Community Forums

PlanetJoe · 08-02-2021, 07:58 AM

Hi my dear friends, so I'm out in the boonies with my brand new travel trailer (2021 Forest River Wildwood 27RKS). I have two 190W solar panels on the roof. a 2000 Magnum inverter and two deep cycle batteries.

The issue: some power outlets sometimes work and sometimes they don't. one outlet (most important one for the work desk) never worked since I unplugged from shore power. the weird part is even when I run the generator they don't work. but the AC and TV work.
All LED lights work all the time. the fridge is on propane.

I thought with the solar panels and the inverter I'll be able to run some appliances from the batteries. like the coffee maker, laptop, fan, TV, internet router etc.
I don't know if I should be mad at the installers or at myself for being dumb and clueless with the RV operations. its my first time ever and first day out with the rig.
I hope that its just some easy setup that I need to do and nothing serious.
Thank you all for your help.

Joe

Brentw · 08-02-2021, 08:22 AM

No expert here, but here are some thoughts.
Size of your battery bank ( solar panel size, invertor size, battery capacity) will determine your capacity from your invertor. The installers may have selected only certain recepticles to be powered by the invertor. Solar power will not replace the capacity of being plugged in, I think your expectations may be a bit high.
Also, numerous recepticles are daisy chained from one GFCI recepticles, if it is tripped the rest of the recepticles in that string will not have power( if it is tripped, there needs to have power in order to reset it).
All of your lights , fridge controls, water heater controls run off of the 12 volt ( battery ) side of your power system.
Did I read that you were able to run your AC ( air conditioner) on the invertor? It should never have been connected to the the invertor system, it draws way to much power and will trip your invertor and/or deplete your batteries in very short order.
Perhaps someone will chime in with a good description of power consumption of various electrical components to help you understand your system.

HarryStone · 08-02-2021, 08:58 AM

Is the inverter factory, or 3rd party installed? What circuits are connected to the inverter? Is the generator factory? Was it installed to run the entire TT or just certain circuits? It sounds to me like your inverter and your generator were installed to only operate critical systems in the TT.

PlanetJoe · 08-02-2021, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brentw

No expert here, but here are some thoughts.
Size of your battery bank ( solar panel size, invertor size, battery capacity) will determine your capacity from your invertor. The installers may have selected only certain recepticles to be powered by the invertor. Solar power will not replace the capacity of being plugged in, I think your expectations may be a bit high.
Also, numerous recepticles are daisy chained from one GFCI recepticles, if it is tripped the rest of the recepticles in that string will not have power( if it is tripped, there needs to have power in order to reset it).
All of your lights , fridge controls, water heater controls run off of the 12 volt ( battery ) side of your power system.
Did I read that you were able to run your AC ( air conditioner) on the invertor? It should never have been connected to the the invertor system, it draws way to much power and will trip your invertor and/or deplete your batteries in very short order.
Perhaps someone will chime in with a good description of power consumption of various electrical components to help you understand your system.

Thank you Brent.
No, I run the AC with the generator, but what I said was that when I run the generator the AC runs fine but the 110 outlets don't. so I'm having issues with the outlets even when running the generator.

The specs you asked are as follows:
Solar panel size: Two 190W panels on the roof.
Inverter size: 2000W Magnum Energy Sine Inverter.
Battery capacity: Two Deep Cycle 88 Amp Hours, 750 Cranking Amps.

PlanetJoe · 08-02-2021, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryStone

Is the inverter factory, or 3rd party installed? What circuits are connected to the inverter? Is the generator factory? Was it installed to run the entire TT or just certain circuits? It sounds to me like your inverter and your generator were installed to only operate critical systems in the TT.

The inverter is Magnum Energy 2000W 12VDC Modified Sine Inverter Charger ME Series. the installer said it is set to run all 110 outlets in the rig. about 6 outlets.

The generator is the Champion 4750/3800 Watt Dual Fuel. I have it on a tray in the back of the trailer. its an RV ready generator. 30amp. runs great and got tons of good reviews on Amazon from RV'ers.

Mark_K5LXP · 08-02-2021, 09:18 AM

First thing to ask is if these outlets ever worked. If they did, the next order of troubleshooting has you looking at the circuit breakers and GFCI's for those outlets.

Nothing says you can't run an extension cord to a functioning outlet in the mean time, but given these outlets don't work at all, finding the fault should be a pretty straightforward process.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

PlanetJoe · 08-02-2021, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_K5LXP

First thing to ask is if these outlets ever worked. If they did, the next order of troubleshooting has you looking at the circuit breakers and GFCI's for those outlets.

Nothing says you can't run an extension cord to a functioning outlet in the mean time, but given these outlets don't work at all, finding the fault should be a pretty straightforward process.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Thank you Mark.
Yes, they all worked perfectly when I was plugged into a 30amp shore power at the dealership.
Circuit breakers are all on, and all fuses are fine.

Old-Biscuit · 08-02-2021, 09:39 AM

Outlets are 'daisy chained'.....AC goes from Circuit Breaker to an outlet then to next outlet then to next one

Do you have 1 or 2 Circuit Breakers for outlets?
Recp/conv are common labelling

rV outlets are not hard wired to outlets...they use a metal strip that the wires are pressed into...they come loose. When the wire comes loose...no other outlets downstream will work

So using a voltmeter...
Check that ALL circuit Breakers for outlets are ON
Then check for AC at each outlet....first one you find not working, pull it out and check if wires are loose/not making contact or has no power to it
*no power to it....the upstream outlet needs checked

Brentw · 08-02-2021, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlanetJoe

Thank you Mark.
Yes, they all worked perfectly when I was plugged into a 30amp shore power at the dealership.
Circuit breakers are all on, and all fuses are fine.

If those prove okay, then check your invertor and reset it.

Old-Biscuit · 08-02-2021, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brentw

If those prove okay, then check your invertor and reset it.

YEP^^^^^
INverter Circuit Breakers could be off

Hopefully that is it vs wiring at outlet which is a PITA

Persistent · 08-02-2021, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlanetJoe

Thank you Brent.
No, I run the AC with the generator, but what I said was that when I run the generator the AC runs fine but the 110 outlets don't. so I'm having issues with the outlets even when running the generator.

The specs you asked are as follows:
Solar panel size: Two 190W panels on the roof.
Inverter size: 2000W Magnum Energy Sine Inverter.
Battery capacity: Two Deep Cycle 88 Amp Hours, 750 Cranking Amps.

2000W Magnum Energy
Hopefully the two batteries are 12 volt, not 6 volt each.

A 176 amp hour deep draw lead acid battery bank usually does not have enough current capacity to run a 2000 watt at full power. You may get 800 watts before the inverter circuit breaker trips on low voltage input.

Check to see if inverter circuit breaker needs to be reset.

You would need at least a 400 amp hour deep draw lead acid battery bank to support 2000 watts.

380 watts of solar would help a little in full sun midday. You may get 1100 watts total in the sun.

“one outlet (most important one for the work desk) never worked since I unplugged from shore power. the weird part is even when I run the generator they don't work. but the AC and TV work.
All LED lights work all the time. the fridge is on propane.”

Symptoms:
All 110 outlets work when on shore power at dealer.
AC and TV work when using generator at home.
Desk 110 outlet does not work when using generator.

The outlets work exactly the same when you plug your 30 amp shore power cord into the generator as they do when plugged into a shore power pedestal.

Something must have changed since you left the dealer's 30 amp pedestal. Loose wiring due to vibration while driving is common. Tripped circuit breakers are possible.