Tripping GFCI on Shore Power

SkinnyRV · 01-21-2011, 03:58 AM

The Tripp Lite Inverter keeps tripping my GFCI Shore power. Not sure what is going on. My Navion without the Tripp Lite is happy plugged in to the same outlet unless I run both the A/C, Microwave Convection oven at the same time. Also runs electric space heater with no problem.

Tonight we had a cold snap, so I decided to sleep in the Sportsmobile with an electric heater to see how practical it was for heat at an RV park. A single electric space heater will not keep the Navion warm.

Went to bed at midnight, nice an warm, with skivvy shorts and a comfort on the bunk. Woke up at 3:30 AM very cold. 29 degrees outside.

Shore power tripped. Batteries dead.

I did notice when I turned it on that the electric heater would stutter when starting. Am thinking that would be bad for the microwave and A/C.

Are there any settings I should be checking?

**BroncoHauler** · 01-21-2011, 05:39 AM

I don't use shore power at my house very often, but I always had a problem when plugging in via an outdoor outlet that had a GFCI on it. If I run shore power via a standard outlet from my garage it's fine. I think others have had this problem as well.

Herb

**daveb** · 01-21-2011, 09:35 AM

search this section...this is a common problem that has been discussed several times concerning the tripplite but there is a procedure to make it work with a GFI. If I can find the link, I'll post it.

jage · 01-21-2011, 10:25 AM

Can you turn the tripplite amp draw down? My Xantrex can be set to pull battery power over a certain amount of amps- so if I'm on a 15 amp circuit and drawing 20, the xantrex makes up the difference instead of tripping the breaker. I don't think GFI is supposed to trip under load, but it definitely does trip on my block heater.

Scalf77 · 01-21-2011, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Here is the trick to plug into a GFCI if you have the Tripp-Lite inverter/charger. Turn the inverter on (auto invert) and then plug to the outlet. After waiting a couple of minutes you can turn the inverter off (line charge only) and you should be fine. You could also leave the inverter in the on and the batteries will charge just fine.

I hope this helps.
John
___________________
'08 SMB 4X4 6.0PSD EB 50 (30K)
'98 Jeep Wrangler (232K)
'95 Chevrolet S-10 (123K)
'71 LT1 Corvette (for sale)

I believe the problem is caused by the ground to neutral connection in the inverter. The inverter needs to supply this if producing AC, but when it is connected to an AC source it should disconnect and go to the source ground to neutral connection (in this case your House). There is a switch over relay in the inverter, that is why I believe it needs to be in Inverter mode. Give the above procedure a try.

-greg

bitburger · 01-21-2011, 12:03 PM

I agree, this has been covered previously. I found this out when I returned home from the pickup.

The Tripp-Lite can't be hooked into a GFI protected circuit per Peter at SMBW. It isn't a fault, it's a feature

LenS · 01-21-2011, 01:34 PM

When I had my GFI problem installing the penthouse top and some "simple" rewiring it took me a week to figure out what my problem was. I have both shore GFI and van GFI (to cover me at campgrounds that do not have GFI on their power polls. Turned out my problem was one of my "simple" wiring modification.

Surprised your electric heater can't keep you warm. Ours is a built in can put out 800w or 1500w. The biggest issue is heat distribution. We have two low wattage 12v fans from Lowe's to move the air around. No we cannot be in out T-shirts but are very comfortable with sweaters on. Most time time the 800w output is quite adequate. 800w = ~32F, 1500w = ~0F

SkinnyRV · 01-22-2011, 07:39 AM

Electric heater works great in the 24 foot long Sprinter, it is the Itasca Navion RV (Sprinter based) that it won't keep warm.

Thanks for the help. All outlets in my garage are GFCI, including a dedicated 20 AMP.

My kids enjoyed the story of me waking up freezing.

durangatangs · 01-22-2011, 09:29 AM

Quote:

The Tripp-Lite can't be hooked into a GFI protected circuit per Peter at SMBW. It isn't a fault, it's a feature

Can you elaborate? How could bypassing a basic safety device be a feature? It's hard to find an outlet anywhere anymore without GFI.

bitburger · 01-22-2011, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by durangatangs

Quote:

The Tripp-Lite can't be hooked into a GFI protected circuit per Peter at SMBW. It isn't a fault, it's a feature

Can you elaborate? How could bypassing a basic safety device be a feature? It's hard to find an outlet anywhere anymore without GFI.

It was a short conversation with Peter and I didn't delve into the reason why.

I plug in to power at campsites, maybe 20-30 times a year over the last 3 years and they have worked fine so I can only assume that most campsites don't have GFI protected circuits.