What type of invert I should get????

shorty · 09-02-2009, 12:25 AM

I want to purchase an inverter but not sure what type for my needs.
I only want to run the 32' flat living area, 26' bed rm tv and DVD player. No micro wave or fridge or anything else. Sometimes on long trips I might stop and wolly doc at walmart and I do not like to run the genny and fall asleep. Yes, I have safety protectors for fumes however, I am not one to trust the devices at sleep time. P.S going down the road I exercise my genny but not at sleep time.

Which is better plug the inverter in the cigerette lighter or directly to the battery?

What are you opions of the true stabilizer bar to control blow outs and Front wheel tracking? I want to get this but wanted to hear your thoughts.

NWJeeper · 09-02-2009, 12:49 AM

Shorty, Speaking from experience the Modified Sine Wave (MSW) inverters will not run your TVs correctly as I assume we both have the same ones. I ended up getting lots of noise and sparkles on the screen with a MSW inverter and it was noticable in the audio as well.

You will need a True Sine Wave inverter. For your needs 1000 watts is enough. Be warry of no name units. Look into the Xantrex Prosine, you will notice that the prices are high for these. If someone else claims to have a TSW inverter for a hugely lower price then you are getting what you pay for. Good quality inverters are usually not cheap.

cfsoistman · 09-02-2009, 06:22 AM

I can recommend Xantrex based on our experience with our RS3000. I especially like the Control Panel which indicated a Low AC Line 1 Input Voltage one evening. Upon investigation I found the neutral had fried the lug due to it never being completely tight from the factory. This could have resulted in a fire had the Control Panel not given the warning.

shorty · 09-02-2009, 08:26 PM

Thank you both! I am off to find and purchase.

shorty · 09-14-2009, 09:53 PM

I purchased the xantrex inverter 1800 from camping world. This should be more than enough to power up my three tv's, two DVD players, 1 laptop, and 1 wii game, right? Camping world in Winchester va will install next month when I will be there for the wine and hot air ballon event for the weekend.

AllenCrabtree · 11-01-2009, 01:24 AM

Sorry to be asking a stupid question here but I am really confused. I have a 2010 Georgetown 379TS that apparently is equipped with a converter with a 3 stage battery charger (Parallax). If I go with a Prosine that is ONLY an inverter, then I will still need my converter/charger. If I go with the RS3000 that is an inverter/charger, will this simply replace my current converter/charger? From what I understand, my current converter/charger not only charges my coach batteries but it also provides 12V power to the coach when connected to shore power. If the RS3000 is an inverter/charger does that necessarily mean that it is NOT a converter? If so, then I would still need to keep my current converter/charger to provide 12V power when connected to shore power. It would appear then that I would have two 3 stage chargers attempting to charge my coach batteries when connected to shore power or running the generator. Is that a problem.

Dazed & Confused....

cfsoistman · 11-01-2009, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllenCrabtree

Sorry to be asking a stupid question here but I am really confused. I have a 2010 Georgetown 379TS that apparently is equipped with a converter with a 3 stage battery charger (Parallax). If I go with a Prosine that is ONLY an inverter, then I will still need my converter/charger. If I go with the RS3000 that is an inverter/charger, will this simply replace my current converter/charger? From what I understand, my current converter/charger not only charges my coach batteries but it also provides 12V power to the coach when connected to shore power. If the RS3000 is an inverter/charger does that necessarily mean that it is NOT a converter? If so, then I would still need to keep my current converter/charger to provide 12V power when connected to shore power. It would appear then that I would have two 3 stage chargers attempting to charge my coach batteries when connected to shore power or running the generator. Is that a problem.

Dazed & Confused....

The RS300 will be wired as the battery charger with a temperature sensor to prevent any unsafe condition in extreme temperatures. Your Converter will still be the source where your 12 Volts for lighting etc will come from. The charger on the RS3000 is a 3 stage charger. It charges in BULK when the batteries are down to the lowest pre-determined voltage. ABSORPTION when the charge of the batteries are within 20% of capacity and FLOAT which maintains the batteries at capacity without causing a boiling condition. This FLOAT charge enables me to leave the coach plugged in all winter without worrying about any battery freezing.

AllenCrabtree · 11-01-2009, 10:41 AM

That makes sense. I assume the Converter will be re-wired so as to no longer provide the battery charge function. The manual that came with my coach indicated that when the battery disconnect switch is off that the coach batteries are isolated and not being charged. I know that when my coach is connected to shore power and my battery disconnect switch is off, that my DC lights still work so clearly the converter was providing DC power directly to the coach and not simply charging the batteries. I had talked to the tech at our local CW yesterday at length and he had told me that they would remove the existing converter as the RS3000 would provide the 12V power needed. When I read over the literature on the Xantrex website, however, there was no mention of providing 12V power (converter) but rather just 3 stage charging which I assumed was different. I was very confused. I am worried now they they may not know what they are doing. Would I be better going to a Forest River Dealer and have them do the install?

NWJeeper · 11-01-2009, 10:53 AM

Allan, Don't know why you are wanting to replace the whole shooting match when the Georgetowns come with a good 3 stage charger/converter already. Just buy an inverter and be done with it. I highly recommend the Xantrex Prosine 1000 or 1800 depending on your needs. Also much cheaper this way. Although I guess that is realative as the Xantrex products tend to be very expensive anyway. The money you save could be used for other upgrades like solar panels or something else you want to do.

AllenCrabtree · 11-01-2009, 11:48 AM

The ProSine 1800 is $1,349 where as the RS3000 is $1,959 so the cost difference is not great. One thing that I find attractive about the RS3000 is that it can actually be installed inline so the installation of a new sub-panel is not necessary.

NWJeeper · 11-01-2009, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllenCrabtree

The ProSine 1800 is $1,349 where as the RS3000 is $1,959 so the cost difference is not great. One thing that I find attractive about the RS3000 is that it can actually be installed inline so the installation of a new sub-panel is not necessary.

OK, I understand the price but $600 is substantial in my checkbook, that will by one 130W solar panel or a lot of other things. The difference between a 1000w inverter vs the RS3000 is even bigger. Realistically 3000W worth of inverter is really overkill. Only reasoning for it is to run the microwave and you had better be planning on adding a lot of batteries to do this and not kill your bank quickly. For running your TVs, DVD, Satellite, and the outlets 1000W is more than enough power. I don't ever advocate running high power items (like the microwave) off of inverter power, just start the generator. They need to be exercised anyway. The Prosine 1000 is inserted inline with an existing outlet circuit through the inverter as it has a transfer switch in it, no separate panel needed.

Just my $.02 worth

AllenCrabtree · 11-01-2009, 04:11 PM

All of the literature that I have been looking at indicated that I needed a sub panel. Your description does sound rather straight forward if the outlet circuit powers all of the TV's, DVD, and satellite system. I was just assuming that multiple circuits would be involved thus necessitating the need for a sub panel that is consistent with the literature.

As for my existing converter/charger, it is a model 7465 and from the Parallax website I am unable to determine whether it is a 3 stage charger or not. I am considering switching my coach batteries from 12V flooded to 6V AGM so I want to make sure I have a top end charger so as not to fry such an expensive investment.

NWJeeper · 11-01-2009, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllenCrabtree

All of the literature that I have been looking at indicated that I needed a sub panel. Your description does sound rather straight forward if the outlet circuit powers all of the TV's, DVD, and satellite system. I was just assuming that multiple circuits would be involved thus necessitating the need for a sub panel that is consistent with the literature.

As for my existing converter/charger, it is a model 7465 and from the Parallax website I am unable to determine whether it is a 3 stage charger or not. I am considering switching my coach batteries from 12V flooded to 6V AGM so I want to make sure I have a top end charger so as not to fry such an expensive investment.

Yeah, motorhomes only have one or two general purpose outlet circuits. In the case of our rig (378ts) there is one breaker for all the outlets up the passenger side of the coach (including the refrigerator, TV and all the audio/visual equipment in the overhead compartment). There is a 2nd one for a few of the GFCI outlets but that is only a few and not necessary to run off the inverter. Since the Prosine inverters can be bought with an internal transfer switch you simply reroute the output of the general circuit breaker to the inverter then from the inverter to that circuit. The inverter when turned off will act as if it isn't there and the circuit acts as normal. With the inverter turned on it will sense the shore power and allow it to pass though, however in the absence of shore power (such as dry camping or a loss of shore power due to an outage) then the inverter supplies the AC to that circuit. Works really slick.

I have replaced my 2-12v batteries for 6-6V Trojan T-125s. This requires some metal welding and fabrication skills to accomplish but it is an easy project. I have two 130W solar panels on the roof to charge the bank when dry camping. Has worked well so far but we really have not had a lot of time to get used to it. I really need a good panel mount amp meter system which can sense total bank amps, as well as amperage draw and amps replaced due to solar to get a really good idea of what is happening with my bank. That is next on the list but it involves installing a shunt and the gauges are not cheap, usually around $250.

AllenCrabtree · 11-01-2009, 07:52 PM

Any idea where I can get a wiring diagram on my coach? I noticed a wiring diagram of the battery disconnect circuit taped to the inside surface of my removable steps but that is all I have electrically. If I am lucky, then my coach will be like yours and only one circuit will do the trick. What type of converter do you have? My Parallax 7465 is apparently NOT a 3 stage charger so I am looking at the possibility of replacing it before I switch over to AGM batteries. If I go with AGM batteries, I should be able to mount them into the cargo compartment adjacent to the steps seeing as how they will not need to be vented.

NWJeeper · 11-01-2009, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllenCrabtree

Any idea where I can get a wiring diagram on my coach? I noticed a wiring diagram of the battery disconnect circuit taped to the inside surface of my removable steps but that is all I have electrically. If I am lucky, then my coach will be like yours and only one circuit will do the trick. What type of converter do you have? My Parallax 7465 is apparently NOT a 3 stage charger so I am looking at the possibility of replacing it before I switch over to AGM batteries. If I go with AGM batteries, I should be able to mount them into the cargo compartment adjacent to the steps seeing as how they will not need to be vented.

Alan, Carefully consider the rated amp hours for AGM vs 6V Trojans for price. Trojans come in 3 sizes, T-105, T-125 and T-145. You will probably find that for the money spent per total amp hour might be much higher for AGMs and not worth the dollars. Also, I would be careful about putting too much heavy load in those rotocast compartments. I managed to rebuild my battery box under the stairs of our rig to accommodate 4-6V batteries and two more are up front behind the grill. The two up front are connected to the others using 3/0 welding cable. I checked the Parallax website and in fact if you have the T model then it is only 2 stage. In a year of owning our rig I have had no problems with the charger or batteries on our rig. I do check them once a month though.

The question about wiring diagrams has been asked before and they do not exist. You would have to track down the wiring yourself although I didn't find it to be a big problem. You can find the answer to your other question about circuits by checking out your A/C circuit panel in your rig. Find one that says "outlets" on it. Turn on your TV, DVD, etc. etc. then turn off that breaker and see what happens. I would be fairly sure it will be close to the same as ours.

AllenCrabtree · 11-01-2009, 08:27 PM

Dumb question... where is the A/C circuit panel typically?

NWJeeper · 11-01-2009, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllenCrabtree

Dumb question... where is the A/C circuit panel typically?

Not dumb at all Allen, each floorplan will be different. Ours on the 378 is located just inside the bedroom door down at floor level on the left under our washer/dryer cabinet. The top half is a door that hinges downward.

TulsaSteve · 11-01-2009, 09:04 PM

I'm looking at the ProSine1000. Found it at PPL Motorhomes for $780. So $1200+ savings. (The 1800 is $1060)

From what I'm reading there are two versions. One for inline and one with 2 GFCI plugs. The 1000W handles a surge of 1500W, so I would have 1000/120 = 8.3Amps continuous and 12.5Amps peak of VERY clean power for less than $800 + installation.

I'm still reading / planning so I may change my mind, but for now I'm leaning toward the ProSine1000.

Here is the link with these prices:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...trex%20Prosine

NWJeeper · 11-01-2009, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TulsaSteve

I'm looking at the ProSine1000. Found it at PPL Motorhomes for $780. So $1200+ savings. (The 1800 is $1060)

From what I'm reading there are two versions. One for inline and one with 2 GFCI plugs. The 1000W handles a surge of 1500W, so I would have 1000/120 = 8.3Amps continuous and 12.5Amps peak of VERY clean power for less than $800 + installation.

I'm still reading / planning so I may change my mind, but for now I'm leaning toward the ProSine1000.

Here is the link with these prices:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...trex%20Prosine

Steve, we went with the Prosine 1000w, direct wire with internal transfer switch rather than the GFCI unit. Have been very very pleased with it. Easily runs all our A/V equipment including satellite rec. and the fridge too. I didn't realize that the fridge was on that same circuit so I have to be careful to switch the fridge to LP and unplug the ice maker to save battery power when on the inverter.

I think the biggest mistake most people make in buying inverters is buying way more than they need and when your talking about a true sine wave inverter the price difference between 1000W and 3000W is HUGE! If people just realize that they don't need to power the entire unit and run the generator for the microwave and 1000W inverter is more than enough. A lot cheaper too.

TulsaSteve · 11-01-2009, 09:36 PM

AMEN.. People do overkill instead of doing math. Some folks do need the 3000W, but most don't. I've got a degree in Electrical Eng. so I'm pretty good with the math and know how to chase them there electrons purty well.

Most of the 32" LCD TVs draw around ~100W continuous. So if you've got more than 10 32" LCDs in your RV, you might want to use the 1800W unit.

Now if you want to do some MIG welding at 3AM and you happen to be dry camping or the campground is having a blackout AND it's during quiet hours, I would recommend the 3000W inverter, a trailer with a few dozen 6V batteries and a Power MIG 140C from Lincoln.

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