Go Power! Solar guestion

[Flybob]

What are you measuring the voltages against ( where are you putting the probes)?

I suggest you have a professional look at this for you. One of the issues with 12VDC inverters is that people can get careless as they are not connected to short power they can forget they are still dealing with 120VAC.

[Trobec]

Originally Posted by Flybob

What are you measuring the voltages against ( where are you putting the probes)?

I suggest you have a professional look at this for you. One of the issues with 12VDC inverters is that people can get careless as they are not connected to short power they can forget they are still dealing with 120VAC.

I agree.

[Trobec]

This is the inverter I have.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0761...o_pop_mb_pd_t2

[Flybob]

From one review of the product:
also found the documentation for grounding this unit not entirely accurate. Which could provide a user who might not have a device which has a ground indicator on it to assume that they were safe, when in fact a short could put them in danger of electrical break dancing. The documentation suggest that the unit can be grounded via a bolt and nut provided on the underside of the unit. What it doesn't tell you is that the outlets on the front of the unit internally are in no way connected to this bolt. Thus connecting anything to this bolt on the outside of the unit to any type of grounding structure would be futile. Included in this is the wired block on the front of the unit. Mercifully I noticed that connecting the block ground to the otherwise grounding nut, and then the grounding nut to a grounding structure the circuits for both front outlets amusingly were grounded.

[Trobec]

Originally Posted by Flybob

From one review of the product:
also found the documentation for grounding this unit not entirely accurate. Which could provide a user who might not have a device which has a ground indicator on it to assume that they were safe, when in fact a short could put them in danger of electrical break dancing. The documentation suggest that the unit can be grounded via a bolt and nut provided on the underside of the unit. What it doesn't tell you is that the outlets on the front of the unit internally are in no way connected to this bolt. Thus connecting anything to this bolt on the outside of the unit to any type of grounding structure would be futile. Included in this is the wired block on the front of the unit. Mercifully I noticed that connecting the block ground to the otherwise grounding nut, and then the grounding nut to a grounding structure the circuits for both front outlets amusingly were grounded.

So I need to run a ground wire from the ground block to the nut that is on the back of the unit that I have grounded to the frame?

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Trobec

Well,when I probe the wires with my multi meter I'm getting the same voltage from each of the outside wires and no voltage from the middle one. I will see if I can get some form of tech support. There isn't a brand on the inverter and the manual is worthless. It does say it provides 40 amps. Don't know if that makes any difference with my 30 amp trailer.

Watch this video, then read the article below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxlmF7YsEhQ

Mike Sawisch: How to Avoid Tripping a Generator With a Bonded Neutral.

[Trobec]

After some research I found the red wire is hot,the yellow wire is ground and the black wire on the block is neutral. However I am getting voltage through the black wire. I will run a wire from the yellow wire to the ground on the frame and see if that does the trick after work.

[Trobec]

When I measure the voltage on the AC side of my 3000 watt inverter,I get 126v on the hot side and 54v on the netural side. The place I bought it from said that is normal. 54v seems like a bit much to me. Any thoughts? I'm by no means an expert on electrical things but my friend who is an electrician said it didn't sound right. However,he doesn't have experience with inverter voltage and how they work.

[Trobec]

This is the response I got from the seller when I asked about the voltage.

Thank you for contacting me. You mean the red one （live wire）you get 126v and the black one ( neutral wire ) you get 54v, right ? If so ,it's normal. And please note not to connect the yellow line.It's earth wire. Can you please tell me more details such as your loads and their watts? And how long did it work well? Did it fail at the first time you use it? How did you connect the inverter with batteries and your loads? If convenient, can you pleasen send me some pictures? And can you send me pictures of the conditions of the inverter, such as the led readings and condition of red and blue light.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Trobec

When I measure the voltage on the AC side of my 3000 watt inverter,I get 126v on the hot side and 54v on the netural side. The place I bought it from said that is normal. 54v seems like a bit much to me. Any thoughts? I'm by no means an expert on electrical things but my friend who is an electrician said it didn't sound right. However,he doesn't have experience with inverter voltage and how they work.

Put your GFCI tester on it. It sounds like an open neutral.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxlmF7YsEhQ

[Trobec]

Originally Posted by rk06382

Put your GFCI tester on it. It sounds like an open neutral.

Ok. That statement and the video don't help me in any way. How do I fix it is what I want to know.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Trobec

Ok. That statement and the video don't help me in any way. How do I fix it is what I want to know.

After reading Amazon, you may be able to fix-it. Is your Inverter UL listed? If it is not, I would send it back. I would not install a non UL listed Inverter in my RV. Life is to short.

If your volt meter does not read 120v & 0v from your inverter like below, send it back. You can not fix it.

[frankraney]

Originally Posted by Trobec

So I have my 200 watt solar panel all up and running and it's working great. So I decided to add a 3000 watt inverter. I hooked the inverter to my 2 trojan t105's using 4/0 welding cable with the longest cable at 18 inches. I then wired a 30 amp plug to the inverter using a dryer pig tail. So I plug into the 30 amp plug then plug into the trailer after turning off the breaker to the converter. Evertime I do this it trips the ground fault in the bathroom. Can't figure out why.

The ground is probably wrong on your dryer plug.....trace the ground all the way.

[Trobec]

Originally Posted by rk06382

After reading Amazon, you may be able to fix-it. Is your Inverter UL listed? If it is not, I would send it back. I would not install a non UL listed Inverter in my RV. Life is to short.

If your volt meter does not read 120v & 0v from your inverter like below, send it back. You can not fix it.
Attachment 176794

Yeah. I'm sending this one back. When I asked about it this is the response I got.

Dear Troy, Thank you for your kind reply. In fact, these two lines are not differentiated as live line and neutral line. Inverter AC output is the same as the electricity generated by the generator. Therefore, it is normal that the black line has voltage. And for red light blinking,It is very likely that the input voltage is too high and the inverter is in high voltage protection mode。 It is related to your battery voltage and we cannot adjust it. If the inverter works, you can leave it alone.
When I run my generator I get 120v from one side and 0v from the other side. 54v on netural doesn't cut it.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by Trobec

This is the inverter I have.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0761...o_pop_mb_pd_t2

I am no expert in Inverter TEch but I have read that some inverters cannot be ground bonded and the lack of same or wiring leads being reversed may be setting things off. My simple test to avoid questions of which lead is which I plug in one of these 1 Electrical Receptacle Tester AC Outlet Plug 3 Prong Circuit Analyzer GND Open | eBay

It answers the questions people are asking you here. Possibly if this unit cannot be GROUND BONDED, you have a problem there. Looking straight in to an outlet with center or Ground [lug hole down the Neutral is the wide slot on the left the slot on the right is the "hot". Now I know that is confusing with alternating current it matters, because the Ground and the Neutral should at some point back in the system, (AND NOT IN THE RV PANEL BOX) be cross connected to the ground. Thus the other is called the hot. Voltage from Ground to Neutral should be zero and voltage from ground to HOT should be 120 v as should the voltage from Hot to Neutral.

In a house wiring, that Cross connection is supposed to only occur at the MAIN PANEL. If you use a sub panel to set up an RV hook up, that box SUB PANEL is not ground bonded. It relies on the Ground bonding back at the main panel.

In your RV the Inverter becomes the MAIN PANEL so, internally, it needs to be Ground Bonded. If it is not and cannot be,(as I have read, some cannot) then it may be unsuitable for RV use.

Buy the little tester first and or try to plug your trailer straight in to the inverter outlets with a good 30 amp to 20 amp DogBone and see if that works. If it does not pop the GFI then your 30 amp socket is just not correctly wired.

Good luck and be careful

Tom

[Trobec]

Originally Posted by Tom48

I am no expert in Inverter TEch but I have read that some inverters cannot be ground bonded and the lack of same or wiring leads being reversed may be setting things off. My simple test to avoid questions of which lead is which I plug in one of these 1 Electrical Receptacle Tester AC Outlet Plug 3 Prong Circuit Analyzer GND Open | eBay

It answers the questions people are asking you here. Possibly if this unit cannot be GROUND BONDED, you have a problem there. Looking straight in to an outlet with center or Ground [lug hole down the Neutral is the wide slot on the left the slot on the right is the "hot". Now I know that is confusing with alternating current it matters, because the Ground and the Neutral should at some point back in the system, (AND NOT IN THE RV PANEL BOX) be cross connected to the ground. Thus the other is called the hot. Voltage from Ground to Neutral should be zero and voltage from ground to HOT should be 120 v as should the voltage from Hot to Neutral.

In a house wiring, that Cross connection is supposed to only occur at the MAIN PANEL. If you use a sub panel to set up an RV hook up, that box SUB PANEL is not ground bonded. It relies on the Ground bonding back at the main panel.

In your RV the Inverter becomes the MAIN PANEL so, internally, it needs to be Ground Bonded. If it is not and cannot be,(as I have read, some cannot) then it may be unsuitable for RV use.

Buy the little tester first and or try to plug your trailer straight in to the inverter outlets with a good 30 amp to 20 amp DogBone and see if that works. If it does not pop the GFI then your 30 amp socket is just not correctly wired.

Good luck and be careful

Tom

I tried one of those testers on my inverter last night and it had all the lights lit up on it at the same time. ALL of them. I'm going to see if I can get a refund on this unit. It just doesn't seem to work in a way that I feel comfortable with. Even tho it runs my tv and coffee pot ok I just don't want the worry associated with using it.

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[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Trobec

I tried one of those testers on my inverter last night and it had all the lights lit up on it at the same time. ALL of them. I'm going to see if I can get a refund on this unit. It just doesn't seem to work in a way that I feel comfortable with. Even tho it runs my tv and coffee pot ok I just don't want the worry associated with using it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Forest River Forums mobile app

If you get a new one, make sure it is UL 458 listed for RV use.

[Trobec]

Originally Posted by rk06382

If you get a new one, make sure it is UL 458 listed for RV use.

Will do. Thanks for the info!

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