Community Forums

bugsydog · 02-02-2015, 05:53 PM

We have a sunsetter 2300 and i wondered if the tv runs on ac or dc.

anav8or · 02-02-2015, 06:25 PM

Easiest way to tell - does it plug into an outlet (120v AC) or is it wired in directly (12v DC)?

jrwalkerpa1 · 02-02-2015, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bugsydog

We have a sunsetter 2300 and i wondered if the tv runs on ac or dc.

The newer ones are 12 volt. Not sure when they switched though.

bugsydog · 02-02-2015, 08:46 PM

Anav8or, i think it is wired in. So that means to watch tv, i am using the batteries. If i watch 4 to 5 hours of tv, is that going to drain the batteries a lot. I watch a lot of tv. That is if i can get the reception.

bugsydog · 02-02-2015, 08:48 PM

Also if my batteries do run down, how can i charge them with the generater. I have never owned a generater and im sorry i dont know anything about them.

jrwalkerpa1 · 02-03-2015, 12:31 AM

What year is your sunseeker? The newer ones have dual coach batteries which will help in your battery run time.

The 12 v tv are fairly efficient but there are so many variables (age and condition of your batteries, are they fully charged when you start and most importantly, what else are you running at the same time) that it is hard to say how many tv hours you will get.

A couple of things to keep in mind

1. If you are plugged into shore power, you will have almost unlimited 12v power if everything is working properly. Your converter takes the 120v power and uses some of it to charge your batteries and thus provide 12 v power too

2. Running the generator works the same way. It provides 120 volt power that the converter again uses to charge your batteries and provide 12 v power as well as 120 v. If your sunseeker is of recent vintage this is all automatic when you turn the generator on. If it's older you may have to plug a cord in for the generator to work.

3. Since you mentioned that you never owned a generator, do be cautious of the generator exhaust if you are occupying the rv and be sure your carbon monoxide detector is working. 99% of the time there is no issue with generator exhaust entering the rv but the 1% of the time it happens the results can be deadly.

wa8yxm · 02-03-2015, 05:16 AM

The answer is complex, but most Televisions in RV's are designed for shore power use 120vac. Very few are designed for battery power (13.6, not 12) though as it happens some can be converted, very easily in fact (Quick trip to Radio Shack (while they last) is all that is needed. Once RS closes it's doors finding the proper plug will be a bit harder but there are still parts stores out there.

And some RV's have invertes, these convert 12-14 VDC to 120vac for use by the TV.

Finally: ALL televisions run on DC, voltage varies, but they all Run on DC, but that is INTERNALLY, what they plug into can be most anything.

wblynch · 02-12-2015, 09:22 AM

I put a 12 volt TV in my RV. But the RV system varies from 11.8 to 14.3 volts. That's no problem for lights and fans but the TV would blow fuses.

I had to put in an inverter and run it off 120 volts. Later I instilled a voltage stabilizer to guarantee a 12 volts supply.

When the TV is on 12 volts it takes 2-3 amps, depending on how loud the speakers are turned up.

On 120 volts the usage ran up to 5-6 amps. About double.

Switching back to 12 volts, with the regulator it is now at 2 to 3 amps again. Very little loss in the regulator.

This doesn't mean much for your Seneca since it is most likely running an inverter to use the TV on 120 volts all the time.

Just keep in mind that your TV is probably using 6-8 amps, or more if it's bigger than 24".