Inverter On or Off, When Charging Generator?

[Ceast]

We boondock most of the time. We use our generator for the microwave and to "bulk up" the batteries when the weather has not been cooperated in allowing the solar panels to fully charge.

We have been told we should turn off the inverter when we use the generator, which seemed reasonable, but many friends leave theirs on and have had no problems. So which is it? Inverter stay on, or get turned off, when starting and using the generator?

[obedb]

I have always left ours on when using the generator or plugging in to park power. So far so good. Perhaps we will find out for sure when one of the really knowledgeable members sign in. I too would like to know the correct procedure.

[desertdeals69]

I always leave the inverter on because if there is a glitch in the switchover the satellite receivers don't have to reboot.

[obedb]

I use backup power supplies for our DVR's at home. Same unit that is used to keep computers alive for a proper shutdown. What a pain in the bottom when they reboot. Almost 15 minutes only to be shutdown again by a weather related outage. Good reason to keep the inverter on. My guess/ pretty much automatic by the control panel.

[tbutler]

I don't know how everyone's system is set up or whether the inverter set-up for inverters is standard throughout the industry. Our inverter is always on. If it isn't something is broken. We have 120V electric in the house 24/7. The inverter works with the generator and the shore power. In fact if our inverter is turned off, we lose the circuits that the inverter powers.

If we were to store our motor home over the winter without a power connection, then the inverter would be shut down but we never do that so we're always on. This has never caused a problem with the system. The inverter does use electricity while on even if nothing is connected so if you are boondocking you may have times when you want to shut down the inverter but for us that isn't the case.

[Ceast]

Thank you for your opinions.............we have always turned the inverter off when we needed to start the generator, just thought it may cause a "surge" of power that could be damaging. But I think we will just leave it on in the future.............................appreciate the responses!!

[gbrinck]

Many RV inverter/chargers have an internal transfer switch that automatically switches stops the inverting when shore or generator power is available to it. Those that do not must be manually switched off or otherwise prevented from powering the same circuits that the generator will power. That would indeed cause damage.

If it was a factory installation, odds are strong that you have the automatic switching inverter. If you identified the motohome make/model or the inverter make & model one of us could tell you for sure.

[SDESHA]

Hello all,

I would like to piggy back off this post since I don't know where to start a post. I had a Samsung French door refrigerator installed to replace the Norcold that came with the coach, I have an 06 Monaco Knight where I have done allot of upgrades. There are 2 outlets, one goes to the inverter which my refrigerator is plugged into. I just had 4 160 watt solar panels installed on my roof, pretty excited, especially since I can have the inverter on while traveling down the road keeping my refrigerator on. So to test the inverter, I shut off the shore power at the poll, turned on my inverter, everything looked good with the exception of my refrigerator, had no power, in fact had no power down the left side of the coach. The solar panels were installed on the driver's side roof. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Suzzanne

[dickandlois]

Suzzanne,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum!

There are circuit breakers on the output of the many of the inverters and if you could post the Make and model of your inverter, that would help getting a better picture of your set up.

Now! when you reconnect to shore power and with the engine running do you have power down the left side of the Coach?

If not then there is good chance that one of the circuit breakers has tripped. Also! Many of the inverters have a 1-15 amp and 1- 20 amp circuit breaker. So that could be an issue, depending on what breaker the refrigerator is connected to.

Sounds like a nice solar power system, 460 watts of power should keep things running well even on cloudy days.

Rich.

[jleamont]

Suzzanne, we also have a residential fridge with our coach running off of the inverter, no solar (I did consider it) we use ours going down the road all the time, the chassis engine keeps the house batteries charged. When we park the generator is set to auto start at 65% and auto shut down at 96% if we are not plugged into shore power. Please report back on how the solar system keeps the batteries I am curious.

Now back to the no power issue, check your circuit breakers and GFI outlets within the coach sounds like one is tripped. especially since one side has no power.

[wolfe10]

If the breakers on the inverter are on agree, check and reset the GFI(s). Many coaches have more than one. Sounds like the one for that side of the coach is tripped.

What inverter did you install? Does it have "pass through" feature (so, while on shore power or generator, when the inverter sees power from one of these sources it does not "invert", but merely "passes through" power from that other source. Less strain on the system that using a charger to supply the batteries and always using battery power through the inverter to power the refrigerator and other appliances.

[SDESHA]

Thanks so much for the comments, even though I have been living in my coach since 08, I know of one GFI plug and it is in the master bathroom which isn't tripped, I have a XANTREX 3100 inverter, I have the button breakers on it and they all look good. The refrigerator is plugged into the outlet that is connected to the inverter. The solar panels will keep my batteries charged as I drive down the road, so from what I understand, which ever source has the strongest signal will keep my batteries charged. The only time I will have to use my generator is if I want to use the AC's or my blow dryer. If anyone can make a suggestion on where I might look for another GFI plugged I would be most appreciative.

Suzzanne

[wolfe10]

Suzanne,

Please tell us what year, make and model coach you have.

And are you sure it is a Xantrex 3100. They have a 3000 model and Magnum has a 3100 model-- but depending on year, it may be exactly what you posted.

And, do you know if it has the "pass through" feature. Pretty easy to tell-- on your main 120 VAC breaker box is there a breaker going TO the inverter. And does your inverter supply a sub-panel? If not, how is your inverter output wired/what is between the inverter and the outlets.

[SDESHA]

The Xantrex is a Freedom SW 3012. Yes there is a breaker in the 120 VAC box that goes to the inverter.

No I do not have a sub-panel, I can only assume that they wired it up the same as the previous one that I had.

It might have been a Magnum, not sure it has been a couple of years ago, I have an 06 Monaco Knight DFD I think, it is a bath and a half.

[dickandlois]

Suzanne,

If your inverter is the Xantrex GT-3100 solar grid model, it is a lot more inverter then what is in most coaches.

Should this be the model and you still do not have any output power the information below might be of help.

The current levels are higher and one needs to follow some safe protocols. You might need some factory service help on this one.

It will take me some time reading over the manual, I have not run into this type of equipment before.

Rich.

See you just posted that you have a model SW 3012. Totally different unit !!!!

To replace a ground fault protection fuse:

1. Cover the PV array with an opaque (dark) material, turn the DC/AC

disconnect switch OFF, and turn the AC breaker in the main utility service

panel OFF.

2. Remove the wiring/disconnect box cover, as described on page 3–8.

3. Use an appropriately-rated meter to make sure there are no DC or AC

voltages present.

4. Remove the display front panel cover (see Figure 6-2), located below the heat

sink. Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the two external panhead screws

and washers and the two screws along the bottom edge of the cover.

The ground fault protection fuse is located to the left side of the LCD panel

(see Figure 6-3), and to the left of the DC interconnect board for positive

grounded units (marked with the “-POS” suffix).

5. Using an insulated fuse puller, remove the blown fuse and replace it with a

new AC/DC midget cartridge, rated 600 VDC, 1A (Littelfuse KLKD 1 or

equivalent).

6. Replace the display front panel cover and tighten all four screws securely.

7. Replace the wiring/disconnect box cover (see instructions on page 4–3).

[SDESHA]

I believe the inverter passes thru

[wolfe10]

Suzanne,

That is a GREAT feature, as you do not "hard time" the batteries and charger to keep appliances running when on shore power or generator.

[SDESHA]

Found out it wasn't the inverter, it is a wiring issue. Maybe the plug for the fridge is bad. All I know is that I still don't have power on the left side when I turn on the inverter to include the fridge.

[dickandlois]

Suzanne, Had to reset the computer. LOL Overworking it. Just have to love when they throw a fit !!!

See that you found the bypass function while catching up with you and Brett !

Wonder if you could plug the refrigerator into an extension cord. Are you at a campground where you can plug the extension into a 120 volt outlet and see if the refrigerator runs?

If it operates OK then it sounds like there is a wiring issue. Maybe just a loose connection at the box used for the fridge or maybe in the breaker panel, in the circuit that feeds the left side of the coach.

Everything worked and if the technician did not tighten a connection a wire has slipped out of where it should be.

The thing is if the fridge works by using an extension cord you can keep things cold.

Rich.

[jleamont]

Suzzanne, we also have a Monaco product, we have two different electrical outlets behind the fridge, One has 120VAC when connected to shore power, generator is on or the Inverter is on. The other....well I am not sure, the one time I checked it it had no power, since I only needed one for the new fridge I plugged into the other outlet.

Originally I believe the fans above the old fridge were connected to the outlet with "no power".

On ours you can see these by removing the outside wall vent cover and looking up and to the left.

It would be best to check them with a volt meter if you are comfortable doing so.

[SDESHA]

of the 2 outlets in behind the fridge, one has an 'I' on it and the other has nothing, I was told by a repair facility that the previous fridge was plugged into the 'I' outlet due to the icemaker and that one is supposed to be connected to the inverter. I do not remember when I had the inverter on if the fridge worked while driving down the road last year, I just recently had the 4 solar panels installed and am not sure if anything was done that may have caused the problem, I know that the solar panels are another way of charging my batteries and somehow had to be tide to the inverter because I have a Tri-metric monitor above the xantrex monitor

[SDESHA]

It might be the wiring, I had the fridge and inverter installed at the same time, I thought I used the inverter and the fridge worked, been so long ago that I actually don't remember. The fridge is plugged into the outlet with an 'I' on it, the previous fridge had an icemaker and as such was plugged into the outlet with the 'I'. I have power to the fridge with shore power and with the generator, talked to the tech at Monaco, it maybe in a junction box somewhere, so I have scheduled an appointment to take it to the folks that installed the fridge and inverter. The more I think about this, the more I want to go to the RV repair course in Florida, anyone taken the course? and is it worth the money?

Suzzanne

[cessnadrvr2000]

I see some good info here but have a question along the same lines. I am a new Rv'er and just purchased a 2016 Fleetwood Bounder. One of the major reasons was the residential Fridge and Magnum 2000 watt pure sine inverter . I am storing my RV on my land while not in use and have noticed and when I am driving as well I have to go to my battery monitor and hold the button till the inverter lite comes on green. With this set up my fridge is powered. Micro wave clock and several outlets in the home. I am wondering if this is a manual process every time I am driving and with out shore/generator power or if I have something in my power management set incorrectly .

[dickandlois]

cessnadrvr2000,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum!

This is a copy of the manual page covering the operation of your unit. It should cover your question(s).

If you need more information or this information does not cover your model, please let us know what area you might need further help.

Page 29

Section 3. OPERATION Manual

1. Operating the Inverter

The MS Series inverter/charger has two modes of operation: INVERTER (providing

power to your appliances from the batteries) and AC (running from shore power or a

generator). Whenever the inverter is in AC mode, it passes power directly to your

appliances as well as recharges the batteries using a 3-stage battery charger (Bulk,

Absorption and Float). This approach to battery charging provides rapid and complete

charging cycles without placing undue stress on the batteries. Inverter operation

is fully automatic.

Search

With search mode enabled, the inverter pulses the AC output looking for an

electrical appliance (typically 5 to 100 watts, depending upon the setting you.ve

selected). Whenever there is no load detected, the inverter automatically goes into

search mode (sleep) to minimize energy consumption. During this time, the

inverter.s green LED flashes (fast) to indicate SEARCH mode. When an appliance is

switched on inside the coach, the inverter recognizes the need for power and automatically

starts the inverter.

Note! Should the GFI trip in the circuit powering the Microwave or any other item, The inverter does

not see a load so it stays in the idle mode!!

Inverter Mode

Whenever AC Shore Power is no longer sensed, the inverter automatically transfers

to battery power with no interruption to your appliances. The inverter.s green LED

flashes once every 2 seconds (medium flash) to indicate it is running on battery

power and providing AC to the coach.

AC Shore Power Mode NOTE the unit should also operate the same when the generator is running !

Whenever AC Shore Power is sensed, the inverter automatically transfers to the

shore power with minimal interruption to your appliances.

Bulk Charge Mode

Whenever the inverter is running on nominal AC Shore Power, it charges the

batteries. The inverter.s green LED stays ON (solid) to indicate the first stage of

charging. During bulk charging, the charger supplies the maximum amount of constant

current to the batteries. As the battery voltage rises to a set value (typically

14.1 VDC for GEL, 14.3 VDC for AGM, and 14.6 VDC for liquid lead acid), the charger

will then switch to the next charging mode.

Absorption Charge Mode

As the inverter continues to run on nominal AC Shore Power, and the batteries

have been successfully bulk charged, the charger enters its second stage of charging.

The inverter.s green LED flashes once every second (fast flash) to indicate absorption

charging for 1 - 3 hours depending upon battery bank selection (refer to the MS

Series Remote manual). The charger then switches to its final charging mode.

Float Charge Mode

As AC shore power continues, the inverter.s green LED flashes once every 8

seconds (slow flash) to indicate the third and final stage of charging. The batteries

are held at the float voltage (typically 13.6 VDC for GEL, 13.1 VDC for AGM, and 13.4

VDC for liquid lead acid) as long as AC is present at the inverter.s input. Float charging

reduces battery gassing, minimizes watering requirements (for flooded batteries)

and ensures the batteries are maintained at optimum capacity.

Battery SaverTM Mode

Designed to keep batteries fully charged over long periods (storage) without

drying them out. Whenever the charger is in float for 4 hours with no DC loads

running, the charger will turn OFF. If the battery voltage drops below 12.5 VDC, the

charger will automatically initiate float mode to return them to a full charge.

Rich.

[cessnadrvr2000]

Thanks Rich,

I have read all that, but what I am seeing is when I unplug from my current 15 AMP shore power to keep my Frig, Microwave clock and maxxFans powered and running everything is off. I open my Frig and no power, so either it is not switching or the search mode is too high to see the loss of the AMP I am pulling.

I look at my ATS panel and see I am only pulling about 2 to 3 AMPs most the time on shore power so maybe that is why. It never sees a big enough draw to switch to inverter. This causes me to loose my Frig which is the biggest concern. Like I said above I noticed this while driving as well. I will check my setting again and thank you very much for the welcome and the knowledge. I think I am pretty good with electronics and power but actually owning your own RV there is still a lot of learning on all the operation of the unit.