CONverter doesn't run off the same circuit....hehe...hehe!!! There' one LESS MOD that us SLC owners would have to do!!!).

Sean

Grizwald2 · 09-15-2005, 06:46 PM

Still for the life of me can't figure out why you guys think the converter is on the same circuit as the T.V. Its not and can't be. The only wire that goes to the T.V plugs is one romex wire (ground neutral hot). That is it, one wire period. and you put the DPDT switch so you can feed that one romex wire (ground neutral hot) from the shore/gen or the Output of the Inverter.

The converter gets its power from the big long cord that you plug into shore power or gen power. The converter has nothing to do with any of the 110V circuits. Remember it is a converter. It converts 110 to 12V. It does not power anything 110 nor is it powered unless the gen is on or you are pluged into shore power. and then all it is doing is chargeing your battery. In reality you can have the Gen on with the converter charging the battery and running the T.V off the inverter but that would just be a waste of gas and battery at the same time. That is why we have the DPDT so we as humans can't physcally forget to flip a switch and power a circuit from two different AC sources. No chance for smoke...the function of the center off position on the switch.

Time for a beer

Griz

WWFan · 09-15-2005, 06:58 PM

Donno:

I know it's hard to believe, but now I fully understand that...let me try to 'splain some more Luu-cy!

OK...you've got everything hooked up. Inverter is powering the circuit for the TV's. The CONverter is plugged into an outlet in the shore power bay, right? THAT OUTLET is on the SAME circuit that the TV's are (according to Howie's pic of the breaker panel- yours MAY be different). As such, you are powering THAT circuit, right? Which means you are powering the CONverter which is trying to replenish the batteries that the INverter is draining. The fix is to get the CONverter off that circuit, hence, the separate breaker circuit for the CONverter.

Here's where I think the big disconnect is: what the 3pole switch does is switch the INPUT to the circuit (either from shore/gen power OR from INverter)- the OUTPUT into the circuit is what is explained above.

I fought this for some time but just didn't have the brain power to contribute to it, but now that I have, I MUST agree with Hoverbug and Aaron (who so graciously let me ramble on for a few more posts!).

Howie's gonna poop his drawers when he gets back!!

Sean

Grizwald2 · 09-15-2005, 08:02 PM

Alright, after talking to WWfan and studying 56Nomads picture of his breaker panel it appears that WW might have been stupid enough to power the converter off the T.V. Outlet breaker on some units. This would be really dumb on there part as it would consume more power than it would give out charging the battery and be powered from the battery that is already powering the Inverter. Mine is not wired this way. I'm headed to storage to get some picks tomorrow and hope to find the differences between these units hopefully to save some people some future headaches down the road,

Griz

sandjunkie · 09-16-2005, 05:03 AM

Please continue to nail this down. I think my Converter and TV's are on the same circuit. I will be tackling this install in the next few weeks. I am looking for a way to split the TV's and the Converter from the same circuit. Thanks to all for the great info. Keep it comin!!

WWFan · 09-16-2005, 05:43 AM

Sandjunkie:

I think it's a pretty simple fix, but you gotta know how to wire in a breaker...just take the outlet that the CONverter is on, and wire it to the breaker panel with it's own breaker- it will now be on it's own "dedicated circuit".

With what Griz was saying, there may be a few variations of LE wiring out there, and maybe even within the 2006 model year, so everyone needs to confirm that this is the case before doing any changes. I think WW may have finally figured out that there are some who didn't want to fork out $1600-1800 for their inverter setup and have opted to add their own, so they may have changed the outlet that the CONverter is on to another circuit.

I would tell everyone that if the romex wire to THAT outlet went straight to the panel, then just merely disconnect it and add a breaker, but it's probably hooked in parallel with another outlet somewhere in the coach.

You know...I've got to call Mike @ WW this morning...even though he's new, I'll ask him if he knows if they made any mid-year changes...

Sean

Grizwald2 · 09-16-2005, 06:17 AM

Well said Sean. I think if mine was wired like that I would just take the wire nuts off the splice in the junction box and let the romex that continues on to the T.V. outlets pass through and run a separate piece of romex to the breaker box for the converter outlet and hook the ground to the ground bus bar, the neutral to the neutral bus bar and the hot wire I would just pick a circuit breaker like the wall outlets and add the wire to the hot side of that breaker and change my label to add the converter on that circuit.

To all, if all my ramblings have confused you I am sorry. I did not even think that my breaker panel would be wired any different then anybody else's. So I did not comprehend what everyone was talking about when the said their converter was wired to the T.V circuit. Now I do and although its an easy fix by either adding another breaker to the main bus bar or just separating the outlet box that the converter plugs into and running the new 2 or 3 feet of romex and taping into a existing breaker.

I still want to get some pictures of how mine is wired and maybe someone with a different wired WW can add their pictures so that anyone from this point on will know their are more than one configuration when attempting to add their own inverter.

Griz

Aaron H · 09-16-2005, 09:19 AM

Sounds like we are all on the same page...now.

Bottom line: converter turns on when the inverter powers the TV outlets.

The only real solution is what Sean has said: hardwire an independant breaker to the converter outlet.

Good thing the weather is breaking, I didn't enjoy doing mod's in 110+ degree temp's.

Grizwald2 · 09-16-2005, 05:58 PM

OK, This is how my breaker panel is laid out and how I did my Inverter mod.

My T.V circuit is on its own 20 amp circuit. Not all Weekend Warriors are wired the same so you will have to verify your particular setup.

high desert · 09-16-2005, 05:59 PM

I tried to find out how WW wired my converter/inverter and I can't seem to find the converter. The only thing I can figure is that it's in an enclosed compartment behind the circuit breaker panel.

To answer HB's original post, I use the inverter for the tv's-73&54 watts, DVD-14 watts, satellite system-35 watts (total 176 watts).

Wes