Inverter

[Rollnhome]

Is best to run inverter when hooked to shorepower or turn it off

[pianotuna]

Hi,

It depends on how the inverter is wired and whether it has a pass through function. If it has pass through it essentially is off as soon as shore power is available.

I deliberately added one outlet that is powered by just the inverter in the kitchen. It was great to have access to that to double up on the power I could use while cooking. After all, toaster plus coffee maker plus induction cooker plus waffle maker are not going to play well on a single fifteen amp circuit.

My system does load support as well, so if I'm on a 15 amp shore power supply then I leave the inverter active. If I'm on 30 amp shore power, I may activate the inverter if I know I'm going to be pushing the power to the limit.

Before I had load support I would sometimes run the RV from the inverter while powering only the converter from shore power. That appears to not work with the Magnum inverter as it draws so much power that the reverse polarity fuses fry *right now*. The reason I tried is that the Magnum does not "like" all gfi receptacles. It seems to depend on the particular shore outlet.

[CA_Traveler]

On a Monaco board there are several that always have the charger/inverter turned on. Other than possibly not being aware of a battery discharge leaving it on should be OK.

[Rollnhome]

CA Traveler wrote:
Some always leave their Magnum charger/inverters on. I leave mine on if the power is marginal and we're watching TV. The inverter will take over as needed w/o TV interruption.

But in general if pedestal power is lost or my PI power protector shuts it off I want to know why. Most of the time the issue is low voltage due to inadequate CG power. The PI HW50C displays the fault reason on the remote inside the rig. I then have input as to any possible changes I can make.

I have been leaving mine on for the same reasons. My PI also let's me know the fault if power is lost. I have lost shorepower and not even noticed untill I use a non inverted power source.
I was recently told by a shop that I should not leave inverter running. Hence my question to the forum.

[Chris_Bryant]

For that Magnum, I would tend to leave the inverter enabled, so that it is acting like a UPS. Downside would be if you were away and the power failed, you could run down the batteries, but....
A lot depends on what it powers- ice maker is something I wouldn't need uninterruptable power for- TV, DVD and computer- I would.

[CA_Traveler]

Some always leave their Magnum charger/inverters on. I leave mine on if the power is marginal and we're watching TV. The inverter will take over as needed w/o TV interruption.

But in general if pedestal power is lost or my PI power protector shuts it off I want to know why. Most of the time the issue is low voltage due to inadequate CG power. The PI HW50C displays the fault reason on the remote inside the rig. I then have input as to any possible changes I can make.

[CA_Traveler]

Rollnhome wrote:
I can see I need to learn more about my inverter. It is a Magnum pure sine 2KW. The controller will let me turn the charger or inverter on or off individually.
I need to experiment a bit to see how it is wired.
The answers are greatly appreciated.

You got it. :B A number of the above answers are generic and don't apply to a particular design and setup. Knowing your model number will help.

In general the base Magnum charger/inverter pass through (an internal ATS) AC power and turning on/off doesn't make any difference when you have gen or pedestal power. You will be using the gen or pedestal power.

Leaving the inverter on (it will be in standby) does allow the inverter to supply AC to it's output AC circuits when the gen shuts down or pedestal power is lost.

Magnum also makes a hybrid unit that will supply additional power from the batteries when you do not otherwise have enough. For example you are on a 20A pedestal and exceed it's capability then additional power (maybe running the MW) will be drawn from the batteries.

[Rollnhome]

I can see I need to learn more about my inverter. It is a Magnum pure sine 2KW. The controller will let me turn the charger or inverter on or off individually.
I need to experiment a bit to see how it is wired.
The answers are greatly appreciated.

[RoyB]

I do what MR WIZARD does. I have two dedicated locations in my POPUP TRAILER that runs from my 600WATT PSW POWER INVERTER that is 'ON' all the time.

The Power Inverter does not draw much power when nothing is turned ON using it...

I like the idea of having my electronics and some emergency items running from a 24/7 backup 120VAC source.

Roy Ken

[dahkota]

It really depends on the inverter and how it is wired into your house system. Without knowing that, no one can really answer your question for how it would benefit you.

Our inverter is wired such that it can take over loads if our demand exceeds the shore power's output. This keeps us from tripping breakers and shutting down the entire electrical system. This is particularly useful when connected to 15A or (in the summer) 30A.

Leaving our inverter on is also useful in cases of blackouts, brownouts, power surges, and power lulls. Because it acts as a pass through until needed, it has no effect on battery longevity.

We have an inverter/charger. Turning off the inverter has no effect on the charger. To turn off the charger, we must use the charger breaker. This has no effect on the inverter. We can turn off both the inverter and charger with the inverter/charger on/off button.

It is a good idea to understand exactly how your electrical system works.

[RJsfishin]

Quote:
When you are parked and hooked up to shore power, then all the items are run from the shore power
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Wrong !!!!
Big long answers w/ a bunch of worthless information, then throw "WRONG" info in w/ the mess, and what do you have except nothing that actually answers the OP question.

In reality, it doesn't matter if the "inverter" stays on or off. The small "idle" current draw, has zero effect on batteries while on shore power.
My inverter stays on all the time because it is needed for tv/sat, and all the little phone/pc chargers that need ac current, whether on shore power or not.
Yours may differ.

[sch911]

It varies from system to system. Our Magnum inverter charger has multiple modes too. But it can be left on charge only. We only use the inverter mode if 120v is needed while underway and we are not already running the generator.

[Golden_HVAC]

When you are parked and hooked up to shore power, then all the items are run from the shore power. Many inverter/chargers need to be left 'on' to keep the batteries full.

My inverter has three positions. Off, charge only and set to standby.

Charge only is that, if I leave it there, and run the generator or plug into 120 volts, it will charge the batteries if they need it.

Set to Standby will run the inverter and produce power any time there is not shore power or the generator running. It will also take over power production within 10 miliseconds, and produce 120 volt power when the generator stops or I unplug. This is quickly enough that I can stop the generator while baking bread, and the breadmaker does not know that there was power failure, and keeps making with the same program. But while in set to standby, it will draw about 2 amps from the batteries, even with no load on the inverter output. This can deplete the battery fairly quickly if you just 'leave it on' when not using it to say watch TV or charge a laptop.

So I normally shut off the inverter unless I need to run something, this reduced load on the battery. I only run it as long as I need the power, then off again.

If you must run the inverter to charge the battery, then turn it on as soon as you start the generator or plug into shore power.

Have fun camping!

Fred.

[westend]

Rollnhome wrote:
Great answers thanks. Is leaving the inverter on harder on battery life?

If "harder" is defined as an effect on battery longevity, yes. A battery has a finite number of charge-discharge cycles. Leaving the inverter on increases that number and subtracts from the total.

To further assess how much the effect is on your battery, one would need to know the draw of the inverter and how large your battery capacity is. IOW, a small inverter (< 300W) supplying power to a phone charger and PC will draw very few watts from a larger (>200 AH) battery bank. Along with the other 12V items being powered, it is not that much. If the inverter is larger and it is used to power large draw devices continually, it can greatly effect battery longevity.

[Rollnhome]

Great answers thanks. Is leaving the inverter on harder on battery life?