Outlets not working while driving

Lvnlife1973 · 10-13-2013, 10:14 AM

Okay, so house batteries are on, inverter is on, fridge is powered and we're on the road. Had my cell phone plugged in to charge and noticed its not charging. Checked 2 other outlets and no power. Now since we're driving, I haven't been able to check all outlets or even on the other side of the rig, so perhaps its a blown fuse?

alparmer · 10-13-2013, 10:35 AM

Post what rig you have. If you have the residential fridge, the inverter only feeds the fridge. Your 110 outlets only work with shore power or generator on.

NO3putt · 10-13-2013, 10:41 AM

In our MH not all outlets will work, only a few a hooked into the inverter. A simple way to check is turn on the inverter and take a night light and try all the outlets, bet you will find some will work, others will not. Make sure your not hooked up to shore power when you do this. In ours, some in bedroom, entertainment center will work, while ones in kitchen will not.

Lvnlife1973 · 10-13-2013, 12:59 PM

Thanks everyone! Apparently our inverter only powers our residential fridge. I thought the house batteries would power the outlets. Thanks for the info on that. The outlets were fine on shore power and I'm sure also when generator is on. So much for crock pot cooking while driving to a further destination!

alparmer · 10-13-2013, 02:02 PM

I plan on running the generator on long trips to be able to use the forward AC unit and make the family comfortable. Not sure how much fuel the generator uses, but I bet very very little. You could do the same and use your crock pot along with other things.

paulmlac · 10-13-2013, 02:15 PM

I have a class C Sunseeker rather than the Georgetown but saw this and wanted to chime in... If it's just a crockpot, you might be further ahead to pick up a portable inverter at Walmart, run it off a cigarette lighter outlet (or 12 volt outlet somewhere), and run the crockpot off of that. Some outlay for the inverter but then free. Agreed, the generator doesn't use much fuel (it's in the generator owners manual) but why use any just for a crockpot.

cfsoistman · 10-13-2013, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alparmmer

I plan on running the generator on long trips to be able to use the forward AC unit and make the family comfortable. Not sure how much fuel the generator uses, but I bet very very little. You could do the same and use your crock pot along with other things.

If I recall properly the Generator uses approximately 1 gal/ per hour on 50% load. Your AC unit is not quite half the load when running.

Lvnlife1973 · 10-13-2013, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulmlac

I have a class C Sunseeker rather than the Georgetown but saw this and wanted to chime in... If it's just a crockpot, you might be further ahead to pick up a portable inverter at Walmart, run it off a cigarette lighter outlet (or 12 volt outlet somewhere), and run the crockpot off of that. Some outlay for the inverter but then free. Agreed, the generator doesn't use much fuel (it's in the generator owners manual) but why use any just for a crockpot.

LOL! Agreed! Probably will do that in the summer months when it might be more necessary to run the front a/c to cool the rig down.

alparmer · 10-13-2013, 02:35 PM

I don't know how much power your crock pot will draw and I wouldn't want to put that much strain on the battery/alternator/inverter. Why not get a 12v crock pot?

Cornelius · 10-13-2013, 02:36 PM

A 5500 watt Onan generator will draw about 0.3 gallon of gasoline per hour with no load, 0.6 gallon per hour at 50% load, and almost 1 gallon per hour under full load. Our crock pot uses 180 to 250 watts depending on the temperature setting. Just total up how many watts you are using, and you can interpolate an estimate for the generator fuel consumption.

As for using the crock pot while you are driving, just stick it in the kitchen sink so it does not fall off the counter if you make a sudden stop.

alparmer · 10-13-2013, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

If I recall properly the Generator uses approximately 1 gal/ per hour on 50% load. Your AC unit is not quite half the load when running.

Thanks for the info. If you cruise at 65 and the coach gives you ~8 mpg then the coach will use ~8 gallons in one hour. So, does it mean that technically the generator gives you 64 mpg? Not sure if I did that correctly. Now, I would like to figure out the difference in MPGs for the engine running with and without the AC compressor.

Is it more economical, on long trips, to run the coach's AC unit vs. the engine's AC compressor?

alparmer · 10-13-2013, 02:47 PM

I just found the following on an RV site:

If your RV at 55 mph gets 10 MPG with the A/C off, running the A/C can bring that down to 8.5 MPG, which would be 1.5 gallons of fuel per mile used just to run the engine driven A/C compressor. Running the generator and roof A/C instead uses 1/2 gallon per hour. The Engine driven A/C also uses up to 8 HP, which means less power on hills, as well as more heat for the poor overworked engine.

cfsoistman · 10-14-2013, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alparmmer

Thanks for the info. If you cruise at 65 and the coach gives you ~8 mpg then the coach will use ~8 gallons in one hour. So, does it mean that technically the generator gives you 64 mpg? Not sure if I did that correctly. Now, I would like to figure out the difference in MPGs for the engine running with and without the AC compressor.

Is it more economical, on long trips, to run the coach's AC unit vs. the engine's AC compressor?

Click image for larger version

Name: Onan Fuel Use.jpg
Views: 163
Size: 49.2 KB
ID: 41065

My original post was wrong. Sorry, Once I got the chance I found the info in the book. Here is the info straight from the Onan Manual.

**Herk7769** · 10-14-2013, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulmlac

I have a class C Sunseeker rather than the Georgetown but saw this and wanted to chime in... If it's just a crockpot, you might be further ahead to pick up a portable inverter at Walmart, run it off a cigarette lighter outlet (or 12 volt outlet somewhere), and run the crockpot off of that. Some outlay for the inverter but then free. Agreed, the generator doesn't use much fuel (it's in the generator owners manual) but why use any just for a crockpot.

I am sure you have not actually done this.

Most "cigarette lighter" (accessory) outlets are current limited (rated) to about 9 amps @ 12 volts DC. That is about 100 watts maximum.

Most crock pots are over 300 watts of 120 volts AC or over 3 times that power requirement. A 300 watt crock pot will draw (300/12) amps or about 25 amps from an inverter.

No accessory outlet can handle that load.

Tom and Kat · 10-14-2013, 02:34 PM

You need one of these. Make sure you put it in the sink on top of some non-skid padding.

Amazon.com: RoadPro RPSL-350 12V 1.5 Quart Slow Cooker: Automotive

DebbieMH · 10-14-2013, 03:23 PM

I had wanted to make coffee without using the generator ... so, thought about getting one of those plug in Inverters that they sell at truck stops. Will charge a phone, but not enough power for a coffee pot ... so, I'm sure not enough for a crock pot. So, when making coffee, I start up the gen.

alparmer · 10-14-2013, 04:41 PM

Not sure why people don't want to use their generators. It's good to use them since they sit most of the time. Besides, they barely sip on gas. My coach has a remote start and I can start it without having to stop. If I had to make a cup of coffee while on the road, just flick the switch and have power.

emeraldlake · 10-14-2013, 05:53 PM

Related to the original question - my inverter on the 351DS only powers the fridge. Is there way to get it to power addl outlets? E.g. can I install a 2nd inverter?

alparmer · 10-14-2013, 06:11 PM

Sorry for the hijack. Yes, you can add 100 inverters if you want to power your coach and the neighbors as long as your batteries will take it. The hard part is the wiring.

Why bother though, fire up the gen when you need 110v. That is why is there for.

You may also like: