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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: No power from Gfci
    Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 3:16pm
Ok, so the inverter bypass circuit is getting power via circuit breaker 5. There is a 16A (or a 12A depending on which document you read) breaker on the inverter that has to be reset if you have a fault or overload that circuit. 16A is a kinda weird cb rating. What is the current rating of cb 5, they should have the same current running through them? 

When there is no shore power and you are running in inverter mode, the output is limited to about 1000w/8A continuous. There is apparently no cb for this mode, it is internally monitored by the inverter and is reset by cycling the power button off and back on. 

Over to the 12Vdc side. The unit is supposed to be supplied with minimum 4 awg wire protected by a 100A inline fuse. Did FR install that correctly? Hopefully the fuse is at the battery where it should be??? 

BTW, the 100A looks to be the correct number based on the 1kw continuous rating and the 86% efficiency, but 4 awg is too small for 100A, it should be 2 awg. Also, I would bring a spare 100A fuse along, fuses and cb's should be sized 25% larger than the continuous load they might see to prevent nuisance tripping.  
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
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richardb09 View Drop Down
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Posts: 14 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 2:33pm
So the inverter is plugged into a single AC outlet that is a right next to it hidden.  Is that outlet always hot when shore power is applied?  I haven't opened up the area again to get back to the inverter to check with a multimeter.
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Pod_Geek View Drop Down
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Posts: 261 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 2:24pm
Originally posted by richardb09

2021 RP-190 inverter (WFCO model WF-5110R)...

Yup

Website:

https://wfcoelectronics.com/product/wf-5110r/

This is interesting:

From specs: 

Output Power
Protected by fuse: 12A/125V Circuit Breaker

From manual:

AC Circuit Breaker

The AC output of the WF-5110R Inverter, when in Pass-Through mode, is protected by a
resettable circuit breaker (see Figure 1 below). A 16A/120 VAC breaker is located on the
upper right on the unit’s rear panel. The breaker will trip in a high current situation. Should a
breaker trip, reduce or remove the connected AC load and reset the circuit breaker. Re-start
the inverter and check for proper operation
2020.5 R-Pod 195 Hood River
2018 RAM 2500 6.4L
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richardb09 View Drop Down
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Posts: 14 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 2:06pm
- With shore power applied and breaker 5 OFF there is no power to the outlets until I set the remote control switch for the inverter to ON.  

- With no shore power applied until I set the inverter remote control switch to ON then the inverter supplied power to the outlets.
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 1:28pm
Hmmm. Possibly breaker 5 is supplying shore power to both the inverter transfer switch (and therefore the GFCI receptacles) and the fridge ac element. With shore power on you could try shutting off that breaker and see if that causes the inverter to come on to feed the receptacles. 
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1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
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richardb09 View Drop Down
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Posts: 14 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 1:21pm
2021 RP-190 inverter (WFCO model WF-5110R)

Breaker 1 - 30 amp Main
Breaker 2 - 20 amp Air Conditioner
Breaker 3 - 15 amp Water Heater
Breaker 4 - 15 map Microwave
Breaker 5  - 15 amp GFCI, Refrigerator (did not seem to trip when inverter 12 amp tripped)
Breaker 6 - 15 amp Converter

There is not a breaker labeled specifically Inverter

2020 RP-190 inverter (WFCO model WF-5110R)
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 12:55pm
Thanks, that info might be very handy for others in the future.

Re transfer switch vs pass through, either the grid or the inverter has to be creating the 60 cycle ac waveform. If you are running on the inverter and the shore power is off then the inverter is doing it. If the shore power is on the grid is doing it. Some inverters are designed to synchronize with the grid when it is on so they can run in parallel with it, but I doubt FR uses one of those because they are pretty expensive. An automatic transfer switch is cheaper but that means that when you are on shore power the inverter is shut off. 

If there was a circuit breaker for the inverter ac transfer switch it would hopefully be in the panel and labelled that way. I doubt that there is a breaker in the panel for the inverter output because normally all circuit breakers are connected together on the input side which would connect the inverter and shore power together bypassing the transfer switch, which would not be good. But I suppose it is possible FR did something to allow them to do that. If there is a breaker in the panel labelled for the trailer receptacles that would be a good hint. 
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1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Pod_Geek View Drop Down
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Posts: 261 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 12:12pm
Originally posted by offgrid

Just learning how the new rPods with the inverter option are wired. Let me try to summarize, any of y'all who have one can confirm or correct me.

Inverter is rated at 1kW continuous output. [Rated at 1000W, yes.  Continuous...assume so]
Inverter has an internal automatic transfer switch for shore power. [Not sure that it isn't a simple pass-through, but don't really know...need enlightenment here]
Circuit breaker for transfer switch is 12A [Might be simply for any current passing through]
Therefore, the inverter circuit is limited to 12A on shore power [Correct] and 8A (1000 watts/120V) in inverter mode. [Assume so]

All receptacles in trailer are on the inverter circuit. [Yes on my 195]
Outside receptacle is on the inverter circuit. [Yes on my 195]
Microwave is not on the inverter circuit. [Correct on my 195]
Air conditioner and water heater ac heating element are not on the inverter circuit. [Almost certainly not on my 195]

Do I have that right?

Does the ac panel have a dedicated circuit breaker which supplies the inverter transfer circuit? [Don't know]
Are there any other circuit breakers located between the inverter and the receptacles? [Don't know]
2020.5 R-Pod 195 Hood River
2018 RAM 2500 6.4L
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 6:20am
Just learning how the new rPods with the inverter option are wired. Let me try to summarize, any of y'all who have one can confirm or correct me.

Inverter is rated at 1kW continuous output.
Inverter has an internal automatic transfer switch for shore power.
Circuit breaker for transfer switch is 12A
Therefore, the inverter circuit is limited to 12A on shore power and 8A (1000 watts/120V) in inverter mode.

All receptacles in trailer are on the inverter circuit.
Outside receptacle is on the inverter circuit.
Microwave is not on the inverter circuit.
Air conditioner and water heater ac heating element are not on the inverter circuit.

Do I have that right?

Does the ac panel have a dedicated circuit breaker which supplies the inverter transfer circuit?
Are there any other circuit breakers located between the inverter and the receptacles? 
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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richardb09 View Drop Down
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Posts: 14 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Oct 2020 at 8:24pm
The inverter had tripped it's built in 12amp breaker cutting power to the GFCI outlet.  Once the breaker on the inverter was reset I could reset the GFCI outlet. The hardest part was finding the inverter.
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