I want to hard wire a inverter inside of the camper

Bedlinedf250 · 03-24-2018, 08:28 PM

So I've searched for some sort of wiring diagram inside a 274dbh and can't find anything.
I want to wire in an iverter to control the TV and nothing else. I had purchased a 600w pure sine wave inverter that has wires and alligator clips for the battery. Last year was a Hassel trying to keep the clips on the battery and the extension cord goin into the camper without any of it getting wet in the rain. Or blown over in the wind. It was always a headache. No need for headaches when enjoying the outdoors.
So what's my best option for wiring so I don't need to have anything open during bad weather, and easily accessible. My goal would be to be able to wire it under the TV in the lil cubbie where you connect the RCA cables for the DVD. But if I could save drilling any holes is there a location where the main wires come into the camper from the battery that I could tap into. And I am planning on putting an inline fuse before the inverter.
Has anyone done something similar to there's?? And if so what works best?? Nothing else will be used off this inverter but a TV I have no reason to connect anything else. And I'm pretty familiar with wiring on vehicles, I have done numerous lights winches sound systems. And I'm solder pretty good.

**Flybob** · 03-24-2018, 08:53 PM

One thing to consider, Your best bet is to wire the inverter as close to the battery as possible and run 110V Romex to an outlet for the TV. The current in the DC side of the circuit will be about 10X that in the AC side and will be more prone to voltage drop.

HONDAMAN174 · 03-24-2018, 10:08 PM

I taped into the 12v outlet in my entertainment center. That way it was already fuse protected on that circuit. My entire entertainment system only pulls 5 dc amps at max draw. Tv directly plugged into inverter and runs it all the time.

Jay2504 · 03-24-2018, 10:38 PM

I did something similar to what HONDAMAN174 did. I had a 350 watt inverter on hand. It came with adapter for 12volt power plug. According to the inverter directions I am limited to 150 watts when using the 12volt plug. Works our 32 inch tv just fine. Based on how often the inverter fan comes on I’d say that it’s not working very hard. If all you want to run is the tv I think this is the easy way out. At the front end of the unit (2504s) I hard wired a 750 watt inverter in the street side cargo area. Ran #4 cable the short run from the batteries. I then wired up an outlet below the factory outlet on the street side beside the couch. Now we can turn on the inverter, plug in the crock pot and have roast ready to eat at the end of the day. I can also run another small refrigerator on the road if needed. Hope this helps. Jay

Bedlinedf250 · 03-25-2018, 12:23 AM

Hondaman174
So I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how you tapped into the power in the entertainment center. Please explain, and if you have pics would be greatly appreciated.

HONDAMAN174 · 03-25-2018, 11:02 AM

Ok. Found a pic of your entertainment center. Kinda tricky but not impossible.

So is there a 12v outlet in the top shelf to the right of your radio? If not, then tap into power that goes to the radio. I don’t know how large your 600w inverter is- I use a 400w which I mounted to the “roof” of the top shelf. Are you going to add a blue Rey player or a sound bar? I ran a small extension cord from inverter back behind the radio and plugged everything in behind there.

Mad Cow · 03-25-2018, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flybob

One thing to consider, Your best bet is to wire the inverter as close to the battery as possible and run 110V Romex to an outlet for the TV. The current in the DC side of the circuit will be about 10X that in the AC side and will be more prone to voltage drop.

Yepper. the ideal is to stay as close to the battery with the inverter as possible and run Romex. The basic approach I take is run the Romex to the power box, disconnect the 110 GFCI outlet breaker from the main breaker, and connect the Romex to the 110 breaker and the inverter then supplies 110 to all outlets. This is about the easiest approach.

garbonz · 03-25-2018, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Cow

Yepper. the ideal is to stay as close to the battery with the inverter as possible and run Romex. The basic approach I take is run the Romex to the power box, disconnect the 110 GFCI outlet breaker from the main breaker, and connect the Romex to the 110 breaker and the inverter then supplies 110 to all outlets. This is about the easiest approach.

Great ideas you are runnng a microwave or other high amperage device, but not for a flat screen tv that funs of almost nothing. Find a fused 12 volt source of 10 or 15 amps near you TV and tap into that. Easy Peary.

n0ms · 03-25-2018, 04:16 PM

I'll give you the overview of what I did, a good electrician can help you.

I have a 400watt, 600watt peak pure sine wave inverter hooked to a 3 way switch. With the switch is flipped up it hooks the inverter to the wire that feeds the outlets in the camper. With it down it feeds the shore power to that breaker.

A different switch turns on and off the inverter as it had current draw when idle.

This system runs the Dish TV and anything I need to charge like cell phones, computers, drills, hand grinders, etc.

The breaker on the inverter trips if you use more than 400watts like a hair dryer, electric heater. So mount the inverter where you can get at it.

Other helper components:
2 6 volt golf cart batteries.
330 watts of solar with an MPPT charger.
12 volt battery disconnect switch.

Jonol · 03-25-2018, 06:18 PM

Here a Diagram I made for my frig but you could use it for a 120v outlet or a TV.

Murbella7 · 03-25-2018, 06:18 PM

One thing everybody has been forgetting or ignoring is the loop created when the inverter is on. The battery supplies the inverter which pumps out the 110v to the circuit which powers the battery charger/converter which charges the batteries which power the inverter... et al, ad infinitum. I have to trip the breaker to the charger/converter to prevent this.

I got really smart and put a relay in the circuit. When the mains is on the relay pulls in and the contacts for the circuit from the inverter are open. When the there is no mains power, the relay drops out to its NO open position and the contacts in the inverter circuit close and now the inverter supplies power to the mains lines. We now have power to the TV, etc.

The problem I found when I tried it was a loop got into the picture again. Mains power hold the contacts open, so no voltage from the inverter is injected into the circuit, no mains voltage, relay drops out, inverter now supplies mains voltage, relay pulls in, contacts open, relay drops out and so on. Sounds like a machine gun. I had to put a manual switch in the circuit on the inverter side to isolate the inverter output from the mains line to the relay. Fiddly and dammed awkward in those on-your-belly tight spaces.

So, it is still a manual solution but I no longer have to run a cable from the inverter to the mains socket when we camp, it is all hard wired. When we camp at a site with no mains power, I flip the switch when I open the locker to grab the chocks. I hope all this makes sense.

markb422 · 03-26-2018, 07:31 AM

Is it 600 watt peak or continuous?
I bought a 120 watt psw inverter for the 32" TV and Directv receiver. I wire tied it to the back of the TV mount and ran the 12 volt to the 12 volt accessory outlet at the antenna booster. TV and receiver together draws about 90 watts. The 12 volt outlet is fused at 10 amps. The cooling fan on the inverter has never come on. Even if it is a 600 watt inverter, if all you are drawing is 50 to 100 watts you should be able to just plug it in to a 12 volt acc. outlet. It should be fused at 10 amps and should be good up to a 120 watt load.
I do plan to buy another inverter around 1000 watt msw to use for coffee pot, etc. I will wire it directly to the battery with required wire ga. as close to the battery as possible.

Skyliner · 03-26-2018, 10:08 AM

If you are gonig to run romex, might as well run it into the main powerpanel and use an autotransfer switch to disconnect converter, a/c, water heater when on inverter power. This way you can tap into any outlet for inverter power when needed without having to use extension cords.

You will find out that you will be using more inverter power then originally designed because of its convenience.

TitanMike · 03-26-2018, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markb422

Is it 600 watt peak or continuous?
I bought a 120 watt psw inverter for the 32" TV and Directv receiver. I wire tied it to the back of the TV mount and ran the 12 volt to the 12 volt accessory outlet at the antenna booster.

I did something similar. I bought a small TSW inverter that was more than enough to run the TV (about 50 watts). Mounted it in the excess space under the radio/stereo/DVD player and hooked it to the same circuit. Circuit is fused for 15 amp and I can't see ever exceeding that. Inverter is used solely for running the TV, nothing else.

Am considering adding another Inverter for the outside Refrig but rather than one huge inverter, I'm just going with inverters sized to the load.

Small TSW/PSW inverters in the 150-400 watt category are available for prices well under $100. Larger units capable of running microwave, etc, are far more expensive. By using the small units, each for a single item and mounted next to that device, nobody's going to plug in a coffee pot by accident.

Not the perfect installation but as they say "works for me".

markb422 · 03-26-2018, 12:05 PM

The only problem I have with mulitiple inverters (more than 2) is they all have efficiencies to deal with. The efficiency ratings add up which puts more strain on your batteries.
The smaller psw inverter I use for the TV and receiver has a good efficiency rating and is well within its continuous rating so the cooling fan never runs. When I add another larger one to power appliances I will look for one that will handle the loads in its continuous rating and for the highest efficiency for the dollars. A modified sine wave will work for the appliances where the Directv receiver needs the psw.

Murbella7 · 03-26-2018, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markb422

Is it 600 watt peak or continuous?
I bought a 120 watt psw inverter for the 32" TV and Directv receiver. I wire tied it to the back of the TV mount and ran the 12 volt to the 12 volt accessory outlet at the antenna booster. TV and receiver together draws about 90 watts. The 12 volt outlet is fused at 10 amps. The cooling fan on the inverter has never come on. Even if it is a 600 watt inverter, if all you are drawing is 50 to 100 watts you should be able to just plug it in to a 12 volt acc. outlet. It should be fused at 10 amps and should be good up to a 120 watt load.
I do plan to buy another inverter around 1000 watt msw to use for coffee pot, etc. I will wire it directly to the battery with required wire ga. as close to the battery as possible.

The 120w unit will be OK for the TV, they draw about 90 watts.
I was never going to use my inverter to power the microwave or anything big like a kettle or toaster because we have alternative methods for those functions. So I bought a 600 watt unit, which was a reasonably priced unit and did a bit more than we needed. Never had an issue with my decision. Occasionally I would turn it on and get an OP (fault) reading because I had something plugged in and turn on that was to heavy a load. The overload protection and alarm helps a lot in those instances. I have not regretted my choice.

I have been astounded at the choices of others. One guy proudly showed me his setup. He had 5 inverters ranging from 120w up to 1200w, of differing sizes, powering different circuits and each with an isolating switch mounted next to it. A really stupid and expensive way to go I thought. Complete overkill. You can only watch one TV at a time (I assume) and there really shouldn't be a need to have mains power for cooking.

Bedlinedf250 · 03-26-2018, 07:09 PM

Ok so how are you guys tapping into the power I'm a lil mind boggled??
And the accessory outlet, are you referring to the plug next to the antenna booster??
And I won't be using the anything except a TV on the inverter. We are boondockers when we go camping. I prefer to cook everything outside and only use electricity when the sun is away. If my kids were older I wouldn't even need to be worrying about running a TV. When we bought the camper I tried to bargen on the price by having them rip out the micro and fridge and ac we will probably never use these as we hadn't used them our first year. And we easily stayed in it at least 30 night if not more like 40.

Murbella7 · 03-26-2018, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bedlinedf250

Ok so how are you guys tapping into the power I'm a lil mind boggled??
And the accessory outlet, are you referring to the plug next to the antenna booster??
And I won't be using the anything except a TV on the inverter. We are boondockers when we go camping. I prefer to cook everything outside and only use electricity when the sun is away. If my kids were older I wouldn't even need to be worrying about running a TV. When we bought the camper I tried to bargen on the price by having them rip out the micro and fridge and ac we will probably never use these as we hadn't used them our first year. And we easily stayed in it at least 30 night if not more like 40.

I used to use an extension cord from the inverter to the normal mains socket. I have since hard-wired this. The inverter sits next to the batteries in the front boot. I had to open the boot and run the cord before each use.

I ran the cable through the gap between the floor of the boot and the side wall of the 5'er, back under the chassis and up through a new hole into the space behind the 'wall' of the under-floor locker and next to the water heater, which is next to the mains socket.

I wired the cord to the back of the mains socket. Even though this in effect would supply power to all mains outlets inside, I only use appliances that can run off the inverter, like the TV and sound bar.

The relay I added later is near the mains socket. I just need to remember to turn off the charger/converter.

TitanMike · 03-26-2018, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bedlinedf250

Ok so how are you guys tapping into the power I'm a lil mind boggled??
And the accessory outlet, are you referring to the plug next to the antenna booster??
And I won't be using the anything except a TV on the inverter. We are boondockers when we go camping. I prefer to cook everything outside and only use electricity when the sun is away. If my kids were older I wouldn't even need to be worrying about running a TV. When we bought the camper I tried to bargen on the price by having them rip out the micro and fridge and ac we will probably never use these as we hadn't used them our first year. And we easily stayed in it at least 30 night if not more like 40.

In my casi I just installed the inverter in the open space under my stereo which is right next to the TV. I spliced into the wire feeding the stereo right after the inline 15 amp fuse. Since the TV is low power and I never crank stereo up to max volume (no teens left in my family, even grandkids) I don't ever see power draw even getting close to the 15 amp capacity of thatvwire.

Skyliner · 03-26-2018, 09:00 PM

Just want to make sure with all of these posts about mounting an inverter via cigarette lighter output, that the OP doesn't think that a 600 watt can be run from one.

A 600 watt inverter will pull 50 amps and a cigarette lighter socket won't be able to do that.

DC Cable Sizing Tool - Wire Size Calculator - MM2 & AWG - solar-wind.co.uk has a wire size calcualtor to help you decide what you want to do. I personally would mount the inverter as close to the battery as possible and run romex to your desired location.

A 600 watt inverter is overkill for a TV. 200 watt continuous inverter should cover the TV and DVD player if you intend to use one with your TV.

The cost of technology has really come down so there really isn't an excuse not to use a full (true) sine wave inverter instead of a modified sine wave one. Your electronics will thank you.

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