Residential Refrigerator Inverter External Status Light saved my food!

[jbeletti]

Many have seen the External Status Light I put on my last 2 demo coaches for the Inverter for the Residential Refrigerator.

The purpose of this mod was to know the status of my Inverter and by extension, my Residential Refrigerator while underway. If the light is ON, the likelihood of my Refrigerator being on is very high. If the light is OFF, with absolute certainty, my Refrigerator is also off.

Here's a link to the mod (with parts list and instructions via attached PDF) if anyone is interested in doing it.


So my story of how it saved my food, or at least my ice cream is that early this January, in very cold weather, we left Colorado for Arizona with a refrigerator full of food. During our first day of travel, in my rearview mirror, I noticed my green inverter status light was OFF! As it was VERY cold out, I decided to wait until later to address it.

Thinking through it as I drove, I determined that the GFCI outlet on the inverter was tripped. I came to this determination as I knew the following to be true:
1. The inverter remote switch green LED inside the RV was lit
2. The battery status indicator showed a full battery charge

This told me that the inverter "should" have sufficient DC power but just wasn't producing AC power or that power was not getting to the refrigerator receptacle. There are a few other items downstream of the inverter AC receptacle but they were less likely to be the issue:
- Dedicated mini auto-transfer switch (ATS)
- Wiring from ATS through underbelly, into and through slide to behind refer
- AC receptacle next to refer

While on shore power, I was able to access the inverter and reset the GFCI receptacle. That was the issue.

This happened one more time the next day and I was alerted to same by the Inverter Status Light.

 

[Bones]

Yes I must say thank you for your mod. I copied you but my light just is not very bright at all on mine. I can't see it in sunlight

 

[jbeletti]

Yes I must say thank you for your mod. I copied you but my light just is not very bright at all on mine. I can't see it in sunlight

Dave - glad you copied it. Bummer on the not so bright LED. Daytime is generally when you need to see and know it's on. Simple swap my friend



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[Bones]

Dave - glad you copied it. Bummer on the not so bright LED. Daytime is generally when you need to see and know it's on. Simple swap my friend



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Yes it is. I probably should do the swap. Maybe I can just order a bunch of the lights and try them out. Can you see your's in the daylight?

 

[jbeletti]

Yes it is. I probably should do the swap. Maybe I can just order a bunch of the lights and try them out. Can you see your's in the daylight?

Yes - I can see mine great during the dat. Don't mess around with buying several to try, just get the one I used. Not currently available on Amazon but available today on eBay - link.

 

[Bones]

Ok thanks.

 

[billk263]

Does anyone leave their inverter on when leaving the rv for a night or two to have as a backup in case shore power is lost?


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[jbeletti]

Does anyone leave their inverter on when leaving the rv for a night or two to have as a backup in case shore power is lost?


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I leave mine on (standby) all the time. That way, in case we lose power in the campground while we're out - I'm covered.

 

[LBR]

Does anyone leave their inverter on when leaving the rv for a night or two to have as a backup in case shore power is lost?


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Our inverter is always left on....whenever we are not plugged into 120V (such as days travelling and dry camping) I leave the 15A refrigerator breaker off.

 

[billk263]

Thanks for the advise folks.
I would like to leave it on if I leave the rig for more than a few hours, like overnight or on really hot days as a backup. I hate warm beer


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[asherwin]

Jim, curious to know where your inverter is located and also if you have determined why the GFI receptacle tripped more than once. I located mine on the back wall of the gennie compartment to the right of the gennie and near the top of that wall. So far so good with no GFI receptacle trips, but if there is something I can learn from your experience perhaps I can do something to avoid similar results.

Thanks

 

[jbeletti]

Jim, curious to know where your inverter is located and also if you have determined why the GFI receptacle tripped more than once. I located mine on the back wall of the gennie compartment to the right of the gennie and near the top of that wall. So far so good with no GFI receptacle trips, but if there is something I can learn from your experience perhaps I can do something to avoid similar results.

Thanks

Alan - I'd say maybe once a quarter, my inverter GFCI receptacle breaker would be popped and I have no ideas as to why. Sorry about that.

On my new coach - I'm using the second outlet of the duplex GFCI receptacle of the inverter to power my Internet/Networking gear. So I'll know right away if the breaker is tripped as I'll have no Internet/Network! Perhaps then, knowing when it trips, I can learn more as to why. But hopefully it will be rock solid for me

 

[Nuclearcowboy]

I leave mine on (standby) all the time. That way, in case we lose power in the campground while we're out - I'm covered.

Jim,
If you leave your inverter on when camping, is it the main source supplying power to the fridge or is it just in 'float' mode and picks up if shore power is lost? I wouldn't want to exercise my inverter and batteries constantly if the were the main power source while camping (i.e., wear and tear)

 

[danemayer]

Jim,
If you leave your inverter on when camping, is it the main source supplying power to the fridge or is it just in 'float' mode and picks up if shore power is lost? I wouldn't want to exercise my inverter and batteries constantly if the were the main power source while camping (i.e., wear and tear)

The transfer switch for the refrigerator defaults to shore power, if it's available. When shore power drops for any reason, the transfer switch changes over to the inverter output.

Battery power usage should relate directly to the load on the inverter as shown in this Kisae table.


If the transfer switch is using shore power, there should be no significant load on the inverter or batteries.

 

[jbeletti]

Jim,
If you leave your inverter on when camping, is it the main source supplying power to the fridge or is it just in 'float' mode and picks up if shore power is lost? I wouldn't want to exercise my inverter and batteries constantly if the were the main power source while camping (i.e., wear and tear)

2.5 years like that on my previous coach with no issues. This time, I've also added my Internet equipment (about 50 watts) and power it solely with the inverter. We'll see how long this works

 

[Nuclearcowboy]

2.5 years like that on my previous coach with no issues. This time, I've also added my Internet equipment (about 50 watts) and power it solely with the inverter. We'll see how long this works

Thanks! Good information to know!

- - - Updated - - -

The transfer switch for the refrigerator defaults to shore power, if it's available. When shore power drops for any reason, the transfer switch changes over to the inverter output.

Battery power usage should relate directly to the load on the inverter as shown in this Kisae table.
View attachment 52398

If the transfer switch is using shore power, there should be no significant load on the inverter or batteries.

Thanks Dan for this additional information!

 

[Alan_B]

...On my new coach - I'm using the second outlet of the duplex GFCI receptacle of the inverter to power my Internet/Networking gear. ...

I assume that outlet is behind the refrigerator? I would like to use that outlet to power a cellular booster and jetpack router.

 

[jbeletti]

I assume that outlet is behind the refrigerator? I would like to use that outlet to power a cellular booster and jetpack router.

The refer recept is either behind the refer or in the base cabinet next to it. I elected to run a piece of Romex from my new recept, to the gen bay. I terminated the Romex in a single gang plastic box. Then I used a cord I'd cut off a power strip that had a 3-prong connector on it. I terminated it in the same single gang plastic box and that became my splice box. Finished it with a blank plate. Plugged the 3 prong plug into the unused outlet on the GFCI receptacle on the end of the Inverter.

 

[NWILSON]

The transfer switch for the refrigerator defaults to shore power, if it's available. When shore power drops for any reason, the transfer switch changes over to the inverter output.

Battery power usage should relate directly to the load on the inverter as shown in this Kisae table.
View attachment 52398

If the transfer switch is using shore power, there should be no significant load on the inverter or batteries.

Does the reference to "120AH battery bank" mean a pair of 12v 60AH batteries such as the Interstate group 24 Deep Cycles?

I am giving thought to changing to a pair of 105AH AGM batteries to make unpowered overnights (a.k.a. Walmart stays) after a long day on the road more manageable. After 10 hours on batteries (connected to the tow vehicle) in 90 degree temps the battery status lights said we were at 2/3 power with the 60AH batteries. If my understanding is correct the AGM's would still have plenty of power for the next day's drive whereas the 60AH's would be pretty low by morning without any recharging.

I'm wondering how many days of driving without a shorepower or generator connection the Interstate or AGM's could keep the Inverter going.

Is anyone using something to monitor battery status besides the built-in 4 light scale?

 

[danemayer]

Neale,

Group 24 batteries are probably undersized. A single group 27 battery will get the job done on one of our large trailers, as long as it's in good condition, but notice that Heartland adds a 2nd battery when shipping a residential refrigerator.

My understanding is that the Amp Hours are additive. But I also think that when greater demand is placed on the batteries, the AH decline may be non-linear. So consider that your refrigerator may draw 3-5 amps while the compressor is running (after the initial 8 amp startup). That's 3-5 amps at 120V AC which converts to 30-50 amps at 12V DC. So every time the compressor runs for 10 minutes, it's trying to suck the life out of the batteries, and doing a fair job of it.

When your batteries are brand new, they'll no doubt last longer without getting recharged from the Power Converter. The truck connection provides some power, but at a much slower charge rate than the Power Converter supplies.

You might make it through 2 consecutive overnight Walmart stops, but it could be iffy. 3 I'd bet against. And as your batteries age, everything gets iffier.

If your current batteries show 2/3 charge after 10 hours of driving, you might check to make sure power is getting through the truck/trailer connection.