12V inverters and wiring?

[LHC30]

SO, this little RV doesn't have an inverter anywhere, just a genset, shore power hookup and a pair of batteries. Im thinking of adding a 1500 watt inverter to run the Keurig and the MW when boondocking so as to not run the generator much. I think I have it sized right in the 1500 with a 2500 w surge, but wiring it in to these two items is the confusing part. I get lost with transfer switches and the like and where in the system wiring to put things. Im pretty handy once I know what needs to be done, but getting to that point I need some help.

What can folks provide to help me understand what I am trying to do and what is the most efficient way of doing it?

Thanks.

 

[Bpracing1127]

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[Singleton]

My trailer was the same.
when I added the inverter, I ran two dedicated lines to feed 3 outlets in total. Kept is simple, one outlet my master bed, one for outside and 1 in kitchen

 

[Mikes56]

Be careful using an inverter with just a pair ( two? ) of batteries to power anything that draws a significant amount of power. It may work for a Keurig because it doesn’t run very long for the brew cycle to complete.
There’s no way that any microwave will run using an inverter drawing from just two 12 volt batteries. You may have to add an additional two batteries if you have room. Four 6V batteries would work great.
Do you have solar panels to recharge the batteries after you’ve used the inverter?

Another option is to get a Honda 2000 generator and hook your shore power to it. Mine runs almost 24/7 when we’re camping, so my wife has 120 volts whenever she needs it, without the big generator running. She doesn’t understand the 12V/120V thing lol.

 

[HB2Havasu]

1500w invertor won’t run most microwave ovens and will struggle running most coffee pots. You’d be amazed how much power the heating elements draw! I would look for a 2500w instead. You might wanna add some solar panels while doing this upgrade or you will be running your generator just about as much as before.

An easy way you can power up your whole rig using an inverter is to simply run a power cord from your inverter and plug into your shore power on your RV if you don’t wanna mess with wiring the inverter into a transfer switch.

 

[Bpracing1127]

My trailer was the same.
when I added the inverter, I ran two dedicated lines to feed 3 outlets in total. Kept is simple, one outlet my master bed, one for outside and 1 in kitchen

How did you run the wires through the walls?

 

[Singleton]

How did you run the wires through the walls?

For the 3 locations I picked, I was able to run the wire underneath the floor and drill through where needed.
I also painted the outlet covers, so my wife knows which are which and if she needs to use one to turn on inverter.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

SO, this little RV doesn't have an inverter anywhere, just a genset, shore power hookup and a pair of batteries. Im thinking of adding a 1500 watt inverter to run the Keurig and the MW when boondocking so as to not run the generator much. I think I have it sized right in the 1500 with a 2500 w surge, but wiring it in to these two items is the confusing part. I get lost with transfer switches and the like and where in the system wiring to put things. Im pretty handy once I know what needs to be done, but getting to that point I need some help.

What can folks provide to help me understand what I am trying to do and what is the most efficient way of doing it?

Thanks.

with out solar, you need to run the gen anyways... the amount of battery draw will be too much... a 1500 is too small to run either and more for a tv,..if you do run an inverter it needs to be as close to the batterys as possible... remember 10 amp 120 v draw is 100 amp 12v battery draw...you're better mof just running the gen in the morning as you will have to anyways,.. even if you figure fuel a 3 bucks a gallon, it would take a couple hundred hours of gen run time to make up for the cost of the invert and such...5 mins of gen time costs about 20 cents...

 

[Tbrownski]

Check out aims inverters. I installed their 2000 watt with an automatic transfer switch in mine and it was pretty easy. For the 120 I unhooked the breaker I wanted to power, ran it into the inverter. Then run another piece of romex out of the inverter and back to your breaker box. It automatically turns off when it senses power coming into it.

I have 4 6v batteries and can pretty much run anything off of it. I installed a 200 amp circuit breaker on the 12v wire and it’ll blow if my wife decides to run her hair dryer or the toaster at the same time the coffee pot is on.

 

[LHC30]

Thanks Steve, I kinda figured the batteries are the weak link. No place to put 6V’s or more 12’s without some major cutting.

Maybe in the future or plan to pick up a newer coach when the post-virus sales happen.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

I put 300 watt solar on my current RV, it came with a magnum inverter.... I also put a 200 ah battery,...the led lights, furnace and tv's run off the inverter when not plugged in or gen on.... but here's the truth,... it's not as good for a gen to sit and not run,... and better if it's run every day,..the solar keeps the battery topped off,..and ready for the night..... but ... gen needs to run for coffee and micro,... about the perfect amount of time and load to keep the gen in good shape... the cost of running a gen is the purchase price..... if it's already there.... use it... it's cheep... other than the noise, I see no draw back... putting solar on my rv was fun,.. but didn't really do much... can't park in the shade... no charge when cloudy, and then still have to run the gen...