Installing an inverter.. Where to ground?

[bhall5368]

I’m installing an inverter in my Palomino 8801. It says I need to ground it somewhere. I was going to run a wire to one of my power jack bolts. Will this work or is this green wire a gound wire?

[Defiant530]

I don't think that is a ground , I would put a meter to it to see if there is voltage there , I also am in process of adding an inverter on our 2910 , are you planning on powering all the outlets or just a couple ? My plan is to have all outlets powered , I currently have 200 watts of solar also and more than likely swap batteries to 200 AH of Lithium , I am planning on running a ground out the same hole as the propane line and ground to the truck with a quick disconnect if I take camper off the truck

[Touch racing]

The thing circled in the picture appears to be a circuit breaker. Do not connect the ground wire to that. I would run the ground wire to the frame.

[bhall5368]

I have since learned that that is in fact not a ground. I posted it on a truck camping page on Facebook that I’m on and got brutalized… I did learn that I could ground it to the negative side of the battery. But I have since put that project on hold. I’m going to do some more research and possibly get a second battery and a better solar panel. My plan was to only run the outlets on the inverter itself should the need arise. But I would love to wire it for all the outlets to work. As you can tell, I’m new to this so that’s why I’m on these forums to learn.

[sdelam]

I may be wrong but, It appears that you have that battery in an enclosed (interior?) location. That is a no-no for flooded batteries. It needs a vent to off gas during charging, and a tray/box to catch any overflowing electrolytes.

[Ballistic]

Originally Posted by bhall5368

I have since learned that that is in fact not a ground. I posted it on a truck camping page on Facebook that I’m on and got brutalized… I did learn that I could ground it to the negative side of the battery. But I have since put that project on hold. I’m going to do some more research and possibly get a second battery and a better solar panel. My plan was to only run the outlets on the inverter itself should the need arise. But I would love to wire it for all the outlets to work. As you can tell, I’m new to this so that’s why I’m on these forums to learn.

Consider getting yourself a digital multi meter (like the one below). They’re super affordable these days and well worth the small investment. As you progress it looks like you’ll need it.

Digital Clamp Meter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTY51R4...KRR1HSJY64HHZ5

[bhall5368]

That is another thing I got brutalized about. It actually IS in a battery box with a vent.. just like it came from the factory. I removed the cover for the pic.

[sdelam]

Originally Posted by bhall5368

That is another thing I got brutalized about. It actually IS in a battery box with a vent.. just like it came from the factory. I removed the cover for the pic.

It tends to be more friendly here, just wanted to make sure you were aware of the dangers.

[tomkatb]

Plan ahead.

Your first purchase should be a battery monitor. I have the Amazon Ancel bm300. It is a fancy voltmeter with Bluetooth. The Vitron is better.

One battery severely limits an inverter. You need the biggest wire possible between the inverter and battery bank. A fuse needs to be in the line based on the inverter. A 2000 watt inverter could need a 200 amp fuse. 2/0 wire.

Your inverter should have a remote on and off switch. On standby they use 20 or more amps dc.

Our needs are minimal. I installed two 12 volt outlets in the rv. Then purchased a plug in inverter of 400 watts. We never use it. When we boondock there is no tv or subwoofer unless the generator is on.

You can attach the green wire to any grounded device. Be careful of wire colors in rv’s. Anything is possible. The wire you show looks hot.

[pmsherman]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

Plan ahead.
.....
Your inverter should have a remote on and off switch. On standby they use 20 or more amps dc.
.....

Was the standby current a typo? Standby for a 2k inverter is almost 250W? I'd expect that it would be closer to 25W or less - 1-2A on standby.


Phil

[tomkatb]

When reading specs be careful about using the formula P=IV and the right units ac/dc. Got to be careful. The statement 25 watts is meaningless. You must state ac or dc to have meaning.

The point was that it is important to have a convenient on/off switch because the inverters use a fair amount of power in the standby mode. Thus, you want it off when possible.

1-2 dc amps per hour is common from what I read. Not a lot, but, it does add up.

In the RV game, the batteries, for a long time, will be the weak link.

[sdelam]

My 1200w inverter uses .5-.7 amps DC in standby mode, so 12-21 amp hours over a 24 hour period. I have two remote switches so I don't have to get out of bed to turn it off.

[jimmoore13]

I wired my inverter straight to the battery. + to + and - to - right on the battery. I have a properly sized in-line fuse on the + side. No muss, no fuss.

[Defiant530]

It is not recommended to attach your Inverter ground (green) wire to the ground side of the battery

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by Defiant530

It is not recommended to attach your Inverter ground (green) wire to the ground side of the battery

Why? I'm truly interested.

[Defiant530]

In general the inverter chassis ground lug should always be grounded to the chassis of vehicle or some other suitable ground location , it is a safety to protect from being a shock hazard should there ever be a inverter malfunction, most inverter manufacturers will recommend where to ground

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Defiant530

It is not recommended to attach your Inverter ground (green) wire to the ground side of the battery

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

Why? I'm truly interested.

Originally Posted by Defiant530

In general the inverter chassis ground lug should always be grounded to the chassis of vehicle, it is a safety to protect from being a shock hazard should there ever be a inverter malfunction

I believe RV electrical systems in the US have their own ground systems that are not connected to the chassis but rather grounded back to the shore power source and it's ground connection.

The neutral for the 120 Vac system has it's own bus that is not connected to the earth ground.

At least that's how my TT is wired.


The battery negative is connected to the frame so what would be the difference between connecting it to the battery negative terminal or the frame?

Since the Inverter is not using an earth return method of delivering power as often occurs with power utility systems the likelihood of creating a "hot skin" is reduced. Extra hard to cause that on my TT as the "skin" is non conductive fiberglass.

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

I believe RV electrical systems in the US have their own ground systems that are not connected to the chassis but rather grounded back to the shore power source and it's ground connection.

I don't know if the OP's green wire is equipment chassis ground or not; However, equipment chassis grounds should be terminated at the nearest vehicle chassis ground point. It's bonding the equipment. My converter is bonded to the vehicle chassis via the chassis ground wire where it's located (in the aft compartment) which is 30 feet from the batteries. The equipment chassis ground is neither AC or DC it just bonds the equipment chassis (enclosure) to mounting provision (vehicle chassis).

[pmsherman]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

.....
Your inverter should have a remote on and off switch. On standby they use 20 or more amps dc.
.....

Originally Posted by pmsherman

Was the standby current a typo? Standby for a 2k inverter is almost 250W? I'd expect that it would be closer to 25W or less - 1-2A on standby.

Originally Posted by tomkatb

When reading specs be careful about using the formula P=IV and the right units ac/dc. Got to be careful. The statement 25 watts is meaningless. You must state ac or dc to have meaning.
............
1-2 dc amps per hour is common from what I read. Not a lot, but, it does add up.
............

25W is 25W and AC or DC is irrelevant. 25W at 12VDC is just over 2A while at 120V it's just over 0.2A. As you stated, P=I*R is how it's calculated and that's why drawing 10A at 120V is 100A at 12V. When converting voltages, power in must equal power out. This, of course, does not include losses that occur whenever DC is converted to AC or AC is converted to DC.

In general, when we speak of "using 20 amps DC" we are talking about instantaneous current draw, which by itself is not very meaningful unless we are talking about the voltage drop at the battery terminals caused by the battery's internal resistance. More accurate statements would be using 20A for an hour, using 20A/day, or drawing 20 amp hours from the battery which may or may not include a specified time frame. I suspect, from your second post that I misinterpreted your original statement because you were considering the current drawn from the battery over a 24 hour period with the inverter idling and not powering any 120V appliances.




Phil

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

I wired my inverter straight to the battery. + to + and - to - right on the battery. I have a properly sized in-line fuse on the + side. No muss, no fuss.

That's way FR wired mine. 2 AWG cables, looks like a big breaker on frame on pos cable before going to batt. 1000w WFCO inverter.