Shore Power Converter/Charger

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by pfreeman

I am pretty new to van electric systems and have a question that is relevant here. My van came with shore power , a power converter/charger , but the inverter was fried so I have never used an inverter. My question is - since I have 110 outlets and a microwave that automatically are powered when plugged into shore power, what do I need to wire in a new inverter so that I can have those same outlets and microwave fire up when the inverter is turned on? Thanks

Is your charger/converter separate from your inverter, or an all-in-one inverter/charger? Makes and models would help tremendously.

Your van has a transfer switch that switches your 110VAC from the inverter to shore power when you plug shore power in.

Odds are high that if you have a separate inverter and charger, you also have a separate transfer switch. If you have a inverter/charger combo, the transfer switch is built in to that unit.

All that being said, if you have separate components, you can just buy an inverter and wire it in, or remove the transfer switch, converter and inverter and replace it with a combo inverter/charger.

If you have a combo unit now, it probably makes sense to just replace the combo unit with another combo unit.

Are you sure that the inverter is toast? What makes you think that?

[pfreeman]

Originally Posted by boywonder

Is your charger/converter separate from your inverter, or an all-in-one inverter/charger? Makes and models would help tremendously.

Your van has a transfer switch that switches your 110VAC from the inverter to shore power when you plug shore power in.

Odds are high that if you have a separate inverter and charger, you also have a separate transfer switch. If you have a inverter/charger combo, the transfer switch is built in to that unit.

All that being said, if you have separate components, you can just buy an inverter and wire it in, or remove the transfer switch, converter and inverter and replace it with a combo inverter/charger.

If you have a combo unit now, it probably makes sense to just replace the combo unit with another combo unit.

Are you sure that the inverter is toast? What makes you think that?

Boywonder - thanks for the info ! It was a separate inverter and the previous owner actually removed it - so there is a space for it with wires running to that space. I got a xantrex prowatt 2000 to wire back in. Sounds like I need to verify that there is a transfer switch in there somewhere. Thanks again.

[Dirk Mitchell]

Man you guys are awesome!
I was looking at some normal AC power panels and then I was going to wire in a charger for the battery off that with one of these units you guys are talking about that makes it way easier!
RV Inteli-Power 4000 Series Power Center 45A Progressive Dynamics PD PD4045KV

Then wire up my inverter and I am good to go, this will save a ton of work.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Dirk Mitchell

Man you guys are awesome!
I was looking at some normal AC power panels and then I was going to wire in a charger for the battery off that with one of these units you guys are talking about that makes it way easier!
RV Inteli-Power 4000 Series Power Center 45A Progressive Dynamics PD PD4045KV

Then wire up my inverter and I am good to go, this will save a ton of work.

That one appears to have the "charge wizard" built in (thankfully!)....making this a smart multi-stage charger.

[KTMRIDER]

Originally Posted by Flux

Liking the Xantrex Truecharge2 chargers. They have more settings and you can put a temp sens to the battery or just use a high reg and low temp setting. Better charging modes etc etc. More expensive, of course.

I had this on my last van and really liked it. My house and starter batteries were each on their own charging bank. The remote panel is fairly easy to use and read as well and it allows you to lower the charging rate, which is nice when running a generator to power other things as well as charge.

I think the all-in-one Magnum type inverter/smart charger is the way to go unless you are not planning on needing an inverter. If that is the case I was really happy with my TrueCharge2 setup.
Eric

[lugee]

Looking at the diagram on my manual, it looks like I only have a converter on my SMB. Would it be safe to install a combo unit? My outlets only work on shore power.

[Flux]

Beauty Eric, thanks. I don't plan on a large inverter so this seems like a nice shore power solution. I will probably have a small inverter for charging laptops, but nothing major at all. Some 12V power and intelligent charging of the giant brick sitting in my garage. I am trying for a modest, yet solid system.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by lugee

Looking at the diagram on my manual, it looks like I only have a converter on my SMB. Would it be safe to install a combo unit? My outlets only work on shower power.

Yes, though you'll likely need to run larger wires from your house battery to the inverter/charger. The converters in older SMBs do not have wiring nearly large enough for most inverters. I replaced the old buzzing metal box converter on my SMB with a Tripp Lite 1250, if I remember right, and went with 2 gauge cable from the house batteries to it with great results. Make it as short a wiring run as you can.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by lugee

Looking at the diagram on my manual, it looks like I only have a converter on my SMB. Would it be safe to install a combo unit? My outlets only work on shower power.

Sure. Remove converter/transfer switch and install new inverter/charger. Be mindful of wire sizing as 86Scotty mentioned above.

The combo units have the transfer switch built in, so 110VAC is connected to inverter unless you plug in to shore power, then the vans outlets get connected to shore power instead of inverter via the transfer switch.....the transfer switch senses where the 110VAC is coming from and connects that source to the van outlets.

[lugee]

Thanks - Boywonder, 86Scotty - Sorry for the thread jack. I'll have to do some hunting in the SMB for the transfer switch. I have the original Todd Engineering PC45 still in there. It looks like this thing has been rewired once at some point, but they left the old wires in the vehicle.

I ran a search and found more info on the forum - good stuff.