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Old 09-22-2013, 09:00 PM   #1
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Thinking about installing an inverter

On my Daybreak, I have a PD 9160 converter with a charge wizard, I have not had it long enough to know if it works well or not but have read that it is about average for stock systems. Anyway the point is I would like to create some silent AC for watching a few hours of TV in the evening and a silent cup of coffee in the morning and charging the digital net devices and phones. if I need the micro, I can stand the generator for a few minutes.
In looking at my MH setup it is not ideal. The AC shore power comes in at the rear end of the MH and this the location of the converter and the distribution panel. The batteries are located at the coach steps at least 20' away and the BCC is just forward of the left front wheel. Is it common for these components to be spread out in so many area of the coach?
I would like to ad an inverter and what I read is that it should be as close as possible to the batteries while being isolated from them as well. My batteries are in a tray that is attached to the right frame rail,they are not enclosed in a compartment but open to the ground underneath.
I have been looking at the magnum 600 watt unit. I'm sure this is a pretty common mod so please share your insight and experience.
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Old 09-22-2013, 09:49 PM   #2
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I have a 2300 watt inverter setup to power the whole coach, used to power the microwave, coffee maker, etc. - the shore power cord is plugged into the inverter output when traveling or dry camping. It is located in a compartment near the shore power cord and has a wireless remote control for on/off. I also have multiple point of use 150 watt inverters that plug into DC power ports in the coach - one at the AV area to power TV/DVD/SAT, etc., another in the dining area and bedroom.
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Old 09-22-2013, 10:17 PM   #3
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inverters

My personnel experience with trying to get HONEST answers from dealers is useless . I worked and worked for many years in the manufacturing industry and these hokee pokee stupid ME's and QE's in todays arena are completely in competent. divert and denied all normal questions until using engineering terms which undoubtedly put them down, but it finally got some answers that showed sense,,, why would you create 65 feet of wire to go to the steps from the front Battery box , just for fun???? .the same is good for the issue you have with a converter plugged in under the fridge (manufacturer says don't do that) then run the charging wires all the way past the coach batteries to the Battery box again ,,, then turn around with smaller wire to go back to the batteries... they cant explain why the charger output is 13.8vdc and the batteries show only 12.8... most just want your money and really no fix ... I say get several opinions , talk to battery dealers and inverter / converter dealers and install them per there instructions... Fleetwood is the worst... I can prove it . Get enough common sense info and youll be ok
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Old 09-22-2013, 10:43 PM   #4
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Our MH has a 2800 watt Magnum inverter that powers most of the coach except for the microwave, A/C's and hot water heater. Sure it's possible to power any of those with the inverter, but it's not all that practical since doing so will result in draining the batteries rather quickly.
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Old 09-22-2013, 11:15 PM   #5
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Our MH has a 2800 watt Magnum inverter that powers most of the coach except for the microwave, A/C's and hot water heater. Sure it's possible to power any of those with the inverter, but it's not all that practical since doing so will result in draining the batteries rather quickly.
Agree about the A/C and water heater, but not necessarily the microwave. Depending on the battery bank and reasonable usage, the microwave is very doable. I have 4 six volt batteries and use the MW for short time cooking, reheating, etc.
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Old 09-23-2013, 07:30 AM   #6
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We use a 400W inverter to power the flatscreen TV, Computers, etc. It plugs into the 12VDC receptacle in the dash. Quick and easy for an occasional use (drycampimg). Under $50 at HD/Lowes. JM2¢...
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Old 09-23-2013, 08:34 AM   #7
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I would like to create some silent AC for watching a few hours of TV in the evening and a silent cup of coffee in the morning and charging the digital net devices and phones. if I need the micro, I can stand the generator for a few minutes.
I would like to ad an inverter and what I read is that it should be as close as possible to the batteries while being isolated from them as well. My batteries are in a tray that is attached to the right frame rail,they are not enclosed in a compartment but open to the ground underneath.
I have been looking at the magnum 600 watt unit. I'm sure this is a pretty common mod so please share your insight and experience.
John
First, I would suggest that you brew coffee on the LP cook top, (or with 120VAC from the the coaches inverter, if you have one), when not on generator or shore power.
BTW, we use 12V power supplies/chargers for our 2 laptops, our phones and our wifi hotspot.

Since a TV, digital charging devices and phone chargers draw very few amps a 400 watt inverter will be ample, (I use a Vector 400 watt inverter to power the TV, plus a DirecTV receiver and DVD player).

I installed that inverter up in the front overhead cabinet near the TV and satellite receiver and connected it to the house batteries with 10ga wires.
It has worked well for 10 years, (80k miles).

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Old 09-23-2013, 08:52 AM   #8
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It appears your largest draw item would be making that coffee. I assume the maker wattage is well below the 600w inverter you seek?

I would allow 300w for the entertainment items and charging net devices. Then add the wattage of the coffee maker.

Since you want this up front, I would wire the inverter right to the batteries or into the BCC. Then you have a short 12v run to the inverter and a short run of the 120v wires.

Assuming you want to make coffee in the kitchen, that of course will require a new outlet there, as well as a run to the TV area.

You could just use a small portable inverter for TV and charging net items up front using the cigar lighter. The problem is it looks messy and it would run off the chassis batts. If you had a 12v circuit up front powered by the house batts, you could hard wire one into that.

I would assume the existing 120v outlet up front is the last one in the circuit. If you were lucky, the next or second to next one would be in the kitchen area. Then you could disconnect the power to it and connect your inverter there.

The biggest problem you face is the running of the 120v wires to where you want/need them. Another option would be to wire the inverter to a circuit in the 120v panel that powers the outlets you need up front. Of course this would more or less be permanent and you would want to use a larger inverter. Or, put in a switch to change between shore and inverter.

Yeah, my head is spinng too I've never had to do this and hope I don't, just my thinking if I had to tackle this.

I fixed my TV problems by replacing the old CRTs with 12v LEDs. When quiet is needed in the morning with coffee, the water is boiled on the stove
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Old 09-23-2013, 10:39 AM   #9
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When quiet is needed in the morning with coffee, the water is boiled on the stove
clyon51

Since I am not a "coffee connoisseur", I can't understand why the coffee some people will drink must be brewed with a 120VAC coffee maker!
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Old 09-23-2013, 02:29 PM   #10
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Ok so if I want to brew a cup, I guess I need more power. I use a black & Decker single cup brewer with no heating plate, just brews into my cup so every cup is fresh. It uses 800 watts for less than a minute to make a cup. If I am going to go to the trouble of installing a inverter with that much power, I guess it makes sense to go to a inverter/charger for a little more money. The coach came with 2 6volt sealed batteries called lifeline. I would like to add another pair somewhere down the line so I should get a inverter/charger with enough charge current for a 4 battery bank. I read a lot that most of these inverter/charger's don't fully charge the batteries so it is rather confusing to know which one to get. Anyway, thanks for your input.
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Old 09-23-2013, 04:16 PM   #11
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I'm not sure why you think inverter/chargers don't fully charge battery banks. My new Magnum 2800 W pure sine wave unit uses a four stage charger that turns off completely when the batteries are fully charged.
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Old 09-23-2013, 11:01 PM   #12
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I'm not sure why you think inverter/chargers don't fully charge battery banks. My new Magnum 2800 W pure sine wave unit uses a four stage charger that turns off completely when the batteries are fully charged.
We'll I don't mean to put all inverter/chargers down and am just trying to wisely spend my money so as to only do it once. Actually I have heard positive things about Magnum stuff. Not sure I need 2800 watts but I am considering their 15kw inverter. Have you had trouble with any appliances running on your inverter? Are the charge parameters user programmable at all?
When you say it turns off, does it continue to monitor the battery charge and turn on again if required?
Thanks for the input, it is much appreciated.
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Old 09-24-2013, 05:34 AM   #13
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John, your PD9160 is a good converter/charger, so there is no need to dump it for an inverter/converter/charger. Then you also have all the additional/new wiring to do replacing it. You then also have all those functions in one unit. If one function fails, I believe the whole unit would need replacing.

That is of course an option as there are no charging issues with those inverters. An advantage would be if it had an AGM setting that was a higher charging voltage than 14.4v. This would re-charge the batteries a little bit quicker.

Adding 2 more Lifeline AGMs sure wouldn't hurt. Whether they are needed depends on how much you use the inverter and the load you put on it. This in turn just means running the genny less often, but when you do, it needs to be run longer. You'll of course determine your needs when you start using the inverter. It's looking like $2000 to make that silent coffee
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Old 09-24-2013, 06:10 AM   #14
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One thing to remember is that the wire for the 12V to the inverter is heavy gauge and needs to be short, the 120AC coming out of the inverter can be sized to the output potential of the inverter. As an example our 300W Morningstar Inverter sits next to the battery in the tongue box attached with 6ga wire and the 120 AC output goes from the inverter with 10ga to a DPDT switch and the PD converter in the rear of the trailer and feeds all of the AC outlets. On Shore power the coffee gets made with a Mr Coffee, on solar/battery coffee is made with a french press
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