Inverter September 18, 2023, 07:05:40 pm I'm thinking about adding a full house inverter along with my solar upgrade. I need a little wiring advice on this one though. I've had experience in adding an inverter-charger but not adding an inverter to a rig with a converter. I have the stock converter (will upgrade to the PD4655) and the attached stock ATS. Do I need to add a second ATS or what? How do I wire this up? Can't seem to find this on youtube or here. Thanks. jor
Re: Inverter Reply #1 – September 18, 2023, 07:47:49 pm I have a whole house inverter, and highly recommend it as part of a solar upgrade, not having to crank up the generator for any of the 120V outlets or appliances makes a huge difference.I do not see an ATS on my invoice from AMSolar, which would suggest a second ATS isn’t needed. As to wiring, I’ll leave that to others who have done the job themselves.
Re: Inverter Reply #2 – September 18, 2023, 07:49:09 pm You can add a second one, but you then need to decide the priority of generator - shorepower - inverter. Note with the inverter, you will not want to run the converter, A/C, or fridge, all of which have 'off' positions. Note that if you have the new ATS powered by the inverter, it will always be drawing down the batteries when on, even if you are not using anything. I wired up a manual switch instead, for that reason. When dry-camped, I keep the converter off except if I need to run the generator to charge the batteries, and I set the fridge to gas-only.Note that changing out the converter is a choice related to proper charging of the batteries and not related to using an inverter. If you have LFP batteries, a good battery monitor will keep up with the heavy current flow with an inverter and give a reliable indication of battery charge level. This is not the case with AGMs or flooded-cell batteries, which will not hold up as well with heavy current draws.Steve
Re: Inverter Reply #3 – September 19, 2023, 10:55:17 am Thanks Steve and Dave. That dedicated cutoff switch sounds like a good way to go. I wonder if there is a three-way ATS that would allow you to prioritize? Still thinking about it.I'm putting in a 12 volt compressor frig (Dometic tipped over on the last trip) so I'll have a constant draw on the lithium batteries. I figured as long as I'm going to all this work, I might as well put in an inverter to energize the 120v outlets. That way I can be all happy like Dave! jor 1 Likes
Re: Inverter Reply #4 – September 19, 2023, 11:18:54 am Look forward to hearing about your 12v compressor installation, it’s on my todo list.
Re: Inverter Reply #5 – September 19, 2023, 12:07:57 pm Now that the old fridge is out, take this opportunity to install better (thicker and higher R-value) insulation than the cheap styrofoam Lazy Daze used. Compressor fridges are usually smaller in outside dimensions than absorption fridges, so if your setup is like mine, you can probably fit several inches of extruded pink or blue foam insulation where LD used less than an inch. That'll help keep your new fridge's power usage down. 1 Likes
Re: Inverter Reply #6 – September 19, 2023, 12:57:27 pm Can you point to examples of the insulation you mention?
Re: Inverter Reply #7 – September 19, 2023, 05:41:00 pm Quoteopportunity to install better (thicker and higher R-value) Wish I could. It's a pretty tight fit. According to the documentation, the frig width is 23.63" and the LD cutout is 23 3/4." Maybe there's some better 1" stuff I could use. Also, I think I'm going to have to relocate or bypass the 120v outlet in the frig compartment. I would just eliminate it but it feeds the dinette outlet. I removed the gas line, and temporarily removed the 12 volt frig wires and my SeeLevel and Victron wiring. I'll reroute them when I see how the frig fits in there. I think I'll use #6 or #8 wire for the new frig. It's a short run but I like the peace of mind.jor
Re: Inverter Reply #8 – September 19, 2023, 05:43:54 pm QuoteLook forward to hearing about your 12v compressor installation, it’s on my todo list.Me too!!! I should get it in a week or so. The frig I'm getting (Norcold N8DC), according to the description, fastens into the compartment just like the absorption did. I'll post how it goes.jor
Re: Inverter Reply #9 – September 19, 2023, 09:06:28 pm A pass-through inverter will simplfiy the installation. The shore power is connected directly to the inverter which has an internal ATS that controls the input and it does not require an additional transfer switch.Better pass-through inverters can also have large internal battery chargers that work great with lithium batteries.We have so few 120-volt appliances that a whole-house inverter would be a waste of money, almost everything runs on 12 volts with the exception of the microwave which is wired to and powered by a 2200-watt inverter. While a compressor refrigerator is a good idea, our 24' FL's roof is not large enough for over 600 watts of solar, too little for a refrigerator and still have enough battery capacity for everything else. With the well-insulated absorption refrigerator, we do not have issues with it running warm. We do run a 40-qt compressor ice chest most of the time Winter or extended camping under trees may still require generator time to keep the batteries up.As Andy pointed out, additional insulation is a good idea for any RV refrigerator..Larry 1 Likes
Re: Inverter Reply #10 – September 19, 2023, 11:30:16 pm "our 24' FL's roof is not large enough for over 600 watts of solar, too little for a refrigerator and still have enough battery capacity for everything else. "Yes, it does take power. My 19' Airstream has 380 watts of solar panels on the roof--all I could fit, and I had to remove a few things to get that many!--and I do OK with my compressor fridge and 260 amp-hours of LiFePO4 batteries.But the fridge in this model Airstream has only about 2/3 the capacity of the Dometic RV absorption fridges that Lazy Daze used, so it draws less power than if it were the usual six or seven cubic feet.I'm OK with that, because I'm single and I don't have a freezer full of meat, but a "full sized" compressor fridge does require adequate solar and battery capacity. I installed one (a Vitrifrigo DP150) in my 27' Lazy Daze, and another one later on in my 27' Airstream, but in both cases I also had 600 watts of solar panels on the roof and larger battery banks.
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