Inverter/Charger Emergency By-Pass?

[LewisB]

I just replaced a Xantrex RS2000 inverter/charger with a new Xantrex Freedom SW 2012 inverter/charger. These units "do it all" (invert dc to ac, charge batteries, transfer generator & shore power). Unfortunately, when they fail, you "loose it all" related to ac - no inverter, no battery charge, no generator, no shore power - everything ac does not work.

Is there a way to "by-pass" one of these units in an emergency? The Xantrex unit has an "AC Input" (power from generator or shore) and an "AC Output" (supplies power from inverter, generator, or shore) to the main AC distribution panel. If I were to jumper these wires, wouldn't that effectively just take the Xantrex out of the circuit and allow the generator and/or shore power to work? I could then use a stand-alone battery charger to keep the batteries charged until I could get the unit replaced.

Your comments would be appreciated!
LewisB

[bobbecky]

Is your rig a 30 amp or a 50 amp system? I see the unit you replaced is a 120 volt 30 amp, and if your rig is also 30 amp, then you can probably connect the line and load side cables to run power directly to your rig's panel, if that is where the load side cables go to. I'm a little surprised that there isn't a bypass feature built into these units.

[LewisB]

The trailer is a standard 50A system that will also except 30A shore power with all the normal load restrictions. The inverter is connected to the 30A supply side just as if it were 30A shore power. It will also produce 100 A of DC power to charge the batteries when the generator or shore power is available. We use this system to run the TV, minor appliances, USB chargers overnight, wake up coffee, etc. We typically run the generator once a day to charge the batteries or if we need a major appliance.

I too was surprised that there is no emergency bypass system. But your 30/50 question made me realize that I only tested the failure using 30A shore power. If I had 50A shore power for testing, I wonder if the trailer system might have worked normally without the inverter. Since I have replaced the inverter unit, I guess I’ll never know. And I definitely need an operable 30A system since 50A supply is not always available.

Thanks again for your response.