Inverter, some basics please

[GENECOP]

New Rig, have not boondocked yet, i think i have a real good setup, (no solar yet) when we picked up the Rig the salesman said, "this is your inverter, its on" that was it. So here i sit completely confused with this panel that says MAGNUM ENERGY, Shore-Tech-Inverter-Charger-Fault, thats just some of the stuff, a dial says select, some green lights are on, and written across the screen when i am plugged in always says (FLOAT CHARGING DC 13.4volts 28A). I have not hit any buttons in the past 3 months, but i think its time to start. I do run the genny occasionally, and once ran off my batteries for a night, (6 marine batteries) the charge went down pretty quick, i left the inverter on, probably a mistake.Outside in a compartment i have a 30 amp Magna Sine wave inverter. I guess i should start with the manual, till then are there any simple basics that you can share with me ? thanks Gene......

["007"]

Give this link a try more than you might need we'll see.

[GENECOP]

This is my Controller

[IMG][/IMG]



Some basics, if i am plugged into shore power should the charger and inverter be on or off?
If genny is running, inverter and charger on or off
If using batteries only, no shore power, no genny, inverter and charger on or off, thanks, G

[GENECOP]

Additionally there are so many other functions this controller is capable of, do you use them all, some, or none, thanks .

[RJay]

When plugged into shore power your main AC power panel will be energized to power the connected AC loads and the inverter will bypass the AC power to supply the 120 volt power loads connected to the inverters sub panel. Since shore power is feeding your AC loads, the battery charger feature in you inverter will be activated to recharge your batteries.

Your generator is priority power source to power your rv. When you start your generator the automatic transfer switch, after a timed delay, will switch the power source from shore power to the generator and everything works as stated above. The only time you want to shut off your inverter is if you will be storing your rv for any length of time and not connected to shore power.

I you want to run certain AC applicances, and no AC source is available and you don't want to run your generator, your inverter will use battery(DC) power and convert it to AC and power the AC loads connected at the inverter sub panel.

[GENECOP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay When plugged into shore power your main AC power panel will be energized to power the connected AC loads and the inverter will bypass the AC power to supply the 120 volt power loads connected to the inverters sub panel. Since shore power is feeding your AC loads, the battery charger feature in you inverter will be activated to recharge your batteries. Your generator is priority power source to power your rv. When you start your generator the automatic transfer switch, after a timed delay, will switch the power source from shore power to the generator and everything works as stated above. The only time you want to shut off your inverter is if you will be storing your rv for any length of time and not connected to shore power. I you want to run certain AC applicances, and no AC source is available and you don't want to run your generator, your inverter will use battery(DC) power and convert it to AC and power the AC loads connected at the inverter sub panel.

Thanks for that neat and simple explanation, G

[TechWriter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay The only time you want to shut off your inverter is if you will be storing your rv for any length of time and not connected to shore power.

Not quite.

But first, Magnum makes a superb inverter/charger. With a 30A breaker, I'm guessing it's a 2000W model which should handle your RV needs nicely. However, please check the manual.

I had a similar type inverter on my prior coach. If we were not connected to shore power (or running the genset) and we were not using any AC appliances (TV, microwave, etc.), then I'd turn off the inverter function.

Why? Just using the inverter function takes some power and if left on without any shore/genset input, the inverter will eventually draw down your batteries.

Turning off the inverter will only affect the AC devices, not any of the 12V systems (lights, fridge, etc.).

Your inverter is smart enough to turn itself off when the batteries get too low, but you really want to avoid that situation.

Get used to checking the battery voltage (SOC = State Of Charge) on your Magnum's display panel:
12.6 and above = 100% SOC
12.5 = 90%
12.42 = 80%
12.32 = 70%
12.20 = 60%
11.90 = 40%
11.75 = 30% Not good
11.58 = 20% Not good
11.31 = 10% Your inverter has probably shut off by now.
10.5 = 0% Batteries are dead

[GENECOP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechWriter Not quite. But first, Magnum makes a superb inverter/charger. With a 30A breaker, I'm guessing it's a 2000W model which should handle your RV needs nicely. However, please check the manual. I had a similar type inverter on my prior coach. If we were not connected to shore power (or running the genset) and we were not using any AC appliances (TV, microwave, etc.), then I'd turn off the inverter function. Why? Just using the inverter function takes some power and if left on without any shore/genset input, the inverter will eventually draw down your batteries. Turning off the inverter will only affect the AC devices, not any of the 12V systems (lights, fridge, etc.). Your inverter is smart enough to turn itself off when the batteries get too low, but you really want to avoid that situation. Get used to checking the battery voltage (SOC = State Of Charge) on your Magnum's display panel: 12.6 and above = 100% SOC 12.5 = 90% 12.42 = 80% 12.32 = 70% 12.20 = 60% 11.90 = 40% 11.75 = 30% Not good 11.58 = 20% Not good 11.31 = 10% Your inverter has probably shut off by now. 10.5 = 0% Batteries are dead

Thanks for the info, i would love it if this thread continues to take some of the MYSTERY out of inverters and how to use them, Gene

[RJay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechWriter Not quite. I had a similar type inverter on my prior coach. If we were not connected to shore power (or running the genset) and we were not using any AC appliances (TV, microwave, etc.), then I'd turn off the inverter function. Why? Just using the inverter function takes some power and if left on without any shore/genset input, the inverter will eventually draw down your batteries. Turning off the inverter will only affect the AC devices, not any of the 12V systems (lights, fridge, etc.).

This is misleading.

I don't know what brand inverter you have but I have a Xantrex with a feature called Search Sense. When there is no AC load the inverter turns off except for this feature. The Search Sense feature sends out pulses, searching for an AC load above the set threshold. This feature uses much less power(~70 ma) than if the inverter is powered up but over time can deplete the batteries and is the reason why I advised the OP to turn off the inverter when in storage. Your inverter may not call this feature by the same name but I can't believe yours doesn't have the same type of feature, especially when we're talking about inverters in this wattage. Even if you inverter doesn't, your inverter will consume about 10-15 amp/hrs per day on a battery bank of 450 amp/hrs and most people try to recharge their batteries daily.

If you want to turn your inverter on and off I think that's a personal choice but it will have very little to no effect on the power consumption of your batteries relative to your useage.

[TechWriter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay This is misleading. I don't know what brand inverter you have but I have a Xantrex with a feature called Search Sense. When there is no AC load the inverter turns off except for this feature. The Search Sense feature sends out pulses, searching for an AC load above the set threshold. This feature uses much less power(~70 ma) than if the inverter is powered up but over time can deplete the batteries and is the reason why I advised the OP to turn off the inverter when in storage. Your inverter may not call this feature by the same name but I can't believe yours doesn't have the same type of feature, especially when we're talking about inverters in this wattage. Even if you inverter doesn't, your inverter will consume about 10-15 amp/hrs per day on a battery bank of 450 amp/hrs and most people try to recharge their batteries daily. If you want to turn your inverter on and off I think that's a personal choice but it will have very little to no effect on the power consumption of your batteries relative to your useage.

I had a Xantrex RS2000 and the "seek" feature was not very dependable. My RS had difficulty detecting a load, so I'd turn just turn the inverter off.

Since I occasionally boondocked for several days, I could not recharge my batteries daily. So I didn't want even an "idle" power draw.

[RJay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechWriter I had a Xantrex RS2000 and the "seek" feature was not very dependable. My RS had difficulty detecting a load, so I'd turn just turn the inverter off. Since I occasionally boondocked for several days, I could not recharge my batteries daily. So I didn't want even an "idle" power draw.

You may have had your load threshold set too high where the inverter couldn't sense the load. Is your generator not working?

[TechWriter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay You may have had your load threshold set too high where the inverter couldn't sense the load. Is your generator not working?

We usually camp in state parks -- no gens allowed.

[Gary RVRoamer]

I have Search Sense turned off on my Xantrex RV2512. I like my clocks to run and even the lowest threshold doesn't pick up the tiny amperage of a digital clock. My inverter stays on all the time anyway. If I want it off to really conserve amps, its easy to push the off on the remote. I've done that in "no generator" areas where I expected to be awhile.