Inverter powers only TV's ???

[FloridaNative49]

I have a 2012 Adventurer 37F. It appears that the inverter (Xantrex Pro1000) only powers the TVs, Sat, VCR, etc and one receptacle beside the passenger seat. Is this normal? Your experience...... I understand if it won't run a Microwave/Convection or a Toaster, but at least a coffeepot in the Kitchen/Galley area???
Thanx.

[BobC]

I'm not familiar with the specifics of your year/model but what you describe is typical. Depending on the wattage of your coffee maker, your 1,000 watt inverter may not be up to the task and, even if it is, you'll put a pretty heavy load on your batteries. If you draw 800w, the draw down in amp-hours is 67 amps x however long you run the coffee maker (in fractions of an hour). It's probably better to just run your generator long enough to brew some coffee or, better yet, use the stove. A French press makes wonderful coffee.

[powercat_ras]

There will be an couple of outlets from the inverter besides one behind the TV, likely one by the passenger seat, one where you would put a Cable TV box or Sat TV box if you used one, and sometimes one in the bedroom by the bed.

You can get a 14 Gauge grounded extension cord to run from an outlet you find that works to your coffee pot location. Shorter the better.

You can get 4 cup coffee maker at WalMart that uses well below 1000 watts to make coffee off the inverter. Depending how much power you use overnight and how good your batteries are, it may start to low voltage alarm or worst case shut down before your coffee is made.

The cheap toasters WalMart sells also use well below 1000 watts to make toast off the inverter.

They both cause the inverter to draw a lot of 12 volt amps but not for all that long so it works.

Can get you by in the morning until quiet hours end and you can run your generator, or if you have solar to recharge your batteries over the day.

[Podivin]

The inverter in mine only powers the TV outlets also.
If you have a 12 volt power point (cigarette lighter style) somewhere near the galley you could get one of the inexpensive inverters to plug in to that power point so you can make some coffee.

[Jim_HiTek]

Like others, my inverter only powers the cabinets above the dash where the entertainment devices are. The TV, satellite receiver, automatic satellite dish controller and power supply for the dish, etc..

The reason for this is that it takes a good 5 minutes for everything up there to come back on line after a power outage. A real frustration if you're watching a game or the weather channel during a storm and power goes out. The inverter keeps all that stuff working during a power outtage long enough for you to decide if you need to start the generator.

Mine was designed and spec'ed when there were still tube TVs so now that I have an LCD type TV, there is extra power up there, but it's just not convient to run an extension cord.

I'd guess that the extra outlet by the passenger seat in your rig was meant for a piece of medical gear. With a 1,000 watt inverter, you can get 8.3 amps max so it's not meant for heavy duty. And all the entertainment equipment should be unplugged if you want to use the outlet for a coffee maker which uses 1,000 to 1,500 watts (8 to 12.5 amps) while brewing.

[747Driver]

On my ole '03, 33V, the passenger outlet was not wired to the inverter. Took me about 15 min, to figure out how to wire it in so the DW can have an inverter plug available when driving.


BTW, the wires for the passenger plug run thru the plug up in the entertainment center, where the inverter is. I just used wire from the inverter to the wires to the passenger plug. So easy, amazed WBGO didn't do it then, now they do.

[John Locke]

The purpose of powering only a couple of plugs is to mitigate running the battery down too fast. For every 120W of AC power consumed, that's about an 10 to 11amp draw from your battery. A standard small car battery is about 50 amp/hours. That means the battery will supply 5amps (60 watts) for 10hrs, reliably. With two 12V batteries in parallel this doubles to 100amp/hr or 5A for 20hrs (100 watts). With two T105 6V golf cart batteries in series, this increases to about 200amp/hour.

A battery should not be discharged at a higher current draw than it's amp/hour rating divided by 10 in order to get maximum battery life out of it. So if you have a 100Amp/hr rating, use no more than 10Amps (120W) for 10hrs before recharging back to full. In the case of T105 golf cart batteries, that's 20 amps (240W) over 10 hours.

You also have to factor in some added power loss due to the efficiency of your inverter. The above numbers didn't include inverter losses.

[Ret.LEO]

This is long watch but good.
It will take care of your needs without a doubt..............will also drain your wallet for a extended period

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMvuJr1TzxE&t=188s

[BobC]

Originally Posted by John Locke

The purpose of powering only a couple of plugs is to mitigate running the battery down too fast. For every 120W of AC power consumed, that's about an 10 to 11amp draw from your battery. A standard small car battery is about 50 amp/hours. That means the battery will supply 5amps (60 watts) for 10hrs, reliably. With two 12V batteries in parallel this doubles to 100amp/hr or 5A for 20hrs (100 watts). With two T105 6V golf cart batteries in series, this increases to about 200amp/hour.

A battery should not be discharged at a higher current draw than it's amp/hour rating divided by 10 in order to get maximum battery life out of it. So if you have a 100Amp/hr rating, use no more than 10Amps (120W) for 10hrs before recharging back to full. In the case of T105 golf cart batteries, that's 20 amps (240W) over 10 hours.

You also have to factor in some added power loss due to the efficiency of your inverter. The above numbers didn't include inverter losses.

Good summary. I think a lot of folks think an inverter is some sort of magic appliance that will let you run off battery power as conveniently as running off shore power.

[Ret.LEO]

Confused as heck!.............nothing new though

So the question(s) I have is for a whole house inverter, a auto gen start, 480 in roof panels for solar what is a better set of battery's? a pair of AGM's or a pair of Lithiums? or pair of 6 volt golf cart battery's? The Agm's with the gen auto start set to come on at 50% charge remaining, the Lithium's with the gen auto start set at 30% charge remaining?
Do AGM's require maintenance? Are 6 volt golf cart batteries wet cells that need fluid added periodically? Wish my son would have graduated a electrical engineer instead of Civil now!

Electrical (especially solar) is so constantly changing in RV's with all the new gadgets and then throw all the new apps..........no way I can keep up with it. I have to trust the expertise of others (just got rid of my flip phone two years ago)

[powercat_ras]

If your current RV situation is 2 coach batteries, then the most cost effective incremental upgrade is to replace them with 2 Costco Golf 6 Volt 200 Amp-Hour Golf Cart Batteries wired in series for about $ 150. However, they are taller than the standard NAPA batteries Winnebago uses, so measure your battery space and make sure that golf cart batteries will fit.

Personally I use 4 of the Costco Golf Cart Batteries in my Class A for 400 Amp-Hour, with 600 watts of solar to replenish them when boondocking. Having the additional batteries helps hold DC voltage when running my 3000 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter to run the microwave oven. Also allows me to rarely if ever run the batteries below 50% charge remaining which greatly extends their lifetime.

I have a modern PowerMax PM3-100 Converter Charger along with a Windy Nation TrakMax 30L 30 Amp MPPT Solar Charge Controller, and also have a BatteryMINDer OBD-12 On-board de-sulfator. With this equipment I am not having to add distilled water to the batteries.

[cseagle57]

We have a 2015 itasca Suncruiser 37F which is pretty much identical to the Adventurer 37F. We have a reaidential refrigerator and were told at the dealrship that the inverter is what runs it when we arent hooked to power. Would that not be true?

[John Locke]

Originally Posted by cseagle57

We have a 2015 itasca Suncruiser 37F which is pretty much identical to the Adventurer 37F. We have a residential refrigerator and were told at the dealership that the inverter is what runs it when we aren't hooked to power. Would that not be true?

Yes, an inverter runs a residential type fridge when not connected to land power. When boon-docking it's important your batteries are monitored through the day unless you have a auto generator start system to charge the batteries when they get low. Check the battery water levels regularly when in use, like once a week if boon-docking a lot.

[Leevormelker]

Originally Posted by Podivin

The inverter in mine only powers the TV outlets also.
If you have a 12 volt power point (cigarette lighter style) somewhere near the galley you could get one of the inexpensive inverters to plug in to that power point so you can make some coffee.

Nice thought but an inverter the plugs into a 12v outlet is very low power, not enough gusto to run Any heating appliance😣, toster, coffee pot, cup heater. They all draw 2 to 3 times what a 12v outlet inverter can supply. In my case I too had a Winnebago sighteer 30a with a dedicated entertainment 1000w inverter. I upgraded in three stages, a) added 4 deep cycle house batteries, b) added a second 2000w full sinewave whole house inverter, c) installed 900w of solar. Now I have a power system that can make coffee and be quiet. Lee