Well well well. What an interesting day. I was painting a wakeboard winch this morning then started building the shipping crate when USPS showed up under Amazon's whip. The delivery guy and I had a slightly interesting conversation which made me realize, there is something about my bearded, long-hair appearance that makes people feel comfortable dropping the F word in casual conversation with me (same deal yesterday at Harbor Freight) and I dont mind so its meant to be. He dropped off the inverter and several other parts from the order and I was pleased.
Once I finished Phoenix Winch activities I turned my attention to the new parts. I took probably the first ever photos of the AIMs 120V input/output wires to see what it was all about. The manual says "discharge capacitors before opening the case" and if you doubted whether I was a professional installer you can be sure now that you see I had the tool to discharge them in my toolbox (that, paired with the knowledge how to use it). They had no charge so opening the case I went.
Then I started looking in the trailer for where I was planning to mount the inverter. I started by tracing the ac line. Here is where mayhem set in. If you didn't know, I have a thread on this forum addressing mouse stench issues. Then add to that the fact that while I've been researching this issue I arbitrarily noticed the silicone caulking around the bath tub was separating from the walls. I noticed a large group of mouse **** behind the converter.
That lead to pulling the converter, then the heater, then the f'n tub. I destroyed the super cheap tub plumbing getting it out- another shame on American Freedom. But there is a silver lining. Among vacuuming out decaying mouse babies, I believe we have vacuumed out 99% of the remaining mouse excrement in the trailer and another win- found a potential spot for the inverter. To seal the deal, we wiped the areas clean with bleach, and then vinegar when we ran out of bleach, and then I bought the urine neutralizing spray from a pet store and saturated all the "hot spots". I am truly optimistic we've eliminated the mouse stench but only time will tell.
So thanks for reading this lengthy update! What are your thoughts on mounting the inverter in the large cavity behind the converter?