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Colt View Drop Down
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Posts: 383 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Inverter Installation Help
    Posted: 19 Jun 2020 at 12:42pm
I think you should be looking at an inverter/charger at about 3000 watts and maybe tripling (or more) your PV panels, if you want to go off-grid.  The Inverter/charger must exclude the A/C (it needs a generator or shore power).  It will run the microwave, but not the convection oven part.   Then there is the battery bank, ......
I'd start here:
https://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-information/offgrid-calculator
John
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 7:03pm
Nice job, I like the colored receptacle idea. 
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Posts: 1067 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 6:25pm
I added a small inverter to our 179 for charging laptops, phones and camera batteries. I connected the inverter directly to the battery with an appropriate fuse in between. The inverter is under the bed next to the water heater/water pump, so is about 3 feet from the batteries. The inverter is manufactured  to run constantly, and makes a soft whirring sound. I installed an inline switch to enable me to turn the inverter on/off as needed. I installed 2 120v outlets that are connected to the inverter by use of regular romex cable with a male plug on the end to connect to the female receptacles on the inverter. I used brown outlets, outlet plates and switches so as not to be confused with the existing shore powered outlets outlets(white).  I also added a cigarette lighter type 12v outlet at the same time. You can see the brown inverter switch , the brown 120v outlet, the white shore powered 120v outlet and the 12v cigarette lighter outlet in this picture. the white 120v shore powered outlet has a cord attached that goes to a small power strip that is located at the foot of the slideout.

Vann

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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 1:21pm
I would check the voltage and polarity between those black and red wires with a voltmeter before connecting them but otherwise that should work. Never assume the guy who wired it got it right. 

 Personally I would (and did) swap TV's for a dual voltage one and keep the inverter only for occasional use for other loads but that's me. If you ever fully loaded that 300 watt inverter it would draw about 30A and blow the fuse back at the panel so keep the loads down and bring a spare fuse just in case. 
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Posts: 3 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 12:31pm
This is so helpful guys, thank you. So what I think I'll do is take the black and red wire from the stereo and connect them to these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QDQRD8X/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_z1p6Eb63GGB3N
Mount them where the stereo is which is right near my exsisting tv outlet.

Then get this to plug into the above outlets for my tv and computer and whatever 110v things that arent over 300w. I could probably get away with a 150w inverter though to save more battery while running the inverter but this 300w seems to be the smallest pure sine wave they have. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KQ4Q2L5/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_c6p6Eb83JCEM9
Do you think this is the best way to go? Other inverter options or advice? Thank you thank you thank you!
Sage
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Posts: 6289 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 11:44am
Okay, As for installing a 12V outlet, this is easier by far. I've used the power feed wire to the Jensen stereo unit on ours for a 12V outlet and a double USB outlet. The 12V outlet powers a small inverter I use for the television, and can use to charge laptops if needed. At night, this outlet powers my CPAP machine which is the primary reason I installed the outlet. The USB outlet is used for our phones. Since there is already a fuse on the circuit, I did not add a separate one.

I installed a second 12V outlet near the furnace and tapped into that circuit. This one has two 12V outlets and a double USB plug in one face plate. After blowing a couple of fuses, I looked at the wiring and realized that it is the same size as other wiring with 15A fuses in the panel. I did change out the fuse for a larger size and then put a smaller 10A fuse inline with the 12V outlet setup there. I have not had any problems with it set up this way. Mostly, what gets plugged into this one is a 12V fan (O2 Cool). I originally had my CPAP machine plugged in here as well, but when we turned around to have our heads facing the door side in our 179, it was no longer a good location.

As for using a lamp with an LED bulb, probably not much. Are you talking about a battery powered LED lamp or a 110V lamp powered through an inverter? The advantage of the overhead lights is that you can turn on as many or as few as you need at the time and then turn them off. They are very efficient already. A 110v LED lamp would have the power losses associated with the inverter and so would not save power but would be more likely to use more. A 12V LED reading type lamp plugged into a 12V outlet OTOH, might not be bad as you would be able to concentrate the light where you need it.

As for pure sine wave, it depends. You would be plugging in the power block for your laptop, not the macbook pro directly so any power would be filtered through the transformer in the charger. I bought an inexpensive inverter and have used it to charge our laptops and television, and it seemed to work just fine even though it does not state that it is "pure sine." That inverter is the 150W Bestek MRI1511FU. I also have a 300W Power Drive purchased at a truck stop. In our case, neither one gets used very much. We found the phones get used much more and they get charged via the USB outlet when we park them for the night in the holders I mounted on the wall at the head of the bed.
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 11:21am
I did exactly that, picked off 12V  at the stereo to run the dc fans, dual voltage TV, and usb phone charge ports. You will use more power via an inverter so keep it as small as possible, but it should be OK. Or just get a dual voltage TV and sell the one that came with the trailer on Craigslist. 

The lights in the trailer are already LED so you won't save significant energy by using a separate LRD lamp. 

You should always use a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery connection for safety. Batteries produce hundreds of amps into a short, more than enough to burn up your trailer. The fuse or cb can be much smaller for a 200 watt inverter than a 700 watt one of course, and if you connect to the stereo supply there is already a fuse for that line in the trailer panel. 

My little inverter isn't sine wave but the you can get them now for well under $50 so why not? Sine wave ones are much less electrically noisy and better for your electronics. 
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Posts: 3 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 10:57am
Thanks for all the advice! So scratch hooking up an inverter to the breaker box. I figured this would be an expensive and complicated option. Follow up question: Is there a way to use the existing radio wires or one of the ceiling lights to wire up a 12v outlet and small inverter inside? If I'm just running my tv at night (uses 25-28 watts) occasionally and charging my macbook pro for work, i think i would only need a 100 or 200 watt inverter inside. If i do get a small inverter, do i really need a pure sine wave one? And if i hook it directly to the battery do i still need a circurt breaker switch? I'm just trying to figure out a way to have everything inside the rig if possible to protect everything. I like the idea of just installing cig plugs and plugging a little inverter into them when needed.

Side note: would it save more battery life if i used a lamp with a led power saving bulb rather than the overhead lights? Want to conserve as much battery life as possible if anyone has other suggestions.

As far as coffee goes, I've always used a french press in the past but i drink A LOT of coffee and feel like I'm just always cleaning my press and dumping coffee grounds in my garbage. I thought a small single serve machine would allow me to drink all the cups of coffee without all the mess. Meh, I'll just stick with the french press :) i like the teabags of coffee idea off grid, thanks!
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 10:04am
I use empty tea bags something like below and fill them with my preferred coffee, works great and nothing to clean up afterwards, so it saves water boondocking. 


I have a 300 watt inverter but have never needed to use it camping. I installed a couple of 12V/usb ports and everything runs on those. This one also has a voltmeter in it so you can ignore the idiot lights:


Here is the type of fan I use, you can move them around and clip them to the window valences. 


You can get 12V spitters as well, and 12V extension cords
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Posts: 6289 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2020 at 9:23am
Okay. I misread about the AC and microwave. AC was used in two senses and I conflated the two. Still, I agree that trying to wire an inverter to existing outlets is not a good idea. Use of propane for heating water for pour-over or French Press coffee is a better idea. Also, a stovetop Moka Pot such as the Bialetti Venus which can be used on the propane stove or an induction surface is a good alternative. If you just have to use pods, the Presto MyJo is something you could use with stovetop heated water.
StephenH
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