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Old 11-09-2014, 09:53 AM   #1
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Need advice with our 3000 watt inverter in our fifth wheel Cedar Creek

We installed a portable inverter and secured it in the front of our fifth wheel. Bought 4 deep cycle batteries, vented them and thought we were golden. While we were plugged into shore power we wanted to put a small heater by our water pump ( in Mass until Christmas). It ran for about 4 hours without an issue then the voltage went from green to yellow for about another hour. Then it went from yellow to red for about 30 minutes then to red. We thought since we're were plugged into shore power the converter charger inside the coach would keep the batteries charged. Could this be that we don't have a smart charger?
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Old 11-09-2014, 01:27 PM   #2
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If you're plugged into shore power, why is the heater not running off of that? I don't think a converter can keep up with keeping the batteries charged if you're running the heater off the inverter.
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Old 11-09-2014, 03:00 PM   #3
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You would be pulling about 125 amps on your 12 volt side of your inverter if you are using a 1500 watts heater. Most likely your converter is rated at 55 amps max output. So you can see that your converter would not be able to keep up and batteries will drain.
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Old 11-09-2014, 03:55 PM   #4
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Your transfer switch is backwards. There is a primary and secondary input. Even if you're on shore power and it's in the secondary position, you're still running off the inverter/batteries. Switch the inputs, or make sure your inverter is not turned on when on shore power.


Wait a sec.. I was assuming your inverter was , routed through your power distribution panel, that may not be the case as I just re-read.

If you are saying that you plugged your heater into a stand alone inverter and where expecting your shore power to keep your batteries up to match the load.. then no. Your coaches power converter can not keep up with that high of a draw. Best to just use a regular coach 120v outlet to run your heater when plugged in. The inverter is not necessary.

One of the above should apply :-)
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