Geo Pro 19FBS electrical problem

[Pamey]

I have a new, 2019, 19FBS and have it plugged into my house electrical using a step down from the 30 amp plug to regular 110. I plugged in a dehumidifier that draws 7.2 amps into a wall plug in my trailer. I had this dehumidifier running in my old trailer for a long time. But in this trailer, the dehumidifier ran for about a week and then suddenly it stopped. I discovered that all the electrical outlets were dead. The microwave and air conditioning were still working however. I checked the switches on the converter and the GFI buttons and all was fine. I took it to a local RV repair shop and after 3 hours of tracing it down, they discovered that the breaker had tripped on the inverter that is hidden behind a screwed in panel in the closet. After switching the breaker back on, I ran the dehumidifier for about 10 days and it happened again. I now need to leave the panel off of the inverter so I can get to it easily. I am no longer running the dehumidifier.
Can anyone help me figure this out? Do I need a smaller dehumidifier that will run on less amps?
The inverter is off, but it seems like all the electrical outlets run through it anyway. It's supposed to have a 12 amp max but my dehumidifier only uses 7.2 amps. I don't understand what's going wrong.
Will I be able to run something like an electric heater through this weird electrical system?
Also since I need to get behind the panel so often, I'm trying to figure out how to make it easy to open instead of having to use screws. I tried velcro but that didn't work.
Also I tried emailing Forest River, but the answer I received was useless. They didn't understand that I was plugged into shore power. They just kept saying that the inverter was not meant to run a dehumidifier.
Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks
Pam

[JS Stanley]

Yea. Had a similar issue. All the outlets run through the inverter.....on or not. Check some posts here:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post2054717


I think the inverter may get too hot and that is the issue. Guessing though.


Someone talked about rigging a by-pass, I think. You might want to search this site a bit if you really need to look that direction.

[NJKris]

Same thing happened to me running a 30 pint dehumidifier and then running a dirt devil hand vac at same time. I reset all GFCIs, then reset the outdoor plug that ALSO was GFCI and still didn't work, until I realized there is a built in delay in the portable EMS that prevents re-energizing the trailer for several minutes to prevent damage to things like AC. Since then, been OK. My dehumidifier is only a 30 pint model. I never had to reset the inverter, which was never on to begin with. Supposed to have pass through ability when on shore power.

[Pamey]

Thank you. Glad I'm not the only one. That's a great idea to rig a bypass.
Or maybe my inverter is defective and gets too hot. I'll try to look into that.
Also, I'm studying the link you referred to.

[NJKris]

BTW, i heard plugging your rig with GFCI outlets into ANOTHER GFCI outlet can cause issues. I just finished installing an RV outlet on outside of my shed, no GFCI to cause conflicts with ones onboard.

[Pamey]

Yes. I was thinking of hiring an electrician to install a dedicated 30 amp plug on the side of my house. It would be nice to know if it will for sure fix the problem before I spend good money with hopes of a cure.

[Pamey]

I might try a smaller dehumidifier. A 30 pint only draws 3.7 amps I believe

[NJKris]

I bought mine just for the trailer, I already have a big one in home basement. 30 pint is all you need in a small space like trailer, plus much lighter and less floor space

[cavie]

7.2 is a lot of amps for a dehumidifier. There is a label on the bottom that says what it should draw. Could be you have a compressor style. Sounds like your tripping the GFI on the Inverter. 2 gfi's in series don't play nice. Try running a separate cord to the dehumidifier. You can run it thru your slide if you have one.

[Pamey]

Yes. I would like to buy a 30 pint. My dilemma now, do I buy a new smaller dehumidifier, or do I hire an electrician to wire a 30 amp plug, or do I hire the RV repair man to wire a bypass to bypass the inverter? Or, do I take the RV back to the dealer to see if the inverter is defective?

[Pamey]

7.2 amps is on the label on the dehumidifier. I can buy a smaller one, however.

[Pamey]

Oh... I can run a power cord through my slide? Fantastic!! That would solve my problem immediately. How do I do that?

[JS Stanley]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Same thing happened to me running a 30 pint dehumidifier and then running a dirt devil hand vac at same time. I reset all GFCIs, then reset the outdoor plug that ALSO was GFCI and still didn't work, until I realized there is a built in delay in the portable EMS that prevents re-energizing the trailer for several minutes to prevent damage to things like AC. Since then, been OK. My dehumidifier is only a 30 pint model. I never had to reset the inverter, which was never on to begin with. Supposed to have pass through ability when on shore power.

Hi NJKris,


The inverter doesn't have to be on for this to happen. That's why it's a bit of a mystery, and a headache to figure out when it happened.

[JS Stanley]

Originally Posted by NJKris

BTW, i heard plugging your rig with GFCI outlets into ANOTHER GFCI outlet can cause issues. I just finished installing an RV outlet on outside of my shed, no GFCI to cause conflicts with ones onboard.

This is interesting. I think when it happened to me, it wasn't into another GFCI though. Not entirely certain. Might be able to check in June if I stay at the same place.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Pamey

Oh... I can run a power cord through my slide? Fantastic!! That would solve my problem immediately. How do I do that?

bump you slide just a little in or out. run a cord thru the rubber slide seal. Kinda like going under a door. then bump it back in or out. cord is protected by the rubber seal.

FYI. GFI outlets do not trip on amp overload. Only breakers do that. GFI's trip on hot to neutral leakage and neutral to ground leakage. 5 MA.

[RFishstick]

Are inverters in the Geo / E Pros a relatively new feature? I don’t believe my 2018 has one.

[Pamey]

Thanks cavie. I will try and see if I can pop a power cord in there....when it stops raining. Maybe tomorrow we'll have better weather. That would be great if I could leave a short power cord in place to use whenever I need it.

[Pamey]

Yes RFishstick. I believe it's relatively new, but I believe some 2018's have them. If you have a solar panel on the roof, you might have an inverter. I have read that in the 2018 models the inverters are very difficult to find. They are behind the drawer under the bed I believe. At least in the 2019s they put the inverter in a slightly better place, behind a panel in the closet under the TV. BUT the dealer didn't tell me it was there. They probably didn't even know. I had to pay my local RV repairman for 3 hours of work to find it. If you have an inverter, there is a remote control built into the wall. In the 2019's the remote control is close to the floor in the wall beneath the mattress.

[RFishstick]

Thank you for the information. Our Geo Pro was manufactured late 2017. Looks like it’s a feature that wasn’t standard yet.

[NJKris]

Yes JS, when mine shut down, the inverter was powered off. I think when I was attempting to restore power, I did power cycle the inverter using the power switch inside the trailer using the remote power switch. Perhaps that is what did the trick, much like how Pamey used the breaker directly on the unit. Anyway, I've gotten away from the risk of it shutting down again my not running huge current drawing things at same time like I was doing when it popped for first time. And Pamey, I bought the 'chill chaser' heat strip and installed it in the A/C unit, was 50 bucks from a vendor on Ebay, easy to install, and is not on same circuit as outlets, it is on the A/C circuit, and is equivalent to at least a 1600 watt heater.