116 VAC on inverter when running on 12V battery

[CC75]

Silverback 29RE with factory inverter. When running off battery the VAC reads 116V, yellow light on. Is that normal?
Battery is fully charged.
Shore power disconnected.
Thanks,
Joe

[BendOrLarry]

Is this hard wired in, if so is the converter still connected? If the inverter is not hard wired into the 120 ac circuits then there is something wrong with the inverter assuming you actually have 12.7 dc volts to the inverter input.

[ScottBrownstein]

I am not sure which inverter you have or which yellow light you are referring to but 116 or 117 VAC is within the acceptable range. Does the voltage change when you plug in a load?

[CC75]

Originally Posted by BendOrLarry

Is this hard wired in, if so is the converter still connected? If the inverter is not hard wired into the 120 ac circuits then there is something wrong with the inverter assuming you actually have 12.7 dc volts to the inverter input.

Yes it is hard wired, and the converter is connected.
Not sure how the converter would enter into the equation, if the unit is not connected to shore power. The sole purpose of the inverter is to run the fridge. I would not want low AC voltage damage my fridge. Perhaps something is wrong with my voltmeter, it was reading 13.9 volts on the battery. The battery had just been charged and the voltage may not have had enough time to settled down. Thank you for your response.

[CC75]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

I am not sure which inverter you have or which yellow light you are referring to but 116 or 117 VAC is within the acceptable range. Does the voltage change when you plug in a load?

Thank you. I think my question is answered that 116 or 117 VAC is within acceptable range.
At the end of the day running the fridge on the road the VAC does drop to 114.
Sound like I should call Forest River technical support to find out if 114VAC is acceptable.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by CC75

Silverback 29RE with factory inverter. When running off battery the VAC reads 116V, yellow light on. Is that normal?
Battery is fully charged.
Shore power disconnected.
Thanks,
Joe

Yes, the range is normal. The "Yellow LED" indicates the inverter is active and running off battery power. When operating from shore power the "Green LED" will be lit and the inverter is in "Standby Mode".

[ScottBrownstein]

Nominal line voltage is 120 +/- 5%. That is 126 to 114. Most appliances will handle a bigger range than that since power fluctuations are often more like -8 or - 10%...especially in RV parks in the summer.

[Jonol]

Somme square wave inverter will read only 90 volts AC and this is normal and that will not damage the appliances.

[ScottBrownstein]

Excellent point. I never thought about "modified sine wave" inverters and RMS voltages.

[racer4]

The WFCO inverter is a Pure Sine Wave Inverter, so modified sine wave inverters have no bearing on the OP's observation.

I think the Silverback has room for 3 or less batteries, the Cedar Creek has room for 4 batteries. It looks like 2 batteries in picture above. 116V is within 120V +/- 10%% and OK.

If you have 2 12V batteries, consider adding a third battery. If you do, try to match the new battery with the existing batteries. Also check the gauge of the battery cables. I would hope for 2 AWG, not 4 AWG or higher (thinner).

The yellow light indicates "battery back up status". That is normal when not plugged into 120VAC.

http://wfcoelectronics.com/wp-conten...00-Manual1.pdf

[Jonol]

Thank you for the manual.

[rzrnaz]

Originally Posted by Jonol

Somme square wave inverter will read only 90 volts AC and this is normal and that will not damage the appliances.

X2

[CC75]

Originally Posted by racer4

The WFCO inverter is a Pure Sine Wave Inverter, so modified sine wave inverters have no bearing on the OP's observation.

I think the Silverback has room for 3 or less batteries, the Cedar Creek has room for 4 batteries. It looks like 2 batteries in picture above. 116V is within 120V +/- 10%% and OK.

If you have 2 12V batteries, consider adding a third battery. If you do, try to match the new battery with the existing batteries. Also check the gauge of the battery cables. I would hope for 2 AWG, not 4 AWG or higher (thinner).

The yellow light indicates "battery back up status". That is normal when not plugged into 120VAC.

http://wfcoelectronics.com/wp-conten...00-Manual1.pdf

Thanks for the manual.
The pic is old. I have since added a third identical battery. The new battery was only a few weeks older than the ones the dealer supplied. I did use 2 AWG cables to connect the batteries in parallel, with the positive and negative terminals going to the rig from most farthest apart batteries. (i.e. positive from battery 1 and negative from battery 3 to the rig)

[Busybeavers]

Originally Posted by CC75

Thanks for the manual.
The pic is old. I have since added a third identical battery. The new battery was only a few weeks older than the ones the dealer supplied. I did use 2 AWG cables to connect the batteries in parallel, with the positive and negative terminals going to the rig from most farthest apart batteries. (i.e. positive from battery 1 and negative from battery 3 to the rig)

So with these upgrades to the 3rd battery and the cables, is your output voltage still at 116 Volts? Just wondering because I have a 16 RE and only 2 batteries and mine reads 116v.

[CC75]

Originally Posted by Busybeavers

So with these upgrades to the 3rd battery and the cables, is your output voltage still at 116 Volts? Just wondering because I have a 16 RE and only 2 batteries and mine reads 116v.

Yes. The AC voltage did not change when I added the third battery. I have more reserve power. On long trips of 6 to 8 hours, with the fridge on, the voltage stays at 116V. I check it at every stop (which is every 2 to 3 hours), and when I get to my final destination, just before I setup. Since this is new to me, I do not want to miss a low voltage, and ruin the fridge.
I have seen it drop down to 114V once, when the fridge was running off the inverter all night, rig not connected to the truck nor shore power, about 8 hours. The batteries were about 70% discharged (i think it was bout that, did not write it down, but do not remember being alarmed by it, 50% discharged would have alarmed me, well I do not think I would have had a panic attack, but concerned)
Once I get the hang of this, I am thinking of installing a Trimetric Battery monitor along with 6V golf cart batteries to replace the cheap Sears DieHards. The idiot lights that FR has provided in the rig, just does not do it for me.
Eventually I plan on boondocking, and have a ways to go learning all this. This is my first real rig; had a Colman tent trailer before; this not the same.

[Busybeavers]

Originally Posted by CC75

Yes. The AC voltage did not change when I added the third battery. I have more reserve power. On long trips of 6 to 8 hours, with the fridge on, the voltage stays at 116V. I check it at every stop (which is every 2 to 3 hours), and when I get to my final destination, just before I setup. Since this is new to me, I do not want to miss a low voltage, and ruin the fridge.
I have seen it drop down to 114V once, when the fridge was running off the inverter all night, rig not connected to the truck nor shore power, about 8 hours. The batteries were about 70% discharged (i think it was bout that, did not write it down, but do not remember being alarmed by it, 50% discharged would have alarmed me, well I do not think I would have had a panic attack, but concerned)
Once I get the hang of this, I am thinking of installing a Trimetric Battery monitor along with 6V golf cart batteries to replace the cheap Sears DieHards. The idiot lights that FR has provided in the rig, just does not do it for me.
Eventually I plan on boondocking, and have a ways to go learning all this. This is my first real rig; had a Colman tent trailer before; this not the same.

Seems that we are typically in the same learning boat as many others. Had a TT but gas refrig, really like the residential but creates problems like boondocking. I have a lot to learn, understand and hopefully not duplicate the mistakes others have made ahead of us. Thank you for your updated information. I hate to get rid of brand new 12 volt batteries, but I really like the idea of 2 6v golf carts batteries (Trojan if hope) and eventually move up to 4 -6v batteries, then investigate the gen vs solar deli ma. Good luck!

[ScottBrownstein]

With residential fridge you absolutely need a Trimetric. If you would have been alarmed at 50% discharged I would be beyond that at 70% discharged!!!! Bottom line is that you can't use the panel LEDs with a system like this. The Trimetric will be really good for your blood pressure! Then you can have 85%, 80% and all the rest.

[CC75]

Correction: oops. I reported 70% discharged, I meant 70% charge still on the batteries based on the volts I read off the batteries. 30% discharged is what I should have reported. As ScottBrownstein implied, 70% discharged would have been very bad.

[Sterlingsilver]

Don't try to over-engineer this. Several years into life on the road with a residential fridge, the worst problem is keeping the darn doors shut and the food inside. You should get days on battery. If the inverter hasn't shut down your fridge is getting the juice it needs. It can also keep food cold for another 1/2 day with out any power. Batteries last longer, up to 10 years, if not discharged below 50% regularly.