Adding a hardwired Inverter to my new 5ver....

It doesn't make a lot of difference, but I'd prefer to lift the ground wire from the buss and ground the circuit through the inverter plug.

Thans Lou, I thought so but wanted to be sure. No luck on the back of the electrical panel though. I'm not that lucky.....

If the entertainment circuit is never powered from the load center, by all means lift the ground. If it gets switched back and forth between inverter and load center (shore/genny power), it gets a bit more complex.

Well, I got it hooked up, but all is not well.  The install went as planned and it was actually easier than I had thought.  Very straight forward, and I will post up a few pics after I get the problem figured out.  Here is the issue. 

When I powered up the inverter, all seemed normal at first.  Then as it ran for a few minutes, I not only noticed the fan on the unit running quite loudly (it is supposed to have a two speed fan, and increases with the power demand).  Not only was the fan running on high, the fan was continually surging. Very rhythmically actually.  But really annoyingly so. I have a remote panel that comes with the unit, which displays the input voltage (which was a steady 13.5 volts, as the converter was charging the batteries)  and a power graph that starts at one bar, and climes 14 steps as the power demand increases.  I was pulling one bar, which according to the manual, is a demand of between 50 and 100 watts.  Hardly a strain on a 1000 watt inverter. 

I left it run for quite a while, and the surging never stopped.  It is producing a steady 115 volts as promised, and I checked the outlets with a digital volt meter. I read a fairly steady 114.8 to 115.2 volts.  I turned on the TV and Direct box, and each worked as designed. 

So basically the unit is producing power as designed, but the surge will surely drive me and DW nuts in short order.  Can you guys think of any reason that would cause something like that?

I have had two different inverters in two different motor homes, and neither one ever surged like this one is doing.  And they were both MSW inverters. This one is PSW. 

Ideas???? 

Sarge,

I would call the company that makes it. It sounds like it is defective. The only reason I can think of for surging would be feed wires to small or weak batteries. Even then it should not happen. Are your ground 100% solid? (just shootin in the dark here)

Steve

Yep, all 4 gauge stranded wire, about 3' from the batteries.  And the batteries are two new 6 volts, have been installed about 2 weeks. 

Keep em coming......

Just for kicks, try turning off the breaker for the converter.

Yeah, try it without the converter charging the batteries at the same time. It is conceivable that the inverter load is fooling the converter into shifting charge modes. The voltage can stay steady but the amps being pushed can change.  You could also try it with a higher load and see if that smooths it out.

These aren't solutions to the problem - just attempts to get more data to isolate the cause.

Dennis:
Our small (800 watt) inverter grounded though the battery ground but our newer 1800 watt model uses a separate 110v chassis ground on the outside of the inverter case. Installation instructions should specify a separate ground if required.

Good idea, I will try it in a few (after the neighbors wake up). 

As another side thought, I was wondering if this wold work.  Instead of wiring the entertainment circuit exclusively to the inverter, could I add a transfer switch between the power center and the inverter?  Hook up a length of romex to the original entertainment breaker and run it to the transfer switch, and the inverter to the other side.  Then use the power button on the inverter remotd to turn the inverter on and off as needed. When off the entertainment would automatically get power from the shore power?

That seemed to be the way the inverter worked in my motor home.

You can add a transfer switch - I described that earlier in the thread, but the switch I described was a manual one. If you are willing to pay the freight for an automatic transfer switch, you could have bought an inverter that had one built in. That's a neat solution, albeit a pricey one. You can probably get an external 30A transfer switch on Amazon or ebay for $60-$100.

You shouldn't be charging the batteries while power loads on the inverter. Kind of like dog chasing it tail eventually you'll end up with dead batteries because you cannot produce charging power from the battery in which you trying to charge. It just doesn't work.

Moparman: he is only powering one circuit with the inverter, so it's ok to run the inverter and shore power simultaneously. The way it is currently set up, the entertainment center circuit is powered only by the inverter.

It would be worth it to me to not to have to switch it manually...

Well here is the latest. I tested it with the various suggestions from the forum, but no luck. So I called the manufactuer and explained the symptoms. They determined that is was probably one of the cooling fans is unbalanced.  So I packed this one up today and they are sending me a replacement. 

Hopefully the new one will run as expected. But I still like the idea of the stand alone transfer switch, but I haven't found one yet.

Here's an inexpensive model:
http://www.amazon.com/POWERMAX-PMTS-30-AUTOMATIC-TRANSFER-SWITCH/dp/B006FLT0IG/ref=sr_1_2?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1366897944&sr=1-2

Better know brands run $80-$100 on Amazon, but this one will probably do the job.

I'm a bit mystified about the "flip it manually" comment, though. If you wire the entertainment center such that it is only powered via inverter, you never have to switch anything. No transfer switch and not even a need to turn the inverter on/off. It just stays on 24/7.

Hopefully not a stupid question Gary. My 50 amp wont kill this transfer switch, would it?

SargeW said:

Hopefully not a stuoid question Gary. My 50 amp wont kill this transfer swith, would it?

Click to expand...

If you are just using the transfer switch on the one 15 or 20 amp circuit, it will be fine. Just run the line from the outlets to the common terminals, the line from the power panel to the normally open terminals, and the line from the inverter to the normally closed terminals. Just remember Sarge, don't get excited if you don't see it transfer right away. Most of those transfer switches incorporate a 10 to 20 second delay.

What Dennis said...

Water Dog said:

Just remember Sarge, don't get excited if you don't see it transfer right away. Most of those transfer switches incorporate a 10 to 20 second delay.

Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks. I think I will be purchasing one of the units that Gary found.