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Pod People
Senior Member
Joined: 22 Sep 2011
Location: Chapel Hill,NC
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Posts: 1088
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Topic: Adding a small inverter Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 9:14pm |
I connected our 750 watt inverter directly to the battery(with an appropriate fuse in between) with large diameter wiring. There is an inline switch that turns it off completely so there is no parasitic drain. the inverter has 2 standard 120v output outlets. I connected each one to double outlet capable of 120v. The inverter switch and inverter outlet plates are brown while all other standard plates are white. That way, there is no confusion as to which outlets are connected to the inverter. We use it primarily to recharge phones, computers, batteries,etc. Vann
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Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179
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pedwards2932
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Sep 2020
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Posts: 333
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Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 9:43pm |
I want the inverter right where the TV is and I already have a USB charge port so it will be easy to change over to add the 12 volt recepticle. If I put it at the battery it is all the way at the front of rpod.
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Pod People
Senior Member
Joined: 22 Sep 2011
Location: Chapel Hill,NC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1088
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Posted: 06 Nov 2020 at 8:27am |
In our 179, I installed the inverter under the bed and next to the water heater. From there, I used 12/2 electrical wire to a newly installed outlet that is next to the tv. the other newly installed outlet is under the couch , readily available for recharging devices. The outlets are not located where the inverter is located. Here is a picture-note that the brown outlet is the inverter outlet
here is the inverter located under the bed platform
here is the switch for the inverter and the second inverter outlet-again, note that both are brown
hope this helps
Vann
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Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179
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pedwards2932
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Sep 2020
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Posts: 333
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Posted: 07 Nov 2020 at 4:17pm |
I got my inverter and plug unit in. It looks like it has 16 gauge wiring. The factory wiring for the USB plugs looks more like 18 guage. I think I will try to run new wiring so it is 16 gauge the whole way. How hard is it to fish a line down to the converter?
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 07 Nov 2020 at 5:58pm |
16 awg is only good for 13 amps. So that's 150 watts dc, about 120 watts ac taking inverter efficiency into account. 18 is only good for 10A so 120w dc, around 100 w ac. That's a little borderline but should be enough for the TV. I'd suggest running heavier gauge wire like maybe 12 gauge as long if you're pulling wire anyway, then you'd have better capacity if you ever needed it. You could try using the existing 18 awg to pull the new wire back with.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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pedwards2932
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Sep 2020
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 333
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Posted: 09 Nov 2020 at 6:36pm |
Well I got it done today. When I pulled the wires for the old USB plug I found they were attached to some 12 guage wires. I wired up the new usb/12volt plug unit. I had to cut the panel a bit for it to fit...used oscillating saw made quick work of it. Tested with the inverter and TV works fine. I think it came out pretty nice.
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 09 Nov 2020 at 6:53pm |
Looks good.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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JA-Pod
Newbie
Joined: 28 May 2019
Location: Raleigh NC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 35
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Posted: 08 Dec 2020 at 11:18am |
Hi Vann, like your setup with the TV lowered, for the mounting bracket is there solid wood behind the wall in this area or did you have to go through the closet and add additional support?
Also your shelf and the support across the side wall how did you mount this, into the AL support behind the wall?
thanks
john
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John & Allison
R-Pod 179 (2017)
Nissan Frontier SL V6 4.0 (2019)
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Pod People
Senior Member
Joined: 22 Sep 2011
Location: Chapel Hill,NC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1088
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Posted: 09 Dec 2020 at 8:56am |
John- I got your private email befor I looked at the Forum. I answered your questions in the private email Vann
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Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179
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SailorDude
Groupie
Joined: 06 Dec 2020
Location: Washington
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 48
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Posted: 31 Dec 2020 at 10:51pm |
I'm looking to do the same thing but I'm looking for a 12 volt plug that has 2 usb ports as well as a voltage display for the battery. Any recommendations on what plug I should use to upgrade the normal 2 usb port plug in an RPOD to have a 12 volt, 2 usb and a battery voltage display. I have a RPOD 176.
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