Community Forums

Cameraman · 01-23-2022, 08:52 AM

I have a Magnum MS2812 inverter that was installed in the 2nd quarter of 2015. I had to replace the 30 amp circuit breaker in the unit a little over a year ago because it kept tripping off. I also replaced our house batteries last year with new Lifeline AGMs. We have not had any issues with the system in the last year.

Last night, watching TV, it suddenly went dead. I checked the panel and found that we had apparently been inverting and the batteries were registering just 11.3 volts. I checked the inverter and found the 30 amp circuit tripped. I reset it and the batteries began bulk charging. They finally went over to absorb charging after almost 11 hours.

We are almost always hooked up to shore power… rarely boondock. We live in the coach full time and have not experienced any power outages in the parks we’ve been in the past year.

Questions
1. What type of damage was possibly done to the batteries by getting to this level of discharge? How do I go about checking for damage?

2. Any suggestions on how to prevent this happening again? The inverter panel is behind a door and we don’t check it every day. Without looking at the Magnum display I don’t know if the coach is operating off the inverter when we are plugged into shore power.

Thanks in advance for any input.

YC1 · 01-23-2022, 09:04 AM

Batteries should be ok.

I can't think of any quick easy suggestion on the inverter letting you know. Remove the door blocking the readout? Make a small opening over the indicator lights of the panel.

Look at the manual for the inverter to see if there is some sort of built in connection for remote monitoring.

As for the 30 amp breaker failing it sounds like you are using some heavy loads over time such as a floor heater etc.

Is your inverter in a compartment that is ventilated properly? My compartment houses the inverter as well as a breaker panel and has a end with a vent and a thermostat/ snap disc to turn a fan on. The fan has failed once and that compartment gets very hot. Heat is hard on electronics.

wolfe10 · 01-23-2022, 09:13 AM

If, indeed this was/is due to heavy loads on the internal transfer switch in the inverter/charger, there is an easy solution:

Install a second ATS. Priority to shore power, secondary to inverter output.

Foretravel and perhaps others do exactly this-- two ATS's, one for shore power/generator and the second for shore power/inverter.

Cameraman · 01-23-2022, 02:47 PM

Thanks Myron and Brett. Interestingly, yesterday and today have been the coldest days we've had here in Florida so far. I don't think heat was the issue... though I've looked at that before and the area seems to have adequate ventilation. My guess it was an overload situation that I didn't catch.

The circuit breaker in the inverter handles up to 30 amps, so between all the items plugged in, I must have overloaded it. I can see the heater, keurig coffee machine and maybe something else... like a microwave or hair dryer... tripping the breaker without me knowing it. I'll need to be more careful in the future.

This inverter can supposedly allow up to 7200 watts to pass through. I'll have to look at rewiring it so I can split the loads on it.

I'm just hoping the batteries are OK.

Harry B · 01-23-2022, 04:55 PM

On the Magnum control panel is a setting to change the voltage at which the inverter automatically disconnects from the battery. It might be set to low.

I am not near the my motor home to check the exact location of the setting but it probably would be under inverter setup. I believe default voltage is 12.2

Just going by memory at the moment, which is not the greatest these days

wolfe10 · 01-23-2022, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cameraman

This inverter can supposedly allow up to 7200 watts to pass through. I'll have to look at rewiring it so I can split the loads on it.

Ya, could be as simple as moving a space heater or two to an outlet not on an inverter circuit.

BTW, couldn't edit my post above on two ATS's. The second ATS is from either shore power or generator (priority) and inverter as secondary.

Biljol · 01-23-2022, 08:33 PM

A keurig alone can take 15 amps at 1500 watts so that with another medium load could definitely pop that breaker.

Winemaker2 · 01-24-2022, 05:51 AM

Battys left in a discharged state for extended periods areca problem. Short term less of an issue if recharged soon. It may have reduced your AH capacity a bit but in order to quantify you would have to have baseline data and rerun a capacity test... not a simple check w meter, etc. I would not worry unless you find operational issues.