Boondocking for the first time - con't

[jillie]

We picked up the coach today. The service tech discovered a buzzing GFI in the kitchen area when the inverter is on. No buzzing when the inverter is off. We did not notice any buzzing Sunday night when we had the problem. The bathroom GFI also buzzes but more quietly.

They tried a new GFI but that one also buzzes on inverter. They contacted Magnum and were told that the GFI in our coach was not the one that should be used with the sine wave inverter we have. The shop had none in stock so they're ordering several, one for us and several for inventory in case. After getting their call, we'll make another trip down for the new GFI and hope that was the actual problem and not just a symptom.

They checked all the outlets, wiring and connections. I think our problem might have them stumped.

[adehaan86]

I would agree that the GFI's are the wrong type for a inverter. Modified sine inverter can piss off some electronics .

[Luv2go]

Actually this is not uncommon. Inverter manufacturers have known for years that there are potential incompatibles with GFCI's. My Trace true sine wave inverter designed in the late '90's has a list of approved GFCI's in the manual.

You should not have buzzing once the dealer replaces the GFCI's with the model that Magnum recommends.

[jillie]

Originally Posted by Luv2go

You should not have buzzing once the dealer replaces the GFCI's with the model that Magnum recommends.

We're hoping that we don't have the burning smell after they replace the GFI.

[Tony Lee]

Problem with Modified SQUARE Wave inverters (which is what they really are. Why would you want to modify a pure sine wave) is not only is the waveform a poor imitation of the real thing, but it contains a fairly high amount of harmonics which cause heating and additional noise but don't do any thing useful.

Now that the cost of Pure SINE Wave inverters has come down to what the squarewave ones used to be, one would hope the good RV manufacturers would install them in preference.