Shore Power or Battery Power? Rookie RV Question

[PrancingBurt]

Hey everyone! My girlfriend and I are just getting our feet wet with our recently purchased '05 Itasca Navion. We'd like to spend some nights in it in the driveway and get to know it.

We have a basic question about power. If we plug into shore power (our house) using a 30A to 15A converter, is there a way to know if various appliances/systems are drawing on shore power or on house battery power? Is there a mechanical switch to go from one to the other?

We just want to understand where the power is coming from for various parts of the coach.

Thanks for your help, this forum has been wonderful so far!

[tmw188]

You will be very limited on what you can use on that plug. You will not be able to exceed 15a. Some lights a microwave maybe if your chord isn't too long and nothing else is on. If you have the inverter switch on and no shore power you will be extremely limited to maybe a tv and maybe a beside outlet? I would not plug into shore power and see what works on inverter power by plugging in something at different recept. I see you live in KY your propane furnace fans run on 12v so you can have heat as well. Refrig. Should run a LP. only if that's what you have just be sure it's level.

[RV Vagabond]

First find out if your RV has a converter. It converts AC to DC and powers all the 12 volt equipment so the batteries should not be draining. To know for sure and be able to control all electrical functions you have to have a converter/inverter control panel and a battery monitor wired to it. This video shows the one I got.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BROWlbF-3GI&t=400s

[MisterT]

when you use one power source, it is the only power source for everything in your coach... if you switch from battery power only, to plug into a 120v outlet, then your coach uses a transfer switch to switch the power to the 120v power source - it's never both at the same time, unless you have 12v items that are ONLY run to the battery, and are not supported by the Converter(which converts 120v to 12v)...

in essence, in most cases your house batteries should not be depleted while on Shore power since the shore power and converter is what is powering everything...

[nosticks]

First off, your appliances are not 12v and 110v. Typically, refrigerator is 110v or propane needing 12v only to ignite it on propane. Water heater is the same in terms of power. Furnace is propane powered, but needs 12v to ignite, power the fan, and control it. Microwave is 110v as is the air conditioner and TV. Lights, bathroom fan, and range hood are 12v. The converter will take care of the 12v stuff for you as long as you are plugged it to shore power.

As stated in other posts, you won't be able to run much at the same time on 15a. The microwave, water heater on electric, and the air conditioner are power hogs. You will most likely not be able to run any of those in combination with the converter.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

PrancingBurt-

You might find these two Web pages helpful:

The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)
The 12volt Side of Life Part 2

[Gary RVRoamer]

Have no fear - your Navion has a 12v power converter that makes 12v from shore power when you are plugged in. The battery doesn't supply 12v power while the converter is operating.
Your appliances use some 12v for their circuit boards whether the RV is connected to shore power or not, but again the battery is not used when shore power (or genset) is active.
There is no mechanical switch for the 12v source - the battery and the power converter are wired in parallel and either can supply the RV's 12v needs. When the 12v converter is active, it supplies slightly higher voltage than the battery so that it becomes the source whenever it is operating. No switch needed - the laws of physics take care of that.

There is a mechanical switch for changing from shore to genset power, but it is automatic in your Navion.

[tmw188]

There you go without this ending up with 175 posts. If you have an owners manual look thru it while you are in the unit and have fun exploring and learning.

[MisterT]

here's another LONG and EXTENSIVE example of someone who knows something about INVERTERS and the ME-RC Remote Panel... wow!

get some popcorn, cause this one's gonna be a while!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-1OSFPHi04

[4x4van]

A lot of complicated answers here. Let's make this simple, ok? Your RV has 2 electrical systems; 1 is 120VAC (like your house) and the other is 12vdc (like your car).

Most things in your RV run on 12vdc; lights, water pump, furnace (12vdc and propane), fridge control board (12vdc & propane), water heater control board (12vdc & propane). But your A/C, microwave, and probably TV uses 120VAC. Your fridge and your water heater likely also have 120VAC options as well.

Now, the 120VAC can only be supplied by shore power or generator (although limited amounts can also be supplied by an inverter). That shore power (or generator) ALSO provides 12vdc through a converter, and that converter provides ALL of your 12vdc current needs PLUS it charges your batteries. Without shore/generator, all of your 12vdc needs are provided by the batteries instead.

It is all automatic, no switches.

[simplecamper]

Depending on your unit you may be able to run AC, but most likely nothing else on the 120v. Do you not have a 20A running to outside outlet? Not too expensive to put one in, given you have open slot in your panel and easy run to outside, like via basement or crawlspace.