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Old 11-20-2016, 09:45 AM   #1
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Inverter generator capabilities?

Hi All

I just got my first RV and planed on setting up an inverter to run all but the AC, and a generator for the AC and charging while boondocking. I've been going back and forth on the subject of standard generator vs inverter generators and inverter generators seem like the way I want to go.

Since inverter generators have an inverter built in, it would be nice if I could wrap all my needs up in one piece of equipment. However in my searching I haven't been able to find anything about their ability to act as just an inverter, while the engine isn't running.

Is anyone aware of a brand that has this feature built in? Or has anyone tried to tie the generators on board inverter to their battery bank?
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Old 11-20-2016, 10:04 AM   #2
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Old 11-20-2016, 02:36 PM   #3
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That sucks if no one makes that or has tried a mod. It seems like all the technology is there.
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Old 11-20-2016, 04:23 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by theguy427 View Post
Hi All

I just got my first RV and planed on setting up an inverter to run all but the AC, and a generator for the AC and charging while boondocking. I've been going back and forth on the subject of standard generator vs inverter generators and inverter generators seem like the way I want to go.

Since inverter generators have an inverter built in, it would be nice if I could wrap all my needs up in one piece of equipment. However in my searching I haven't been able to find anything about their ability to act as just an inverter, while the engine isn't running.

Is anyone aware of a brand that has this feature built in? Or has anyone tried to tie the generators on board inverter to their battery bank?

What do you mean by "all"? Also, we don't know what brand/model RV you have. The way some "larger" 5th wheels are set up now, only the refrigerator is set up to run on an inverter and that's only while the 5'er is being towed to its' destination. And, they usually have a multi-battery bank setup in them to power the inverter. So, depending on the size of your "battery bank", trying to power the entire RV off an inverter won't last very long.
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Old 11-20-2016, 04:58 PM   #5
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You can't use the inverter in the generator off of battery power unfortunately. However, a decent 1500 watt inverter is not that expensive.

I use the following commercial grade inverter: https://www.solar-electric.com/samle...t-1500-12.html and it works great. It is fairly large in size but that is not a bad thing.
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Old 11-20-2016, 04:58 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by rracer5 View Post
What do you mean by "all"? Also, we don't know what brand/model RV you have. The way some "larger" 5th wheels are set up now, only the refrigerator is set up to run on an inverter and that's only while the 5'er is being towed to its' destination. And, they usually have a multi-battery bank setup in them to power the inverter. So, depending on the size of your "battery bank", trying to power the entire RV off an inverter won't last very long.
I planed on running the inverter through the main distribution panel so I could use any part of the A/C system while boondocking. I have solar for to help recharge the batterys and I realize I cant go crazy running everything at once. I didn't go into detail about the RV because the question is about inverter generators no my setup.

The inverter generator is already inverting power so does it matter if the power is coming from the gen. or a battery bank? The equipment is there i'm surprised no one has tried to utilize the inverter that came with the rather than installing another inverter in the RV.
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Old 11-20-2016, 05:43 PM   #7
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The answer to your question is No.

This my help if you are doing your own install and is what we have done on our TT's with 30A service

With the power disconnected from the unit.......

-Transfer switch mounted beside the power center.
-disconnect the main power feed from the main breaker in the control center and feed it into the transfer switch.
-disconnect the 110v side of converter charger from its breaker in the power center and run a length of 14-2 wire from it to the transfer switch. (new single breaker in line between the transfer switch and control center would be recommended).
-connect the shore power and converter charger power into the transfer switch shore input.
-running a new length of 30a wire, connect the transfer switch main out to the control center main breaker.
-now run a 110v line (appropriately sized) from the inverter to the Generator side of the transfer switch.

Everything will now be operational and all outlets in the RV will be powered by either shore or inverter power.
Wired as above the converter charger will now only operate on shore power.
The fridge will need to be turned to turned to propane only when using the inverter or it will default to 110v and kill your batteries very quickly.
Ensure the water heater is also on propane only, if you have the electric option.
You might also look into disabling the heat strip between the fridge and freezer compartments, if your fridge has one. Ours was as simple as pulling the light switch and unplugging the heat strip then re-installing the switch. It uses more power than I wanted to part with, as we run primarily on battery and solar when camping.

A side note; insure you use an appropriately sized fuse and wiring on your inverter, and keep it as close as physically possible to the batteries.
I use 6ft of 0 guage welding cable from the batteries to the inverter with a 150A fuse on our 1500w inverter.

To run your A/C effectively while using anything else in your RV you will need a larger inverter gen in the 3000 watt range. We use a Champion 3100 inverter gen and are extremely happy with it.
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Old 11-20-2016, 06:00 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by theguy427 View Post
I planed on running the inverter through the main distribution panel so I could use any part of the A/C system while boondocking. I have solar for to help recharge the batterys and I realize I cant go crazy running everything at once. I didn't go into detail about the RV because the question is about inverter generators no my setup.

The inverter generator is already inverting power so does it matter if the power is coming from the gen. or a battery bank? The equipment is there i'm surprised no one has tried to utilize the inverter that came with the rather than installing another inverter in the RV.

I asked because I didn't know how much A.C. stuff was in your RV so, was trying to figure out how much the inverter was potentially going to run. Solar does help & didn't know about that either.

Inverter generators have the "inverter" built into the circuitry. There isn't a separate inverter inside the genset.
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Old 11-20-2016, 06:09 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by theguy427 View Post
The inverter generator is already inverting power so does it matter if the power is coming from the gen. or a battery bank? The equipment is there i'm surprised no one has tried to utilize the inverter that came with the rather than installing another inverter in the RV.
There is more to the process than this. You can not use the inverter portion of an inverter generator to convert 12VDC from a battery to 110VAC.
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Old 11-20-2016, 09:34 PM   #10
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There is more to the process than this. You can not use the inverter portion of an inverter generator to convert 12VDC from a battery to 110VAC.
Most inverter generators create high voltage DC which is inverted into AC. The inverters in the generators are not necessarily converting 12volt DC to 120V AC. Some are producing over 150 to 200 volts AC which is converted to DC and them inverted to AC.

I'm a fan of Samlex Inverters which have served me very well over the years with no failures.
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Old 11-20-2016, 10:15 PM   #11
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Most inverter generators create high voltage DC which is inverted into AC. The inverters in the generators are not necessarily converting 12volt DC to 120V AC. Some are producing over 150 to 200 volts AC which is converted to DC and them inverted to AC.

I'm a fan of Samlex Inverters which have served me very well over the years with no failures.
I'm a Xantrex person myself....

The mechanics of an inverter genny are simple really. The generator head (usually 4-7 pole) produces DC (the voltage is dependent on the manufacturer) and that is inverted to line voltage AC (usually 110 / 1 but sometimes 220 / 1) in a residential unit. Unlike a 2 pole conventional generator which must spin at 3600 rpm to produce 60hz, the inverter can spin at any rpm so long as the head is producing more than the threshold voltage required by the inverter module, which is why inverters have what is referred to as an 'economy' mode. The module also controls the engine throttle via a varable rheostat so when the module senses increased load, it increases the engine rpm accordingly.

The other nice benefit of an electronic inverter is it's ability to produce true sine wave current with very low THD (Total harmonic distortion), something a conventional box store genny cannot do.

Finally, those much valued Honda Inverters have Yamaha 7 pole heads coupled to a Honda engine with Honda (Denso) electronics. Yamaha holds the design rights to the head.

I run a Champion. It's cheaper that the other 2 and does the same thing. It may bot be quite as clean in output but you will never know the difference and the Chinese build a great copy.
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Old 11-21-2016, 03:40 PM   #12
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That makes sense. I figured there had to be some reason none of them had that feature. It sounds like a large untapped market.

Thanks for the info.
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