Questions & Concerns on the Inverter & Batteries

[bkphotog]

Hi all you electrical experts out there.

I am a novice on the electrical systems and I am wondering if someone might clear some issues up on the Inverter/Charger and Batteries.

Here goes.

Should one run the Inverter portion of the unit all the time? ie; while conected to shore power or on the generator?

What does it mean if the batteries seem to be "bubbling" while connected to shore power or generator? I do not think that they are boiling but they do "gurgle"

I will thank all in advance to any responses to my questions.

Bill

[Route 66]

As a fulltimer, I rarely turn my inverter off.

That way I always have 120v to keep all of the clocks set and other 120v equipment online.

All batteries outgas when being charged, but your charge rate may be too high.

[BigSkyBob]

I have never had the opportunity to turn off my inverter. Why would you want to?

[FLYTYER]

Contrary to others, I never try to use my inverter unless I am boon-docking without shore power. If I try to run my inverter when connected to shore power, the inverter will not turn on...I believe this is a safety factor built-in to protect the inverter and house wiring.

Some outgassing of a battery during charging is normal, but if house batteries are bubbling constantly they are being overcharged as in cooked!! This not good, ever! Are your batteries are warm, maybe bulged?? If so they are getting too much charge for sure.

[GaryKD]

Hi Bill,
Some coaches (like mine) are wired so the inverter must be on to opperate the appliances that are wired to it. This means my inverter is on 100% of the time. Try this with your coach. If, when connected to shore power, you turn the inverter off, do your 120VAC appliances still run? If yes, then you have a choice. If no, consider leaving the inverter on all the time.

For the battery bubbling concern, determine how much voltage is getting to the batteries. Once the batteries are fully charged, if it is more than 13.5VDC then they may be being charged too much. The charger may need to be adjusted or replaced. Also, if your batteries are the flooded kind (have caps to add distilled water) make sure you check the water once every couple of months. If they always need water, the batteries are shot or the charger is overcharging or both.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Inverters that are part of an integrated inverter & charger aren't really "on just because the switch is "ON" or off when the switch is "OFF". Your Neptune probably has such a system, but it would help if you could give us the make and model on inverter that is installed. In these systems, the charger portion will run regardless of switch position. When "ON" the inverter will sense whether shore power id present and if it is, do an internal and shut down the inverter function. If no shore power (or generator power) is present then the inverter runs and supplies power inside the coach. If the switch is OFF, however, the inverter will remain off at all times.

[bkphotog]

Gary,

It is a MAGNUM ENERGY ME2012 Series Inverter / Charger unit.

Thanks to all who have passed on your thoughts to my questions.

Bill

[Gary RVRoamer]

As I suspected, you have an integrated inverter and charger with an automatic switch that activates the inverter section only if shore or generator power is not available inside the coach. You can leave the inverter on at all times and it will automatically determine when and if it needs to provide 120v power by inverting from the batteries.

The only downside of this full automatic mode is that you probably won't be aware if there is an external power loss and will merrily continue to consume power when maybe you ought to be checking for a tripped breaker on the outside power pole or requesting that somebody repair the park power service. You first clue might be that the air conditioner won't come on or you hear the inverter sound a "low battery" alarm because it has been using battery power all day and now needs charging.