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Space heater trips inverter breaker (R-Pod 195)

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Pod_Geek View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Pod_Geek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Space heater trips inverter breaker (R-Pod 195)
    Posted: 17 Dec 2019 at 4:20pm
Hi all,

Took our new 195 on its maiden voyage over Thanksgiving and immediately tripped something (GFCI?  Breaker?) on 30-Amp shore power using a space heater plugged in to one of the outlets next to the bed.  Ok, my bad, even though the same space heater worked fine in our previous TT, a 2015 T@G.  Had the TV on also, so that must have put it over the limit.

So...every outlet was dead, including the one the refrigerator used (which it turns out was on the GFCI circuit).  Here's the funny part...GFCI not tripped.  The 15 Amp breaker on that circuit not tripped (reset twice anyway just in case).  Pulled the outlet and it looked (and smelled) OK.  All other electric worked, including lights etc. that run off the battery and other 120V circuits (e.g., microwave worked fine).

Upon return took it to the dealer who after checking the usual suspects initially said they'd have to pull the bottom off and find the burned wire or wires.  Then called back an hour later and said that a 12-Amp breaker on the Inverter had tripped, and that was the culprit.

So my question is why would that circuit have anything to do with the inverter?  When not on shore power none of those outlets were live, so my (possibly faulty) assumption was that the circuit was supplied by only 120V power.  The fact that the fridge on that same circuit does not work off 12V battery power by design only strengthened that belief.  One nagging aspect of this is that there is an on/off switch for the inverter above the microwave...maybe when that's on there is power to the outlets supplied from the battery?  I never switched it on.

Thanks for reading through this...I still obviously have a few things to learn about RV power systems despite the reading that I've already done in an effort to fully understand these beasts.


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Post Options Post Options   Quote furpod Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 7:19am
Find a new dealer.
RPods do not have inverters. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Pod_Geek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 8:55am
Originally posted by furpod

...RPods do not have inverters. 

Under Options in link below (R-Pod 195 Full Specs):

110W Solar Panel with Inverter


Ours has the solar panel...
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Post Options Post Options   Quote furpod Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 9:48am
Then I stand corrected, that is a brand new option that I have not seen yet.. I will have to try to track down a 195 and investigate...

Did the dealer show you this inverter? or show you an outlet it controlled/fed?
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Pod_Geek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 9:56am
Originally posted by furpod

Then I stand corrected, that is a brand new option that I have not seen yet.. I will have to try to track down a 195 and investigate...

Did the dealer show you this inverter? or show you an outlet it controlled/fed?

The dealer did pull the inverter and take a pic of the 12A breaker.  They seem to be as confused as I am, maybe because this is such a new model and they haven't dealt with many.

I did find this in a Forest River forum.  It pertains to a MH, but may be relevant.  I'm in the process of emailing FR asking if the inverter does in fact power only some of the outlets.

In our MH not all outlets will work, only a few a hooked into the inverter. A simple way to check is turn on the inverter and take a night light and try all the outlets, bet you will find some will work, others will not. Make sure your not hooked up to shore power when you do this. In ours, some in bedroom, entertainment center will work, while ones in kitchen will not.

Since I never turned that inverter switch on while not on shore power I don't know if some outlets would be live.  I only tested them with the switch off...
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Olddawgsrule Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 1:34pm
From what I know, little, it's only a 1000 watt inverter. The inverter should have tripped as it was over-loaded, not the fuse on the feed line. This raises concerns of the inverter. All the inverters I have owned scream at me if I over-load or they are under-powered. 

Does anyone know the brand of inverter? Then of course a model number so it could be investigated further? 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote TheBum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 3:06pm
Yeah, a 12A breaker seems small for a space heater.
Alan
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Pod_Geek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 3:38pm
This just gets weirder.  The Forest River folks said this:

If your solar controller [is on] then everything will run off of that even if you are plugged in. you will have to turn the controller off.

That just makes no sense to me.  Heck, I don't even think the controller can be turned off, but I'll have to check.  As I mentioned, I tested the microwave on shore power and it fired right up, and I think it's on a 20-Amp circuit.  Also, my understanding is that the solar is dedicated to charging the battery, not running any appliances or outlets.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I would hate to think that I'm limited to 12 Amps on the GFCI circuit that includes all outlets and the fridge.  I guess that's not a huge drop from the 15 Amps that the breaker label indicates, but still...

If anyone's interested it's a Go Power GP-PWM-10-SQ controller, and I see no way to turn it off in either the manual or specs, and I certainly didn't notice a power switch while I was operating it.  It's a 1000-watt inverter...not sure of the brand.

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Post Options Post Options   Quote TheBum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 4:21pm
Are you sure he didn't say "CONverter"? A solar charging system would need to have a converter to adjust the solar voltage to a battery charging level. An inverter would jump the solar power input up to 110 VAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Pod_Geek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Dec 2019 at 4:31pm
Originally posted by TheBum

Are you sure he didn't say "CONverter"? A solar charging system would need to have a converter to adjust the solar voltage to a battery charging level. An inverter would jump the solar power input up to 110 VAC.

No...I pasted the verbatim reply in my post.  I did ask them for clarification.

It is confusing, because the inverter would take 12V DC battery power and output 120V AC, so there is some reason to believe that the outlets could be powered by solar via the battery.  The solar panels of course produce 12V DC that is stored in the battery.  Still, why would the system use the 120V AC from the inverter when there is shore power available, especially when there's a 12-Amp limit on the inverter?
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