Inverter setup

[Kbl]

Hello everyone I’m new to the forum so I hope I’m in the right place. My family of 5 own a 2017 keystone cougar 31sqbwe model. We are full time traveling for the next year or two ( maybe longer). Yesterday I installed a 3000 watt inverter to use as we boondock. Everything works fine until I plug the trailer into it. I have a 30amp receptical that I plug the trailer into and I turn off the converter. When I do this the inverter only runs the gfci outlets in the trailer and not the others. Has anyone had this issue before? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[KeithInUpstateNY]

Do you mean a 3000 watt generator? An inverter is used to DC to AC to power things look your television when you are not on shore power and powering everything from your batteries. It isn't a power source.

[Kbl]

Yes an inverter. I was going to use it to run all the recepticals. Right now it will only run the gfci outlets. I turn the inverter off so that it’s not trying to charge my batteries from the inverter. I just don’t understand why it’s not powering all the outlets. It’s just powering the gfci outlets. I hope I’m making sense. Sorry.

[KeithInUpstateNY]

Originally Posted by Kbl

Yes an inverter. I was going to use it to run all the recepticals. Right now it will only run the gfci outlets. I turn the inverter off so that it’s not trying to charge my batteries from the inverter. I just don’t understand why it’s not powering all the outlets. It’s just powering the gfci outlets. I hope I’m making sense. Sorry.

I can't explain why the GFI outlets work and the rest don't, unless all the other breakers tripped for some reason.. But this isn't how we typically do things when we boondock (I've boondocked for five months each of the last three years, on my fourth summer). You have to have some way to recharge your batteries, probably daily, especially with five people. If you don't have a large (800-1000 watt) solar system with all the peripherals you are going to need a generator. The generator is what you plug your 30 amp shore power cord into and the converter recharges your batteries while it is running. Notice I said batteries. When you are boondocking you are going to want two 12V marine batteries wired in parallel or two 6V golf cart batteries wired in series. The inverter is used to power AC appliances when the generator is not running. If you are using it to power electronics like a flat screen television it needs to be a pure some wave inverter so it doesn't damage the electronics.

[Kbl]

I’m right there with ya. I have a inverter generator I use. We have solar also for charging the batteries. We have 2 12v windy nation 100ah batteries running in parallel. I was just hoping to not have to run an extension chord with a strip to plug everything in. The inverter is a pure sine wave inverter. Thanks for trying to help. I really appreciate it.

[chuckster57]

Can you post pics of the inverter? How it’s wired and what features it has are very relevant.

[KeithInUpstateNY]

You're welcome, sorry I made the wrong assumptions. So I'm guessing you are connecting the inverter directly to the batteries? The positive to one battery and the negative to the other battery so you are drawing on both batteries equally.

So, as I said before my first I guess would be the other breakers tripped. Sometimes, often, they only go to the middle and still look like they are on. You have to turn them all the way off and back on. You said you have a 30 amp outlet on the inverter, so it sounds like you are not using a 30 amp to 15 amp adapter to plug in the shore power cord. If that was the case you really only have 15 amps of power to the trailer. The inverter wouldn't trip, but you might be causing a brown out situation in the trailer if you are trying to use more than 1800 watts at the same time.

You said you plug the shore power cord into the inverter and then turn on the inverter. Have you tried turning on the inverter and then plugging in the shore power cord? I always start the generator, wait for it to stabilize and then plug in the shore power cord.

[Kbl]

I will check the breakers. Yes trailer chord gets plugged right into a 30 amp plug. The batteries are connected straight to the inverter. Positive to one battery and negative to the other. I think I turned the inverter on first. I will double check that I did it that way. Thanks

[Kbl]

Trying to figure out how to add pics.

[Kbl]

Pics of the inverter and outside plug

[JRTJH]

I believe your problem is the circuit breaker that controls the converter. On many (maybe even almost all) travel trailers, that circuit breaker is marked, "REC/CON". That stands for "receptacles/converter". So essentially, when you turn that circuit breaker OFF, what you're effectively doing is turning off the converter AND all the receptacles (except for the GFCI outlets)...



If this is your situation, you'll need to rewire the converter to another circuit breaker that you don't need while the inverter is supplying power to the "main panel".....

[cookinwitdiesel]

A better solution would be to wire a switch inline for the converter. Breakers are not really meant to be used as switches and it can lead to them wearing out prematurely.

[chuckster57]

If the inverter has both functions (inverter and charging) the converter should be eliminated from the equation, and I can tell you how to wire it so it will charge when plugged into shore power and provide 110 when inverting for the trailer with everything powered.

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by cookinwitdiesel

A better solution would be to wire a switch inline for the converter. Breakers are not really meant to be used as switches and it can lead to them wearing out prematurely.

This is a good suggestion. You can add an automatic relay that will automatically shut of the converter when the inverter is supplying power.

https://www.amazon.com/Packard-PR341.../dp/B0195V45GO

The link below is a good article which explains this in “solution #4”

http://www.doityourselfrv.com/rv-inverter-install-diy/

[roadglide]

Logan X post explained . Installed mine just that way 3k pure sine with remote on off switch. You have the inverter but your not mentioning pannels , controller, batteries .

[Kbl]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I believe your problem is the circuit breaker that controls the converter. On many (maybe even almost all) travel trailers, that circuit breaker is marked, "REC/CON". That stands for "receptacles/converter". So essentially, when you turn that circuit breaker OFF, what you're effectively doing is turning off the converter AND all the receptacles (except for the GFCI outlets)...



If this is your situation, you'll need to rewire the converter to another circuit breaker that you don't need while the inverter is supplying power to the "main panel".....

That makes perfect sense. I couldn’t make out what the other word was on the breaker panel. Someone hand wrote it. Thank you so much for your response.

[Kbl]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

If the inverter has both functions (inverter and charging) the converter should be eliminated from the equation, and I can tell you how to wire it so it will charge when plugged into shore power and provide 110 when inverting for the trailer with everything powered.

Yes please let me know how to wire that. It is definitely an inverter/charger. I knew that it wouldn’t be good to keep switching the breaker on and off so this would be perfect. Thank you so much.

[Kbl]

This is the first forum that I’ve ever registered with and I am so happy I did. Thank you so much to everyone for the help. Hopefully I can gain some wisdom with this new adventure and am able to help others like you all did for me. Thanks again.