Inverter questions !

[toynut]

So I have a 15' 1971 scamper trailer, its an oldie but a goodie. Its mostly original - Except for New tires, bearings races seals. Converted the manual water system, to on demand 12V and a porcelain toilet - Keep's the ladies happy ! we basically use it to sleep in cook outside. Have full hook ups for "Glamping " ,but want to do an extended week or so trip in the chilcotin this summer.

Currently running off a single 12V deep cycle battery, and using , my 400 w generator and a Motomaster deep cycle charger to top up the battery every 2 days or so I check the voltage and when it drops to what i've calculated to 50% of reserve capacity it gets a charge - the deep cycle charger is not automatic so this is a pita ! ( I am a light nazi )

I want to not worry if a kid leaves the light on for an hour !
so everything is being rewired this winter, Led light's . I am in the process of researching inverters , I don't want to break the bank , I've calculated my needs to be about 300W continuos.
I realize I should be looking for a pure sine wave inverter and should be looking at double my estimated needs .
I will be switching to 2 , 6V golf cart batteries in series.
I am hoping there is an inexpensive option to method of having the inverter shut off automatically when plugged in at full service sites, it is wired for 20 amp 120V service. 3 lights, and the fridge run off A.C. - the water pump is still on 12V so I need to figure out a method of running the water pump continuously off 12V but allowing the batteries to charge up while on "shore power"

I also want to have the ability to add 12v solar panels later on so I plan on prewiring for this option.
I have completely eliminated the propane system from the trailer so I am not worried about blowing up .
I want to install the inverter inside the trailer in one of the storage areas with some sort of cooling fan.
I do have a Huge assed 120 to 12V converter/charger I got from a trailer that was salvaged. It requires a large volume to keep cool so I do not think its a viable option for me to use.

Any brands you think are great or ones you would stay away from thanks, Kevin .

 

[cruiserpilot]

I would post this down in the expedition section, get some input from the southerners and Australians.
The only concern I had when I decided against any inverter was they draw an enormous amount of battery
power when operating, just a bad idea when sitting and not recharging the batteries. Going to two big 6V
batteries is a good idea, if you have the space you really increase your capacity.
Personally, why are you afraid of blowing up with propane? Propane fridges are very efficient, elec are not, unless
you are using an ARB, Engel, National Luna.

 

[sailor]

Make sure you use quality wire of appropriate size and correct terminations- here is a chart-

Part 1: Choosing the Correct Wire Size for a DC Circuit - Blue Sea Systems

Use appropriate circuit protection in your battery and 12V distribution- Think BOAT! - I would be more worried about burning due to shoddy electrical than Propane as LPG tends to dissipate out of the numerous 'leaks' in the bottom of the average camper before it reaches an explosive air/fuel ratio.

Propane fridge- You are going to go crazy chasing the power demands of that 120V fridge with a cheap inverter and 2 golf batteries. Every time you open the door it dumps out all the cold and the compressor starts from zero. I think your 300W figure might be conservative- the inverter itself has an efficiency loss factor...


I would be tempted to say that the switch to good LED lighting will mitigate your concern about a lone fixture being left on due to efficiency.

An inverter with a power pass through switch will add cost. I have an old ProSine 1800 here for sale with one but $$$.

I would suggest you get an inverter with a manual on off switch and manage it yourself. Many inverters have a low voltage shut down- but it is usually too late.. Are you trying to run a small 120V fridge with the Inverter- if so- don't. Every time you open the door you dump all the cold out and the compressor starts from scratch...

2 Golf batteries will likely give you 215 Amp Hours- you get to use half of that. It is not a lot.

Solar- The trick is the solar controller and panel orientation- get a good controller. We normally camp in the forest- limited solar. Circuit Protection on the solar...

You could install an Ampmeter of appropriate scale (get one with a shunt!) and use it to economize on power...

We only install Outback, Magnum Energy, Mastervolt or Victron Energy products. They are too expensive for your project. I will not touch a Xantrex product. Ever again.

Charger- Automatic 3 stage chargers are nice- The marine ones I get are costly You want the charger to Float at 13.4 V or so to avoid gassing and electrolyte loss. . I would size the charger at at least 10% that of your battery bank size. Since it seems you intend to use a generator to top it up- that means 6-7 hours generator time... I assume you are using a nice quiet Honda or Yamaha generator so you won't go insane? lol.

Sure I cant convince you to revisit the propane fridge?

 

[toynut]

Sorry I should of mentioned , when we are not in a full service site we do not use the fridge, I need to redo the propane at some time , but for now it's been eliminated there were just too many leaks in it. We have a couple of home made "coolers" we get about 3 days of use out of at 35C using block ice. I am going to attempt going the dry ice / water ice combination a few times this summer before heading out on the longer trip. Also looking at an engel/arb fridge .
I will basically only need the batteries to run my water system and 12V lights, we really don't need to add the inverter at all however we want to add some creature comforts like the ability to charge/run a laptop & small LCD T.V. with HDMI cable from the laptop, recharge digital camera, and cell phones .

I also plan on using welding cable 2/0 for the battery to inverter (fused) then Romex or equivalent shielded from the inverter to a dedicated outlet in the trailer with remote on off with from inside the trailer. I plan on using a (red) hospital grade outlet for the circuit supplied by the inverter. I also intend to have a 120v Light inside the trailer and one outside run off the inverter side.

 

[sailor]

Ahh. If just the water pump and lights you will be fine. If you can charge items through a 12V receptacle you would be better- Inexpensive inverters create electrical noise on items such as flat screen TVs etc.

Sounds pretty simple to me- the last battery bank we installed weighed almost a ton...

 

[Antarctican]

2 golf batteries, Magnum inverter (great unit), 50qt ARB fridge with numerous daily cell/tablet recharges, runs for a week no problem. I have a 100W solar panel but haven't really done anything with it yet.