Adding a inverter to our 2010 Bighorn 3055

[Big-B]

Thanks Jesstalkn.

LBR, Yes that is the gas grill but no LP gas is in there.

We are on our way home to Michigan from our winter place in Arizona. The truck has been charging the batteries when we are on the road so still no plug in to shore power.

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There seems to be quite a few RV'ers who think they need to wire up a sub panel if they are running an inverter. I couldn't disagree more. The inverter that I installed has the capability to power both legs of 120 volts, just at a lower amperage. With two legs of 30 amp 120 volts you could run two air conditioners on shore power as long as they are not wired to the same leg. Everything in our rv runs the same on the inverter as it would on shore power. And as I said earlier, we don't run the A/C on the inverter.

 

[danemayer]

Earlier this week I added two more Trojan T-105 batteries bringing the total to six. The idea is that when we have lots of clouds or little wind the extra capacity will come in handy. Here are a couple of pics of the completed install. The battery pic is before I had the wiring all hooked up. With all four panels hooked up I am getting 4Kw a day with full sun. That is more than we typically use. About the only thing electric that we don't run is the air conditioner. The inverter passes both legs of 120 volts through at 30 amps which means the electric system has been reduced from 100 amps total to 60 amps. Still enough to run anything we want to run.

I'm curious. If your inverter is capable of delivering two 30 amp circuits at 120V, that would be 7,200 watts which is pretty significant compared to an Onan 5500 on-board generator.

But I assume that the 7,200 watt expectation has another dependency - how much power the batteries can supply and for how long. If my math is right, that's 600 amps from your batteries - or 100 amps per battery.

How long do you expect your batteries could supply that much power?

Also, you're right that getting an inverter that supplies two output power legs avoids the need for a sub-panel. But of course you are managing what gets turned on and what doesn't when on batteries. With a sub-panel, devices that you don't want powered never get powered when on battery power. So if you don't intend for the water heater to run on electric, with a sub-panel you don't have to worry about someone turning on the electric by mistake and depleting your batteries.

 

[Big-B]

Dan,

I think you need to go back and read what I have posted here. I don't expect my batteries or inverter to supply 7,200 watts of power for even one second. We spent the first 3 months living in our rv running on a 1,750 watt inverter with the shore power cord plugged into it. We don't run the air conditioning off of an inverter. We also don't let children play with the controls. The controls are in a cabinet and my wife and I run them.

What having two legs of 30 amps each does mean when it comes to the inverter is that the transfer switch can handle both legs at 30 amps each. If you have two air conditioners you could even run them both off of this system as long as you have them wired into separate legs and don't expect to run the microwave or blow dryer when they are both running.

And even if someone does try to run too much wattage it isn't like it is going to burn the rig to the ground. The inverter has overload systems built in and just shuts down. I know because I have bumped the switch on the thermostat in the hallway and accidentally turned the air conditioner on. Not a big deal.

Using the same inverter that I am using and wiring it into a sub panel seems to me like a waste of a nice inverter and also gives you dead circuits in the rv. No thanks.

 

[Emtoly04]

Carl would you have pics of your work? Or a diagram? Sounds pretty straight forward but I'd take all the help I can get. Thanks

 

[carl.swoyer]

Carl would you have pics of your work? Or a diagram? Sounds pretty straight forward but I'd take all the help I can get. Thanks

I'll try to get the information tomorrow. Just saw your post

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[carl.swoyer]

I have a Magnum Ms 2812 inverter/ charger with two hot out lines and one hot in. It also has a built-in transfer switch and a 30 amp breaker. I selected two circuits from the main distribution panel 1 runs the kitchen and living room and the other one runs the bathroom and MBR outlets.My two hot out circuits from the Magnum are wired into the 30 amp sub panel and then out to the two circuits( the two I disconnected) from the RV main distribution panel. I then ran a dedicated 120vac line from the RV main distribution panel to the hot in on the Magnum. The hot in allows the Magnum to sense and toggle between shore/ genset or absence of either. The Magnum has pass through technology so the circuit you disconnected are always with 120 vac. My Magnum Inverter has a programmable remote control inside the RV. I can tell the Magnum how much incoming shore power I'm hooked up to. So if only 30 amp the Magnum will charge at that rate. There's a DC shunt fuse Installed which protects the battery bank from any damages from surges.
I'm dry camping with four deka group 31 AGM batteries and two house batteries that are wet cell. So I have two battery banks and two chargers.
My morning star duo charge controller allows me to split the incoming solar to both battery banks. I can program it for the respective batteries ie AGM and wet cells so they charge at the correct rate. The morning star also has pre set charging rate 90/10 % or 50/50 ,so 50/50 splits the incoming solar and goes equally to both battery banks. If one bank becomes fully charged it automatically sends 100% solar charge to the other bank. The morning star duo comes with a remote control and that's inside the RV just below the Magnum controller. Ican monitor both battery banks and the in coming solar amps. I use a 220 watt solar panel which I store in the basement. I'm using 50 feet of 6 gauge Marine wire so when I set up the solar panel I'm able to put it anywhere around the RV in the best sun exposure. On a good sunny day I'm pulling 16 to 17 amps. I do rotate the panel three times a day to stay " square" to the sun. If it's poor sun I Fire the Onan genset for 30 minutes in the am .
Hopefully this will make sense
.

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[carl.swoyer]

My sub panel is installed per instructions and advise by Magnum. It's purpose is to protect the Magnum Inverter from surges.The Magnum also has a built-in 30 amp breaker that protects the other side of the Magnum.
Some inverter charger's have protection on both sides. Mine dose not.
When I contacted Magnum tech support they said the sub panel was required. I figured they designed and manufactured it they must know what is required.
So I installed mine.

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[Big-B]

Re: Adding a inverter to our 2010 Bighorn 3055 - UPDATE

My wife and I are back in the fifth wheel for the winter so I thought I'd update how the inverter setup is working.

After being on the road for a little over 7 weeks we finally arrived at our property in Arizona last Thursday. I got the four 150 watt solar panels out the first night and hooked them up. It has been four days now and I haven't had to start the generator yet. Our 400 watt wind generator is up and running also as of last Saturday. It hasn't been running much yet but every little bit helps. Every day the batteries are fully charged by about 4pm. If they get close to fully charged I turn the refrigerator from LP only to auto and it runs off of the inverter.

One thing that I think bears mentioning is that I installed the Magnum MS2800 inverter without using a sub panel. I did call the factory and talked with the tech. people about it and they said as long as I was protected by the proper breakers it would be OK. I didn't like the idea of having only part of the fifth wheel powered up when it is on inverter power. When I turn the inverter on now everything that works when it is plugged in to shore power works.

The transfer switch changes things over when it is plugged in to shore power. I added a breaker box with a pair of 30 amp breakers so instead of having a total of 100 amps we have 60 amps total. So far it hasn't been any problem and everything works like it should.

If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to try to answer them.

Brian

 

[Big-B]

We have been on our property in Arizona for almost seven weeks now. So far we have used a total of 1 1/2 gallons of gas in our Honda 2,000 watt inverter generator. By comparison, last year we uses on average a half gallon of gas a day. I'm very pleased with this setup.

Brian

 

[carl.swoyer]

We have been on our property in Arizona for almost seven weeks now. So far we have used a total of 1 1/2 gallons of gas in our Honda 2,000 watt inverter generator. By comparison, last year we uses on average a half gallon of gas a day. I'm very pleased with this setup.

Brian

Just curious,
What are your battery readings in the evening when you go to bed and in the am when you wake up. And how long will it take to get a 12.6 Charge with the solar.

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[mlpeloquin]

In my Big Horn 3010 RE, the draw on 120V is 3.5 amps when the refrigerator is running (cooling) on AC so long as I switch off the satellite receiver and the surround sound system. I use a plug strip to do this. If left plugged in and off, the two still draw on amp each on 120V. So make sure that all plugged in items are disconnected when not in use on that breaker. Don't know your setup and what is wired in the breaker with your refrigerator, but you may want to check. I used one of these to check the power draw: https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Ele...51317&sr=8-11&keywords=ac+current/power+meter

 

[Big-B]

Just curious,
What are your battery readings in the evening when you go to bed and in the am when you wake up. And how long will it take to get a 12.6 Charge with the solar.

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Sorry for the long delay in responding to your question Carl. On most days the charge controller display reads 100% when the sun goes down and drops all night until the sun hits the solar panels or the wind generator kicks in. Most mornings the batteries are around 70 to 80%, depending on how much power we use the night before. If my wife uses the instant pot or air fryer or if we are running the ice maker it draws more power and they are lower in the morning.

 

[Big-B]

In my Big Horn 3010 RE, the draw on 120V is 3.5 amps when the refrigerator is running (cooling) on AC so long as I switch off the satellite receiver and the surround sound system. I use a plug strip to do this. If left plugged in and off, the two still draw on amp each on 120V. So make sure that all plugged in items are disconnected when not in use on that breaker. Don't know your setup and what is wired in the breaker with your refrigerator, but you may want to check. I used one of these to check the power draw: https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Ele...51317&sr=8-11&keywords=ac+current/power+meter

Hi Marc,

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. We have a power monitor system that is wired in with the Midnite Solar charge controller so I can see exactly what our power usage is when we are running off of the inverter. I usually don't run the refrigerator off of 120 volt when we are off grid but sometimes the battery bank gets fully charged by early/mid afternoon and if we don't use the extra power for something it just quits coming in to the battery bank.

We did take a weekend trip to Scottsdale and I left the refrigerator on 120 with the inverter powering it. The weather got cloudy and it ran the batteries down further than I like so I fired up the Honda 2000I inverter generator and burned the half gallon or so of gas that was in it to bring the batteries up to a reasonable level of charge. That put us at 2 gallons of gas for the electric that the solar/wind didn't provide us with. Not bad for a 3 month off grid trip.

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I'd also like ot point out that we have had the inverter setup running for almost 2 full seasons now and it had been working flawlessly, even with it being installed without a sub panel. Whenever the inverter is on all 120 volt systems are ready to use. Haven't blown any breakers yet either. It's nice to have everything work just like being plugged in to shore power.

 

[Big-B]

I thought I'd give a little update about the inverter steup. We spent the first two months this winter in a campground with full hookups so the inverter didn't really come into play but we are on our property in Arizona living off the grid for the last 4 weeks. 600 watts of solar panels are hooked up but no wind generator yet. I'm doing a couple of modifications on the tower to accommodate the outdoor part of a weather station. It's all ready to go up but I'm going to wait until next season to put in back up because the solar panels have been keeping the batteries charged with the longer days.

The inverter system continues to work well. Haven't had a single problem with it. I really like having it wired with no sub boxes so that everything that works when we are on shore power works off of the inverter. I can plug the rig in and unplug it with things running and you can't tell the difference. Not even a blink of lights or anything with the television. Have yet to blow a breaker or lose power for any reason. If you are going to install an inverter I highly recommend this setup that I used.

 

[Big-B]

We just spent 7 weeks off grid at our place in Arizona and didn't fire up the generator once. We just used the 600 watts of solar panels. Usually we have a 400 watt wind generator to go along with the solar but this season we were late getting there and the days were long enough to keep us charged. Nest year I'll be putting the wind generator up again and taking advantage of the ample wind in the foothills of the Aquarius mountains.

It's been two years since I installed the system and it has worked flawlessly the whole time. I am thinking of mounting some panels on the roof so I don't have to mess with them on the ground or have them in the way.

 

[Big-B]

Hi Carl. Are those maintenance free batteries in there or do you pull them out of the carrier to water them?

I have a Magnum Ms 2812 inverter/ charger with two hot out lines and one hot in. It also has a built-in transfer switch and a 30 amp breaker. I selected two circuits from the main distribution panel 1 runs the kitchen and living room and the other one runs the bathroom and MBR outlets.My two hot out circuits from the Magnum are wired into the 30 amp sub panel and then out to the two circuits( the two I disconnected) from the RV main distribution panel. I then ran a dedicated 120vac line from the RV main distribution panel to the hot in on the Magnum. The hot in allows the Magnum to sense and toggle between shore/ genset or absence of either. The Magnum has pass through technology so the circuit you disconnected are always with 120 vac. My Magnum Inverter has a programmable remote control inside the RV. I can tell the Magnum how much incoming shore power I'm hooked up to. So if only 30 amp the Magnum will charge at that rate. There's a DC shunt fuse Installed which protects the battery bank from any damages from surges.
I'm dry camping with four deka group 31 AGM batteries and two house batteries that are wet cell. So I have two battery banks and two chargers.
My morning star duo charge controller allows me to split the incoming solar to both battery banks. I can program it for the respective batteries ie AGM and wet cells so they charge at the correct rate. The morning star also has pre set charging rate 90/10 % or 50/50 ,so 50/50 splits the incoming solar and goes equally to both battery banks. If one bank becomes fully charged it automatically sends 100% solar charge to the other bank. The morning star duo comes with a remote control and that's inside the RV just below the Magnum controller. Ican monitor both battery banks and the in coming solar amps. I use a 220 watt solar panel which I store in the basement. I'm using 50 feet of 6 gauge Marine wire so when I set up the solar panel I'm able to put it anywhere around the RV in the best sun exposure. On a good sunny day I'm pulling 16 to 17 amps. I do rotate the panel three times a day to stay " square" to the sun. If it's poor sun I Fire the Onan genset for 30 minutes in the am .
Hopefully this will make sense
.

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[carl.swoyer]

Hi Carl. Are those maintenance free batteries in there or do you pull them out of the carrier to water them?

They are deka group 31 AGM

DEKA GENUINE NEW 8A31DTM Marine AGM Battery 1000Amp Cranking Power (Group 31M)

I have 4 wired together for about 440 amp hours. Maintenance Free
My first set lasted almost 8 years.
If you search for the "Useable" it's exactly the same as the intimidator but alot less money. Factory seconds maybe scratches, missing handles.

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