12v Electrical mods planned

[Saratoga Camper]

I'd be interested to learn if it has UL or ETL listing. Nothing on their website indicates it has been tested...

Most fires traced to non-listed equipment are not covered by insurance companies. This is true in the residential world, not sure about the RV world...

[crashbot]

Not sure either. Its not going to be left on or even plugged in except wehn we're right there watching tv. Its for those games or races I just can't miss on the few Sundays that we overnight because of Monday Holidays.

[Rod Johnson]

Originally Posted by crashbot

I do think the single pole issue on the switch may be a problem. Perhaps some other sort of switch would be better suited. Any suggestions for a switch to select from two sources of 120V?

DPDT 20-Amp Flip Switch - RadioShack.com

Switch both your neutral and hot through this. I got some weird backfeed through the neutral buss and killed my el-cheapo inverter.

I picked up a twist timer, the mechanical type. I use that to run/switch the 12V that feeds the inverter. My setup is just for the TV in the living room, and with the timer, I don't fall asleep and leave the inverter running all night. I twist the timer over, then hit the switch to change the outlet from shore/gen power to inverter power.

Originally Posted by herk7769

I burned up my first inverter trying to use a single pole double throw switch to accomplish what you are trying to do.


I should have used the double throw double pole to switch BOTH ground and hot wires to the load circuit with an "off" in the center to keep the power TOTALLY seperate from each other.

And you would have saved me $150 had I seen this first. Thats okay, it forced me to pickup a pure sine wave inverter.

Also, ETA, my laptop ran fine for years on a MSW inverter, probably due to the fully regulated power supply... I'm still getting some noise on my LCD TV and PSW inverter.

[shooted]

Originally Posted by Rod Johnson

DPDT 20-Amp Flip Switch - RadioShack.com

Switch both your neutral and hot through this. I got some weird backfeed through the neutral buss and killed my el-cheapo inverter.

I picked up a twist timer, the mechanical type. I use that to run/switch the 12V that feeds the inverter. My setup is just for the TV in the living room, and with the timer, I don't fall asleep and leave the inverter running all night. I twist the timer over, then hit the switch to change the outlet from shore/gen power to inverter power.



And you would have saved me $150 had I seen this first. Thats okay, it forced me to pickup a pure sine wave inverter.

Also, ETA, my laptop ran fine for years on a MSW inverter, probably due to the fully regulated power supply... I'm still getting some noise on my LCD TV and PSW inverter.

I don't believe the OP wants to use this switch, it's rated for 20 amps at 12 volts. Any DPDT switch installation for this purpose would need to be 120 volt a.c. rated and the appropriate amperage. Also the reviews on this product indicate it is of poor quality. When isolating two or more power supplies this is not the place to cut corners. This is my Manual Transfer Switch Installation.
On the noise issue, did your manual indicate to twist the DC cabling to help avoid this issue?

[Rod Johnson]

Great write up you did there. Did I miss it, what does a transfer switch like that cost?

I did not read the reviews on the switch that I posted, I have been using the same style for years without a single failure. Well, other than physical damage to the toggle. Just posting what worked for me...

[shooted]

It's my understanding another member on a different site just received the same C3 Controls 6 Pole Double Throw Switch for $85.00 including shipping and the legend plate. It isn't the cheapest option. However it is an excellent option to installing ATS. The 6PDT switch makes use of the existing panel and breakers instead of adding a subpanel with breakers for ATS. I also found I had approx. 4' of extra romex on all my circuits behind my panel which made installing the switch easy. All I had to do was splice into the desired circuits after the circuit breakers! The only wire I added was to add a dedicated circuit to my refrigerator and converter, both of which were close by. If less poles are needed, the switch can be configured as such when ordered and the cost decreases. The custom legend plate is only an option for the round ring switch. Build switch here https://www.c3controls.com/cam-switch-changeover.cfm