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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Inverter.
    Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 9:50pm
Originally posted by mloerzel

Do NOT run your vehicle while the inverter On!!!, most alternators are around 100 Amps, A hair dryer uses 165. You will likely Melt your car's charging system.
Our F-150 has a built-in 400 watt inverter. It will not allow you to run the inverter UNLESS the engine is on. The current drain at the maximum 400 watts would be over 30 amps. Our alternator puts out ~~ 250 amps.
bp
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mloerzel View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 9:39pm
Inverters are a Tricky subject! I am an Electronic Technician, I did a bunch of experiments this winter: Hair Dryer, Microwave, TV, ect.

My conclusion is that you have Two categories of things you might want to power:
1)Low Current/Wattage: TV, Phone chargers, small Lights(ideally LED's).
2)High Current/Wattage: Hair Dryer, Microwave, ect.
...Forget about anything like Air Conditioner, heaters, stove, crock pot, ect. Unless you have 8 car batteries!

I have 2 Golf Cart batteries(225 Amp Hours) for basic needs: Lights, Pump, Fan, TV, Charging Phones, all Low Current. I run the TV off a small inverter, 300 watts, which is overkill. I might go to a 150 watt. My intent is for the Camper Batteries to last several days.

For High Current stuff, I installed a Great Big AGM battery in my truck. I plug the Camper into a 2000 watt Inverter. I use this (Sparingly) for a Hair Dryer, or Microwave. The battery is 92 Amp Hours(which is Huge!). Either appliance will run a total of 15 minutes, then the inverter shuts down. After that, I still have plenty of power to start the truck... Do NOT run your vehicle while the inverter On!!!, most alternators are around 100 Amps, A hair dryer uses 165. You will likely Melt your car's charging system.
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Tars Tarkas View Drop Down
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Posts: 1446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 11:16am
Let me see if I understand.  The battery died sometime after you left the campground where it had been plugged into shore power.  Did it die while sitting in your driveway (or some place similar), while NOT hooked up to shore power?  If that's the case, the battery can go downhill quickly while the Pod isn't on shore power.  There are phantom drains, notably the CO detector.  If you had the fridge and stereo totally off I'm not sure what else.

Anyway, when not in use there are two choices really.  Disconnect the battery or keep the Pod plugged in to shore power all the time.  I do the latter.  A 20 amp household circuit will work fine for this purpose.  (You'll need an adapter to go from a "regular" (heavy duty) extenstion cord to the 30 amp receptacle on the Pod -- about $10 a Walmart).

What others have suggested may be correct but if my understanding of what happend is right you may just need to charge up the battery.  It's also possible your battery is shot.  There have been cases of people selling used Pods with old junk batteries.

Do you know that current is getting to the Pod when you plug in at home?  That's the other thing to check.  Does the clock on the microwave come on when you're plugged in?  Could be a circuit breaker or fuse at the house....

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XDigger15 View Drop Down
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Posts: 13 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 10:45am
Thank you, guys.  I went out and checked fuses first.  I found that the 7.5 Furnace Fuse and the 15v Fuse above it were Switched!  Neither was blown.  I also checked the two 40v fuses.
HERE IS THE BIG PROBLEM from what I can see now.  
The converter SWITCH (like a light switch, in the fuse panel), is not a strong click, like the others.  I think it is ruined.  What is the fix for that???
XDigger
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 10:43am
Xdigger15,

Friendly suggestion - you would get a lot more visibility to your issue, if when you do have an issue, you start a new topic. Hard to find your CONVERTER question in a post labeled INVERTER. Glueguy and I obviously read posts, so we saw your topic, but a lot of folks won't, because it is hidden by being off subject. Again just a friendly suggestion.
Mike Carter
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 10:36am
+1 to what mcarter just said. Buy, beg, borrow, or steal a DVM so you can check voltages. Most likely your converter (AKA battery charger) is inop. It could be a fuse or something simple, or the converter may have died. As a workaround, you can charge the battery back up with an ordinary battery charger. In a pinch, you could also use jumper cables from your tow vehicle to boost the battery back up to operating voltage.

If you have a friend that knows how to use a meter, buy him or her a cup of coffee for a little help.

good luck
bp
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 10:31am
Sounds like battery is NOT charging. As long as you have a 120 VAC source, with plug and extension cord, the Converter charge circuit should have a source. One thing, very simple, when the charge circuit is active and the battery is low, the Converter fan should be operating. Because the converter gets warm. When plugged in do you hear the fan? The beeping detector is most likely caused by low battery voltage. Do you have a way to check battery voltage? Like a voltmeter. Once you have determined the charge circuit is not working, I would next check all the fuses in the converter, make sure you haven't popped one. I would start with these steps.
Mike Carter
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XDigger15 View Drop Down
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Posts: 13 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 10:14am
Hi all.  I am a NEWBIE. I am also a 50 year old Grandma, who just bought her first camper - a 2010 R Pod 173 Big smile . It's beautiful, and I love it.  However, It did not come with ANY TYPE OF INSTRUCTION MANUAL.  I have been living on the internet, trying to learn about it... and learning a lot by "hard luck trial and error", too.
I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP, IN GRANDMA TERMS:
My current issue (pun intended) is that all my power (battery) died last week.  I had just been camping, and plugged in at a campground March 5-7.  I turned off the Fridge and Stereo... but after a few days, I heard some beeping.  It was a detector (on the wall between the couch and fridge).  I figured it was run on AA batteries, so I ignored it.  Confused 
Question 1:  Why did my battery die so fast?  It appeared FULL while I was at the camp ground.
Question 2:  It is not responding to being plugged up to my house. (30v that came with R Pod, to heavy guage extension cord, to house)
****PROBABLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT I LIVE IN A HOUSE BUILT IN THE 1940'S, AND MY BREAKERS ARE MOSTLY 20V, WITH 2 30'S JOINED (I THINK) TO RUN A FEW THINGS, AND 2 50'S TO RUN MY WORKSHOP.  
Question 3: Should I go to a camp ground, and plug up today, just to see if my converter is still good? OuchOuch
Sad Grandma today.
XDigger
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ToolmanJohn View Drop Down
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Posts: 451 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jan 2018 at 5:36am
Most automotive batteries will be VERY limited in what they can provide for wattage. 

Simplified:  Volts X Amps = Watts (power)

Battery 12VDC @ 100 AMP discharge rate would provide 1200 watts.

Inverter 120VAC @ 10 amps = 1200 watts.  Ignoring inverter efficiency and some losses.


If you have (2)  6 VDC golf cart batteries, you can get more current, and run a bigger inverter  BUT, not for very long. You could perhaps run a microwave (1500 watts) for a while. Or hair dryer, or electric toaster, or etc..


 I know a guy (A/C technician) who installed 8 (EIGHT!!!) Marine/Starter batteries on the rear bumper of his camper. Custom fabricated the holders and had the bumper welded and reinforced. He discovered it really made handling bad.

 He also discovered that he could only run his A/C for about an hour before the inverter shut down. Battery levels dropped too low to run the inverter at that output. 

But the good news is he can run the LCD TV practically forever if he doesn't use AC. I didn't even ask how he charges them all. Probably individually.
2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler
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Posts: 62 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 2018 at 1:25pm
Figure out what is needed, including motor start-up and other surge needs, plus a safety margin, and size accordingly. On the road I can keep our single 12V deep cycle charged, and that meets our needs for road trips. We have done a week off-grid with our free Zamp solar panel (45W?). We don't use 110V unless at a full site. My Tacoma has 400W 110V available in the bed (factory installed) if I need that. So far that has worked for our needs. Only once have we felt the need to use the air conditioner, though.

I like the technical discussion, but why buy more than you need?
Life is good.
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