2014 FR3 30DS - Inverter Questions...

[OmegaQuest]

I just purchased a used 2014 FR3 30DS and so far its great.

I have done some research and I am to a point where I am about to tackle adding an inverter and getting my RV ready for dry camping (without solar and with using the generator as little as possible and no shore power).

I will be getting the following equipment:

1. AIMS Power (PICOGLF40W12V120V) 4000W Pure Sine Inverter Charger - http://amzn.com/B00JBND8VK (I figure this should handle anything I need when I need since the Generator onboard is a 4,000 Watt and does fine).

2. 6 x Duracell® Golf Car Battery - Group Size GC2 - Duracell® Golf Car Battery - Group Size GC2 - Sam's Club

I will be running 0 Gauge wire from the Inverter to the Bat and to each bat itself. I plan on wiring it up like this: 3 Sets of 2 x Bat so I should have about 645 Amp Hour at 12 Volt (If I calculated correctly here).

My plan is to use the bat bank to run "Everything" (excluding the AC unit) and once the bat are close to 50%, have the inverter automatically turn the generator on to charge the bank and once charged, to turn it off.

I have already changed out all the lights with LED but other than that, its all OEM.

I plan on running at any time during the day and for many hours: 2 TVs, DISH Hopper, Travelers SK-1000 Dish, DVD Player, DISH Wireless Joey, Xbox 360, OEM Fridge (not on Gas), Water Pump, Water Heater (not on Gas), Microwave (from time to time).... Basically to live in the RV fulltime.

What is a reasonable amount of time that my bank should work? Would running the generator for an hour or two every morning be enough or does it sound like my generator will be coming on every 30 minutes to recharge the bank?

Thanks for all your help guys!

[spock123]

That 4000 watt pure sine wave inverter will not be cheap. It sounds like that generator will be running a lot, it takes a while to charge up a bank of batteries that big from 50%. I would only run them down to 70%. You need solar


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[Slimjc]

You will definitely need solar to offset your usage as well as a very good battery monitor like the trimetric. Perhaps a 600 watt system with all of that usage and battery storage

[ScottBrownstein]

Unfortunately it doesn't work quite that way. Your inverter (that's a lot of wattage) can draw something like 300 amps or more of 12 volts. So, 50% discharge would be 1 hour (more likely you would never use 4000 watts.) Running an inverter for hot water is pretty out there. The problem is that you can't push 300 amps back into the batteries! If you are lucky you can push 75 amps ( or 225 if you have 3 banks!) however, the unit only (only?) has a 100 amp charger. So, best case you can run for 1 hour and then charge for 3. (you will probably never use 4000 watts so this is a worst case calculation as well)

Use LP for the hot water and put 300 to 450 watts of solar on the roof. Get a trimetric and an SC2030 solar controller. Frankly, you could probably get by with a Xantrex 2000 watt inverter and a transfer switch (I have a Xantrex 2000 and a Xantrex 1500, both with transfer switches.)