Inverter

[rfsod48]

When should inverter be turned on? Do you normally have it on when driving and why? If you are hooked up to shore power do you leave it on? When storing the MH should it be turned off? I have a Xantrex inverter/charger.

[elkhartjim]

I never turn mine off. 

When you store your motorhome, is it connected to shore power? Mine is connected to 30amp service and I leave the inverter on. 

 

[wolfe10]

While driving:  Leave it on if you want the alternator to power 120 VAC appliances while on the road.  Have a residential refrigerator-- leave it ON.

If you are not running anything on 120 VAC while driving, turning it off very slightly reduces load on the alternator, as the inverter takes a few amps to be in standby.

 

While on shore power-- really makes no difference UNLESS power goes out.  If power goes out, the inverter will immediately pick up the 120 VAC loads.

While in storage-- the problem with leaving it on is that if shore power goes out, the inverter could completely deplete your batteries.

[rfsod48]

Where I store MH I do not have any power available. We have a Norcold refrigerator which I generally run on propane and only other things would be AC which needs generator and infrequent use of water pump and xm radio which is run thru sound system on 120 vac. So if I understand without generator on need inverter to use water pump and xm. When hooked up to shore power doesn't need to be on unless concerned about loss of electricity.

[wolfe10]

Roland,

I am surprised your water pump is 120 VDC.

[manholt]

If no shore power, turn off when in storage.  I have 50A in storage barn now, I leave inverter on and should the main or sub source of electric go out, my generator will come on automatically after 10 seconds and turn off when electric comes back on.  By Christmas we will have 2 back up, propane generators to run house and outside in case of elect power lose. 

Brett snuck in...good ? My water pump has always been 12Volt.

[tbutler]

We leave our inverter on full time.  Louise likes to have 120V electric all the time.  I like it because you don't have to reset the clock on the microwave every time the inverter goes off.    We are in the coach about six months of the year so living in the coach, having the inverter on makes sense for us.

Our Xantrex inverter/charger has automatic generator start which will start the generator when the battery charge drops too low.  This facilitates staying off the power grid.  I never have to worry about checking the battery charge, the inverter/charger monitors that for me. 

We store our coach with 50A power hooked up.  We leave the inverter on all the time there as well.  If we were storing the coach without any AC power, turning off the inverter would minimize battery drain.  It takes electric to run the inverter/charger even if it isn't charging or powering anything (standby mode).  The only way to get zero battery drain is to disconnect the house batteries.  Your battery cut-off switch may or may not stop all battery drain.  Many sensors like the smoke detector, carbon monoxide or propane detector may be wired directly to battery.  In that case, your batteries will eventually loose their charge.  You don't need much electric, an ordinary 20A extension cord can carry plenty of electricity to run the inverter/charger and keep you batteries charged.  If you are parked in a storage area with no power, you could use a solar battery charger to keep your batteries charged. 

The house lights in your coach and your water pump should all work without the inverter/charger.  You can verify this, turn off the inverter charger and see what works and what doesn't.

[rfsod48]

Brett you are correct, the water pump is 12 v. So really going down the road the only thing I would gain is the electric plugs if I run inverter instead of generator. On cooler days I guess it would make sense but when we need AC need generator.

thanks for all the input

[wildebill308]

16 hours ago, rfsod48 said:

Brett you are correct, the water pump is 12 v. So really going down the road the only thing I would gain is the electric plugs if I run inverter instead of generator. On cooler days I guess it would make sense but when we need AC need generator.

thanks for all the input

The one other thing you may need the inverter for is if you have a RV refrigerator with an ice maker. You can run the fridge on propane when going down the road however you need 120V to power the icemaker. 

Bill

[hermanmullins]

Bill,

Having the RV refrigerator with the 12 volt ice maker is that is doesn't make ice while going down the highway. With it off it doesn't allow water to fill the tray and splash out before it can freeze. The splashing makes for one big ice cube in the tray.

Herman 

[wolfe10]

Herman,

Agreed.  NEVER have an ice maker (in-refrigerator or stand alone) filling/making ice while on the road.  The water will slosh out and make a block of ice in your ice bucket.

[wildebill308]

All the ice makers I have seen in RV refrigerators are 120V. If you are running the refrigerator on propane you still need 120V for the icemaker.

Brett, Herman, I must drive smoother than you do as I haven't had a problem with sloshing the water out of the icemaker in my new residential refrigerator. Yes I think it could.

Bill

[BillAdams]

Not a problem in my HH fridge.  As long as I keep it powered up with the inverter it keeps making ice and never creates a block of anything!  Manhattan's are ready at 5 pm even after driving all day as we did today.

[wolfe10]

Bill,

To not slosh water out of an ice maker while driving, you are:

A. Very lucky

B. Only drive on really smooth roads

C. Never corner above the speed limit.

D.Have a fabulous suspension (OK, put a check mark by that one)

[rfsod48]

Bill A if you make it Gin and Tonic I would be happy to visit!