Does my inverter have to be ON?

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john owens

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Dec 14, 2015
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palm springs ca
Pulled the rig out of storage now my brain went there. Do I need my inverter powered on..(has built in charger..4 stage) to charge my 5 house batterys or will the panels (4) take care of this on there own? I can't remember...disturbs me a little. THANKS!!
 
You mention five house batteries. That's very unusual.

Normally you will have two or four or six batteries.

Are you sure there are five house batteries?
 
Hey Guys..I have the Magnum 2000 w INVERTER with a built in charger. The factory charger was discounted by Discount Solar when I got the panels put on the roof. I have the tristar 45 amp controller. Yes I have 5 series 31 Exide batterys. That's all I had room for keeping the batterys as close to inverter as I could. So..My rig has been in full sun for 3 days but the batterys were struggling and they are 1 year old. Now I did discover my controller was getting too warm and had a yellow and a rd lamp glowing. I am gonna add some cooling 12 v fans this week. But I can't remember if I need the inverter energized to charge up my batterys. Or can it stay off when parked along side the house...Sorry for the confusion.
 
Short answer: no, the inverter should not be on unless you're boondocking and need 120 volts to power something.  Solar power goes through the solar controller directly to the batteries.

Leaving the inverter on places a drain on the batteries.  The inverter itself has a standby power draw whenever it's on, then there's the power used by whatever is plugged into it.  Even phantom loads from things that are nominally off but remain in standby mode to do things like respond to a remote control, display time on a front panel clock, etc. quickly add up.

Another factor is the inverter can't invert and convert/charge at the same time, so if it's left on while you're plugged into power it can't charge the batteries.

The fact that your solar controller is warm says it's working hard to send power to the batteries while the inverter is drawing power out of them.
 
The "inverter" is this case is also the converter and charger, and those functions need to be "on". Some brands and models of inverter/charger have On/off controls that include the converter and charger functions, while others only switch the "inverting" function.  John Owners needs to check the specifics for his Magnum, but most Magnum models will automatically perform charging whenever 120v power is available to it.  I know the MS series Magnums work  that way - the On/Off switch controls only the invert function and not charging.  The indicator lights on the Magnum's panel will show that it is charging (slow flash or on solid).
 
The last two aswers are informative but conflicting. When I have the inverter on and fire up the genset..the charger kicks in and sends up to 83 amps into the batterys. Same thing when on shore power until batterys are fully charged. When on shore power or generater I don't need to mess with inverter on or off. I am just looking to get maximum return on my solar install. If I was a full timer I probably would have this figured out but once the rig is in storage info goes South.
 
When boondocking, if you have an inverter OFF switch (leaving the CONverter/charger ON), then by all means turn it off if you're not using AC since, as Lou says, it will draw some juice even when nothing is running. Basically, this is what Lou said. Gary's post didn't conflict with Lou's, and was explaining that not all units work the same, and it clarified certain things, primarily that if the ON/OFF switch on the inverter also switches the CONverter/charger, then you might not want it off.
 
I was not being critical sorry if it seemed that way. I ask questions and am glad to receive answers. The only way I turn my inverter on/off is with the wall mounted Magnum remote that was installed inside the coach. I am going to get that meter with shunt that gives me SOC to keep an eye on things. Lots to keep track of with the solar equipment. Any more info appreciated guys..Thanks again!
 
I believe the inverter will ALWAYS charge the battery, if needed, when it is receiving 120V power.  The wall mounted remote will control the INVerter function, but will not affect the charging function.  If the inverter is getting 120V power, then the ATS should have the inverter function off.  With no 120V power, you may choose whether or not to use the inverter to provide 120V power, using the wall remote.
 
Not sure if to start a new discussion or post this here.  I added a 2000 watt inverter to my Winnebago Adventurer, It is connected directly to the house batteries.    If I were to run the TV & DVD from it while driving, would this run my house batteries down too low after several hours of driving, or should  the alternator be sufficient to maintain their charge?  How would I know it I am running them down too far to be able to start the generator if needed?    I guess I should be able to use the Auxiliary Start switch to help boost the house batteries if needed, just like I can do the opposite to boost chassis battery from house?  I have two 12v house batteries.    (The TV would be viewed in back by grandkids not by me driving)
 
The alternator should keep up with that fairly easily, but it's hard to be sure because those aren't the only loads the alternator has to service.  With headlights on, dash fan running full blast, etc., there are additional load to be met.
 
If you have a gas-electric refrigerator, make sure it's in gas mode and not Auto so it doesn't switch to electric when it sees voltage from the inverter.  This can add 300-600 watts to the inverter's power draw, or 30-60 amps at 12 volts, a significant load for the vehicle alternator to carry.

And if you have an electric option on the water heater, make sure it's off.  If it cycles on it can draw 1500 watts, or 150 amps from the house batteries.  This is almost as much as cranking the main engine for a similar amount of time.

Both of these also hold true when you're boondocking and use the inverter, too.
 
Good points there Lou. Brings up something I experienced when I had my 400 watts of panels put on the roof. They put in a dedicated subpanel with breakers for circuits the inverter would be supplying power to. I noticed my 2 way fridge did not run on inverter power. I was going to complain/ask questions about this but after reading your post about the power draw on the fridge I guess it worked out for the better. I do not have a residential refer thou,just the RV Norcold.
 
Right.  Residential refrigerators use much less power, it's much more efficient to just push freon around than it is to boil a water-ammonia mixture, wait for the ammonia gas to condense, then do it again.
 
I believe you mentioned you have a Tristar 45 amp solar controller.  I suggest you get your solar controller manual out and make sure it is turned on.

Additionally, you need to take a multi meter and check the voltage coming out of your solar controller when the sun is shinning on your panels.

When you say your batteries are struggling, please reply with details.  Have you measured the voltage and is low or won't fully charge. 

You just took the RV out of storage.  Do you know what the status of your batteries were when you took the RV out of storage?  Could they have been totally discharged while in storage? 

And, yes, you really need a battery monitor to measure the amps in and out and the total AH's in and out if you are going to be boondocking. Otherwise you are flying blind on your battery SOC
 
Hey Al. Seems all is well with my system I believe I mentioned my controller was showing two LED lamps which the manual explained was caused by a warmer than desired compartment where my system is installed on my 37F winnabago. The storage compartment right next to the entry steps is my chosen spot for the extra 3 batterys I installed. Plus the tristar 45 amp controller is there along with the 2000 w magnum inverter. I am in the process of adding a blower motor fan setup to aid in keeping things cooler. Its very warm in our area all year round, especially during the summer. The longer I have this setup the more I learn about it. Also asking questions here is most helpful. Thanks for chiming in!!
 
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