Inverter in my North Trail

[Sumo]

So, I have installed a 1800 watt Xantrex inverter with 4, 6 volt batteries.
I use this to watch Television in the evening, run a white noise/fan at night and heat up coffee in the microwave without the generator.

I put the batteries in a trunk I bought at Wal-Mart. Installed a vent hose and drilled some 1/2 holes into the lower half of the box for ventilation.

Still need to put in a sub panel. That should happen sometime this summer.

 

[SkyHawk]

I really need to install one of these, I was looking last year and could not decide on how big of an inverter I need and what brand...How did you come up with your choice? and were did you end up putting it? It looks like it may be in the "basement" in your 5th Wheel compartments.. A lot of my camping is off grid and I did end up buying the Champion remote start 3000 watt generator last year but hate to fire up the generator every time I want to use the microwave for a min or two. Any tips or old threads that you know of on how to install? Yours looks very well done with the indicator display well put.

 

[brianharrison]

Very nice - the install looks nice and clean. +1 for the Class T DC fuse (200 or 250 amp?).

Brian

 

[Sumo]

I read over every piece of inverter information I could find online. Looks at different load charts. Tried to determine what I would like to do with the inverter. Watch some TV or Movies for 2 to 4 hrs, run a fan for 10 to 12 hrs, and heat up a cup of coffee with the microwave. Than I guessed at what size inverter and battery bank would work.

Looking back, my inverter could be a little smaller, and my battery bank is a good size.
I did install this in the front basement of my 5th wheel. Seemed like a good place.

I choose the Xantrex inverter because it has a built in automatic transfer switch, and 3 Stage charging. The 3 stage charging is great for bringing my batteries back to a full charge. But, the Bulk charge requires 40 amps and the start-up for the AC needs more than the 18 amps left. So to run the AC and charge the batteries I have to reduce the charging amps to 20.

I did find a great "How To" post on this form, and the Xantrex instillation guide.

Also, The Class T DC fuse is a 200 amp.

 

[brianharrison]

Thanks for the details - well thought out.

All I would add is look at your battery bank to determine the max/min charge rate requirements of the bank. 20 amps may be adequate for your bank. Rule of thumb I have followed is min charge rate of a good 6V deep cell is 0.1C. Here is Trojan's recommeded Maintenance (charge).

Brian

 

[Sumo]

I know that 20 amps will do the job, But 40 amps would be MUCH better.
I only need to drop the charging amps when I'm running the AC.

I did see a 4500 watt Yamaha Generator which would solve my power shortage problems.
And create a hole new set of problems.