Jackgray Report post Posted March 4, 2017 I have a 2002 Monaco Windsor 40' with a 2000 volt inverter and need to know the proper operation of this feature while driving, to supply 120v power for the refrigerator in lieu of running the on board generator! Can anyone assist and guide me please? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted March 4, 2017 Jackgray, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Do you have an absorption refrigerator or residential refrigerator? If absorption refrigerator, why not just run it on propane? If residential refrigerator, indeed, it should be possible to run it on the inverter while driving. Yes, you could run an absorption refrigerator on it, but I don't see working the alternator and inverter harder to produce heat when a small propane flame will do the same thing. You will have to determine which outlets are powered by the inverter. Some coaches have the refrigerator outlet ONLY powered by shore power, some by inverter and some have two outlets-- one powered by shore power only, not by inverter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CarlAda Report post Posted March 4, 2017 I run my inverter while driving all the time. In my case, it powers the microwave, residential refrigerator, electric to the hydrohot and any outlets we may choose to utilize while driving. Obviously, if I needed to run the overhead AC units, I'd have to power up the generator. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted March 5, 2017 Carl, I am surprised you run your Hydrohot on electric supplied by the inverter. Running it on diesel is a lot more efficient. If powering the Hydrohot off the inverter, you are using diesel to turn the engine, which turn the alternator which powers the inverter. Then the Hydrohot uses the electricity to turn it back into heat. Efficiency is lost in each step. Using the diesel option, you just burn diesel to produce heat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbutler Report post Posted March 5, 2017 Brett has the right idea. When we had our old NoCold we ran it on gas while traveling. Now we have a residential refrigerator and it works fine on the inverter. Unless I'm mistaken, you probably have a 2000 Watt inverter, not 2000 Volt! ZZZapppp! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted March 5, 2017 2,000 Volt's? Yea, that would absolutely light up the neighborhood and you! I leave my Aqua Hot off while driving, get hot water of engine. Brett is right. Carl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted March 5, 2017 For me, the inverter is simply left on 24/7 when in the RV (never in storage). It seems nearly impossible that the Aqua-Hot circuit would be connected to the inverter so you might want to check to see if that is correct. If so, please turn the Aqua-Hot off while on inverter. Not everything in the coach works on inverter so you can test/check the various appliances and plugs to see what does and what does not work while you are unplugged. When you plug into shore power the inverter simply becomes a battery charger and when that's complete does not do much of anything other than monitor your battery bank and in the case of a power failure at the campground will keep things running until power is restored. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CarlAda Report post Posted March 5, 2017 Actually, I do supply heat to the aquahot via the engine while driving and not the hydrohot burner. I just happen to leave the electric element on, as well. As far as efficiency, Brett, the alternator turns regardless while driving, does it not? While I understand that using a heating element would use electricity, it would burn more diesel to run the hydrohot burner than to use either the engine bypass or the electric element, wouldn't it? Bill, as far as whether it is powered by the inverter or not, I'm not sure. I do know that the switch light is on. I have yet to find a plug that did not have 120v power while the inverter is powered (in this coach --- not true on previous coach). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted March 5, 2017 6 minutes ago, CarlAda said: As far as efficiency, Brett, the alternator turns regardless while driving, does it not? Yes, the alternator turns all the time. BUT (read that a large BUT) the HP demand to run it is directly proportional to the amount of power (amps) it produces. Same goes for your hydraulic fan motors-- they always turn, but if the controller calls for very low PSI, it takes less HP than if the controller calls for high fan speed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desertdeals69 Report post Posted March 5, 2017 While driving with the inverter on my wife made a cup of hot water in the microwave. I noticed that I lost 1/2 mile to the gallon when the micro was on proving that it takes horsepower to turn the alternator. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted March 5, 2017 BillA. All I said is that I have another source for hot water while on the road...I did not say or imply that my Aqua Hot ran off the Inverter. I don't use the electric side unless I'm on a power pole ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ziggyh Report post Posted March 5, 2017 When we had our propane fridge we ran on propane when driving, never had a problem. Keep the burner clean once a year. We have since replaced the propane with a residential. While travelling, we leave the fridge off for about 3 hours and then cycle on the inverter for 1/2 an hour. Some times when we are on a return home trip the fridge is left off for 3-4 hours and when we get home and empty the fridge the ice has not even begun showing any signs of melting. If your worried about the fridge getting to warm when it is off you could always put one of those remote wireless temperature sensors inside and monitor the temperature. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
five Report post Posted March 5, 2017 Doesn't really make much sense for the AH even to be wired to run off the inverter. On the road, the engine will supply enough heat to run the furnace except on real cold days, then I turn on the burner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted March 5, 2017 7 hours ago, manholt said: BillA. All I said is that I have another source for hot water while on the road...I did not say or imply that my Aqua Hot ran off the Inverter. I don't use the electric side unless I'm on a power pole ! Not sure why you are quoting me. I did not address any post you made. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted March 5, 2017 7 hours ago, ziggyh said: When we had our propane fridge we ran on propane when driving, never had a problem. Keep the burner clean once a year. We have since replaced the propane with a residential. While travelling, we leave the fridge off for about 3 hours and then cycle on the inverter for 1/2 an hour. Some times when we are on a return home trip the fridge is left off for 3-4 hours and when we get home and empty the fridge the ice has not even begun showing any signs of melting. If your worried about the fridge getting to warm when it is off you could always put one of those remote wireless temperature sensors inside and monitor the temperature. The fridge uses so little energy that there's really no reason at all to cycle the inverter or worry about how long the fridge can keep things cool. Just leave the inverter on and everything will stay cold even if you open it up to grab a cold one while headed down the road.....Cold Coke, of course! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted March 6, 2017 Bill is correct. Our fridge is on the inverter 24/7. Have no problem with batteries. Have gone as long a 24 hours on the inverter with no Battery problems. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted March 6, 2017 It seems like the older Monaco products have the entire coach running through the inverter, ours is that way also with the exception of one outlet behind the refrigerator that is not tied in to the inverter (there are two behind the refrigerator). My friends Tiffin has inverter outlets throughout and regular outlets, different color, looks like a hospital room inside . Our 120v side of the Aqua hot will also run on inverter, I keep that off until connected to a Tower as the engine heats the water anyway. Once we are all connected I switch the diesel and 120v on. Herman, is your coach set up like that also? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted March 6, 2017 My inverter is only an inverter on a 30 amp circuit with an ATS, when leaving CG or home I switch on the inverter, everything in the coach except AC's are powered on, it remains on until we reach destination and shore power is restored. Batteries are charged with a separate converter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted March 8, 2017 Bill, People love you so much they think any really good answer come from you so they will mistakenly quote you. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
