Inverter questions

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by TominVegas

That's weird. On my 34H5, the actual inverter is located in the outside power compartment where the power cord is. That's also the location of the transfer switch and converter.

Yeah . . the transfer switch and converter are in there but the Inverter under the cabinets below the Precision Plex diagnostic system. I'm guessing you have to take the panel the diagnostic tool is mounted to off to access it. I'm not doing that with my wife around. I'll go up sometime when she isn't with me.

[ScottBrownstein]

They tend to hide their inverters. Mine is only marginally accessible after removing a black plastic panel in one of the basement storage compartments. Mine came from the lot with the GFCI needing a reset. Did it 4 years ago and everything has been fine since then. I suspect that your outlets will function once you locate the inverter and reset the GFCI on it.

What brand is the inverter on/off remote panel? In 2015 they were using Xantrex inverters.

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

They tend to hide their inverters. Mine is only marginally accessible after removing a black plastic panel in one of the basement storage compartments. Mine came from the lot with the GFCI needing a reset. Did it 4 years ago and everything has been fine since then. I suspect that your outlets will function once you locate the inverter and reset the GFCI on it.



What brand is the inverter on/off remote panel? In 2015 they were using Xantrex inverters.

I didn’t readily see an access panel underneath but I’ll check again.

It is a Xantrex.

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by Mr. October

I didn’t readily see an access panel underneath but I’ll check again.

It is a Xantrex.

Has to be access somewhere, in the bottom of the cabinet or from the basement. I know that hidden junction boxes, not to mention electric appliances are not permitted by the national electrical code, has to be the same for this.

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

Has to be access somewhere, in the bottom of the cabinet or from the basement. I know that hidden junction boxes, not to mention electric appliances are not permitted by the national electrical code, has to be the same for this.

"Access" is relative. You should have seen some of the "access" panels in our little Navion.

[FFred]

"I think someday soon compressor fridges will be RV standard but I think they have a way to go to make them better."

Probably never as too many folks love to boondock , and will never agree to generator hours on end or solar that requires camping away from shade.


The marine DC reefers are sophisticated , the DC motor is pulse fed only enough power to maintain the box temperature , yet even these eat 60-100 Amps of 12v per 24 hours.

[chrisbailey13]

The inverter also has a transfer switch. it is possible the Transfer switch isn't connected to the circuit it is supposed to power.




Or it has become disconnected from the inverter. Or it is defective.


On my coach, the transfer switch is wired to a junction box in the compartment with the fresh water tank which subsequently connects it to every outlet inside the coach except for GFCI outlets.
Hope this helps.

[ledoylefcco]

I found the inverter under the bottom drawer on my 2015 329Ds. I do not have power to the front TV or any of my not GFCI plugs. The inverter is 2000 watt and only powers the residential fridge. There is a transfer switch that switches from shore/generator power to inverter power for the fridge. When it leaves the switch it goes to an outlet on the outside wall for the fridge. It also goes to another circuit that runs toward the back of the coach but I haven't figured where it goes yet. GT says there are no wiring diagrams available. Here is what I would like to do. Run a power line from the output of the transfer switch to another AC Switch and then to the non-gfci switch circuit so that if I am boondocking I can power my cpap or when driving the family can watch tv. We have an in motion sat dish but can't see how it would be any use if I can't turn tv on while driving. Thoughts? Thanks, Larry

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by ledoylefcco

I found the inverter under the bottom drawer on my 2015 329Ds. I do not have power to the front TV or any of my not GFCI plugs. The inverter is 2000 watt and only powers the residential fridge. There is a transfer switch that switches from shore/generator power to inverter power for the fridge. ...

That wire from the transfer switch to the back of the coach is actually the power from the electrical panel coming to the transfer switch. GT switched to a 2000 watt Xantrex in 2014 or 2015, which is more than enough for the reefer and some other things.

You need to get another transfer switch (I like the Kisae since you can wire directly to it) run two romex feeds back to the power panel from the new transfer switch, pull the existing romex out of the breaker for the non-gfi outlets, put the transfer switch Power "in" wire on that breaker and connect the romex that came out of the panel to the romex that comes from the transfer switch "out" connection.

I think you will find that way you have power to most of the outlets outside of the galley and bath, including the bedroom and dinette. Flip off that breaker and try it!

[ledoylefcco]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

That wire from the transfer switch to the back of the coach is actually the power from the electrical panel coming to the transfer switch. GT switched to a 2000 watt Xantrex in 2014 or 2015, which is more than enough for the reefer and some other things.

You need to get another transfer switch (I like the Kisae since you can wire directly to it) run two romex feeds back to the power panel from the new transfer switch, pull the existing romex out of the breaker for the non-gfi outlets, put the transfer switch Power "in" wire on that breaker and connect the romex that came out of the panel to the romex that comes from the transfer switch "out" connection.

I think you will find that way you have power to most of the outlets outside of the galley and bath, including the bedroom and dinette. Flip off that breaker and try it!

ScottBrownstein, thanks for quick reply and suggestion. I probable didn't explain what I found very well. I followed the circuit it looks like this.
12v to inverter output from inverter 110v goes to transfer sw input 2. 110v from breaker panel to transfer sw input 1. Output from transfer sw goes to junction box in same area. 110v from transfer sw tied to 2 110 lines. One goes to plug for residential refrig. Other 110 goes toward back of coach somewhere. That should be hot when coach is either on shore power, gen, or from inverter. That's the line I'm trying to figure out where it goes. I'd like it or another line to go to power the outlets.

Another thought is to put an A/B switch in from power to plugs. Then I could manually turn on plugs to inverter via available plug on inverter. There might be times when i might not want those plugs active when boondocking and not running gen. Thoughts? Am I overthinking this? Thanks, Larry

[NXR]

When the Xantrex 2000 watt Status light is green it's in shore power (or generator) bypass mode and the shore power cord is supplying power to everything.

When the Status light is Yellow it means the inverter is running and drawing current from the batteries.

One person said that FR split his GT5 outlets so the top of the outlet was run off the inverter or shore power and the bottom outlet was strictly shore power (or vice versa).

Note that the Xantrex low power shut off is set to 10.5 VDC by default. I'm changing that to 12.1 VDC or maybe 11.8 VDC when I finally get it.

Ray

[ledoylefcco]

NXR, if the plugs were split on my 329DS i could not have to do anything. I'll have to test more carefully. That would be a great solution. If I could get FR to send me a wiring schematic that probably would have answered that question but they said it doesn't exist.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by ledoylefcco

NXR, if the plugs were split on my 329DS i could not have to do anything. I'll have to test more carefully. That would be a great solution. If I could get FR to send me a wiring schematic that probably would have answered that question but they said it doesn't exist.

Our factory rep said he can get me the wiring diagrams. If you don't know their name ask your dealer for their direct contact information. Can't hurt to try.

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by ledoylefcco

NXR, if the plugs were split on my 329DS i could not have to do anything. I'll have to test more carefully. That would be a great solution. If I could get FR to send me a wiring schematic that probably would have answered that question but they said it doesn't exist.

I would be surprised if that were the case on a reefer Inverter. The way the transfer switch works means that everything on that inverter is also on a single breaker in the panel. Code requires that the reefer has its own breaker and when you add something you are, in effect, putting them together. Some people have plugged in a second transfer switch to power some outlets off the same inverter, but those outlets are still fed by their own breaker in the panel.

Strange that you have a second wire going back. They might have powered one of the outlets in the bedroom for a CPAP. You can shut down the inverter and flip off the reefer breaker to see what isn't fed.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

I would be surprised if that were the case on a reefer Inverter. The way the transfer switch works means that everything on that inverter is also on a single breaker in the panel. Code requires that the reefer has its own breaker and when you add something you are, in effect, putting them together. Some people have plugged in a second transfer switch to power some outlets off the same inverter, but those outlets are still fed by their own breaker in the panel.

Strange that you have a second wire going back. They might have powered one of the outlets in the bedroom for a CPAP. You can shut down the inverter and flip off the reefer breaker to see what isn't fed.

Depends on inverter and install .i've seen 2 circuits run through inverters one for fridge and one for micro .

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by MR.M

Depends on inverter and install .i've seen 2 circuits run through inverters one for fridge and one for micro .

Yep, that's true, but that requires a double pole transfer switch. Most FR Xantrex installations at the time used Prowatt PSW inverters and Xantrex packaged transfer switches.

Bringing disparate power outlets together on an inverter with a single pole transfer switch will, in effect, combine those circuits to a single breaker. Since packaged transfer switches only cost around $50 and there is a duplex outlet on the inverter, adding a second transfer switch that will isolate the feeds for the two circuits is really the way to go.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

Yep, that's true, but that requires a double pole transfer switch. Most FR Xantrex installations at the time used Prowatt PSW inverters and Xantrex packaged transfer switches.

Bringing disparate power outlets together on an inverter with a single pole transfer switch will, in effect, combine those circuits to a single breaker. Since packaged transfer switches only cost around $50 and there is a duplex outlet on the inverter, adding a second transfer switch that will isolate the feeds for the two circuits is really the way to go.

That's right thge inverter will have 2 or double pole transfer switch