Samsung residential fridge

[Panmanxx]

I’m a new RV user...my refer does not power up when I hook up shore power or when the generator is on...when I turn the inverter on...the refer powers up...When I turned the inverter off...hooked up to shore power...the fridge turns off...what am I doing wrong...a 2020 Bounder with a 3 door Samsung refrigerator

[mrboyer]

Check your main ac power panel. Look for a 30amp breaker that needs reset. Also, possibly the relay in the inverter that allows ac power through has failed.

[onlakegaston]

Your refrigerator outlet is supposed to run off of the inverter - keeps it cold while driving down the road. When plugged in or on generator or driving down the road you should be charging your house batteries. So nothing is wrong.


Jim

[twinboat]

Leave the inverter on. Its there to power the fridge.
Shore, generator or engine charging power will keep the batteries charged.

[mrboyer]

The OP doesn’t say who imanufactured his inverter, but my xantrex does not have to be on to pass through 120v shore power. I only have my inverter on when on the road to provide 120vac to refrigerator.

[HarryStone]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Leave the inverter on. Its there to power the fridge.
Shore, generator or engine charging power will keep the batteries charged.

You're saying that shore power or generator power won't provide the 120VAC to run the fridge? I don't understand.

[richard5933]

Your fridge is powered by 120v AC.

Your inverter provides that 120v to the outlet the fridge is plugged into.

Some inverters are wired/setup so that they need to be powered on at all times to provide power to the outlet for the fridge.

Other inverters are wires/setup so that when there is 120v AC coming from shore power or the generator they just pass that power to the outlet without having to be on. So, instead of providing AC power by pulling DC current from your battery bank, they just hand off the AC power from the pedestal or generator. To do this, the inverter needs to have a built in transfer switch or it needs to be connected to an external transfer switch. This would be additional to the regular transfer switch which is used to switch between shore power and generator.

If you inverter needs to be turned on for the fridge to operate, it should function just fine. However, that means it's constantly drawing from the DC battery bank. Not normally a problem, as there is a charger in the system which should also be turn on and charging the batteries. As long as your charger is working fine, there should be no problem.

As a side note, there are two types of chargers used on motor homes. There is an converter/charger and an inverter/charger. The converter/charger does two tasks - it provides 12v DC to power interior 12v appliances and lights, and it charges your batteries. The inverter/charger does three tasks - it takes 120v AC and 'inverts' it and makes 12v DC power, it provides 12v DC for your 12v lights and appliances, and it charges your batteries.

If you have an inverter/charger it's likely that it is setup so that it can pass incoming 120v AC to the fridge outlet. On this type of setup, you usually don't need to have the inverter 'on' to keep the fridge running.

If you have a converter/charger and also have an inverter, the inverter is likely to be a stand-alone unit which does not have the internal transfer switch. Some do, but many do not.

Bottom line, find the model number for your inverter, find the instruction manual online, and read all about it so you know what you are dealing with.

[mrboyer]

Originally Posted by richard5933

Your fridge is powered by 120v AC.

Your inverter provides that 120v to the outlet the fridge is plugged into.

Some inverters are wired/setup so that they need to be powered on at all times to provide power to the outlet for the fridge.

Other inverters are wires/setup so that when there is 120v AC coming from shore power or the generator they just pass that power to the outlet without having to be on. So, instead of providing AC power by pulling DC current from your battery bank, they just hand off the AC power from the pedestal or generator. To do this, the inverter needs to have a built in transfer switch or it needs to be connected to an external transfer switch. This would be additional to the regular transfer switch which is used to switch between shore power and generator.

If you inverter needs to be turned on for the fridge to operate, it should function just fine. However, that means it's constantly drawing from the DC battery bank. Not normally a problem, as there is a charger in the system which should also be turn on and charging the batteries. As long as your charger is working fine, there should be no problem.

As a side note, there are two types of chargers used on motor homes. There is an converter/charger and an inverter/charger. The converter/charger does two tasks - it provides 12v DC to power interior 12v appliances and lights, and it charges your batteries. The inverter/charger does three tasks - it takes 120v AC and CONVERTS it and makes 12v DC power, it provides 12v DC for your 12v lights and appliances, and it charges your batteries.

If you have an inverter/charger it's likely that it is setup so that it can pass incoming 120v AC to the fridge outlet. On this type of setup, you usually don't need to have the inverter 'on' to keep the fridge running.

If you have a converter/charger and also have an inverter, the inverter is likely to be a stand-alone unit which does not have the internal transfer switch. Some do, but many do not.

Bottom line, find the model number for your inverter, find the instruction manual online, and read all about it so you know what you are dealing with.

I changed invert to CONVERT.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by mrboyer

I changed invert to CONVERT.

I actually chose that word specifically to differentiate it from the device that is called a converter. A converter changes AC power to DC, and an inverter changes DC to AC. If a converter converts electrical power, it stands to reason that an inverter inverts it. Play on words? Perhaps, but I didn't want to busy up the waters using the word convert to talk about both sides of the equation.



But, I understand where you are going with this as well.

[dons2346]

What brand and model is your inverter? Need to determine if it has the ability to pass 120 thru it when it is off