It would be great to see the whole system sizing for battery ( amp hours) solar needed for charging etc. Those calculations for planning a system would be great.
If you are wanting to run a refrigerator, for example, on solar/batteries, then look at the label for total current. If you have 2 appliances, add both currents together. A refrigerator does not run all day 24/7 and sometimes the current will increase for a few seconds when the ice makers are running. 2 appliances may or may not come on at the same time, but you must be ready for when they do. If the refrigerator label says 6A, then size your Full Sine Wave Inverters to be at least double that. If the freezer says 6.5A, then you total current is 12.5A. I use a 2000W FSW Inverter to power 1 refrigerator and 1 upright freezer. You could use a 3000W Inverter, but I would not go much higher than that. The batteries are different if you are using lead-acid or lithium. I use 4- Group 27, 12VDC lead-acid batteries in parallel for a 12VDC system. I also have 600W of solar panels to charge the batteries. The system will only draw what it needs and on a cloudy day the system cannot draw all it needs. Expect to stay on grid more on cloudy days, clouds/shade cost you money. This system will only operate your refrigerator for about 6 hours per day when the sun is out and few clouds. Make sure you have a Grid Backup Relay that will transfer to grid so you do not lose food. I use the 80A double pole relays for a Transfer Relay. (About $22 on Amazon.) Your charge controller turns the system on and off as the batteries allow. (About $10 on Amazon) If you want more battery time, then add more batteries. (About $100 each at O'reilly) You could have 12 batteries and not make it all night or it could make it for 2 days depending on use. Taking any appliance off grid for a few hours will save you money on your electric bill.
Great presentation! Yes, I'd like to get into the math about just what you need to run your appliances and how to go about calculating you solar needs.
Great information. So in stead of buying a converter/ charger, I use my inverter to run my RV outlets and appliances. I ran a 12 gauge cord 1 ft from my inverter and hard wired into a metal junction box. from there it runs thru the frame of the RV into where my power cord is located. It terminate into a 120v outlet. I just plug my shore cord into the outlet, turn off the converter and turn on the inverter. I do have 500 watts of solar and 300 amp hrs of lithium batteries. hank you for all you do. Don
Thanks for the detailed explanation. Clear on converter versus inverter. Yes please create solar tutorial to charge this system. Yes there are many solar videos out there however appreciate your approach in explaining.
Hello Darren, As a fairly new tt owner I find your vast knowledge of information extremely helpful/valuable! I thoroughly enjoy and get a lot out of each video! Yes please do a video on a solar system set up for rvs, we would appreciate it, THANKS!
The DC current is usually shown on a graph as going up and staying there until turned off, it does not turn on and off or go below zero. What you showed is closer to a Modified Sine Wave that is put out by Modified Sine Wave Inverters. The Modified Sine Wave Inverters are cheaper to buy but makes a lot of noise and does not run motors correctly. Some of the newer battery chargers put out the wave that you showed and their pulse is off longer when the battery is close to being fully charged.
Nice smart explanation! Shocking how many ppl think a solar pnl can run AC current devices. Big inverter big wire, big battery BANK. Do discuss amount of power needed to run a 1500w microwave! YES! Please discuss how much solar is needed to recharge a bank. Especially in Oregon, where it rains A LOT! Have a 300 ah Lithium battery. Sorry, NOT capable of starting an Rv repair...... just a few state park volunteer gigs here & there. 😉 and offer some assistance to others to understanding their rig.
Darren, A few comments. When DC comes from a battery, the DC line is flat in one direction. When AC is converted to DC, that is when you get the square wave and saw tooth. I think you were looking for IGBT(Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor). When I was designing Utility solar systems, we used 500Kva 600-1200Vdc to 480/277Vac inverters. These hade massive NGBT’s (N Gate Bipolar Transistor’s). The difference between the modified sine wave and the pure sine wave is the number of these transistors used to assimilate a sine wave. Each transistor makes 2 points on half of a wave. The inverters we used were pure sine wave and had 16 NGBT’s per completed sine wave. I disagree with your double 120 volt sines from two inverters is 240 volts. If the waves were as shown, the voltage above the line and below the line would cancel each other out and be zero volts. I believe that the wave that is 240 is twice the height of a 120 wave. By connecting the inverters together, you are doubling the number of windings of the output transformers. You did give lots of good information to those who have no knowledge. Respectfully, Kevin
Hey Darren, Great info. There seems to be a major push in the RV/ TT community to change over the stock converter/ inverter to a inverter charger. can you do a little info sharing on that change over? Thanks again.
Well done buddy, you are very helpful thank you so much for explaining all this inverter and converters 👍.like your videos please do one with the solar panels.
Hello Darren, thank you for your very simplified explanation of how an inverter does and how it works, I don’t know if I’m asking incorrectly my question, but I would like to know what is the job of the converter, what does it do for or what is it’s function in thre rv? Thank you, K.Luke Indianapolis.
Daren thank you very much for your discussion of inverters and converters. In my RV (Renegade Veracruz 2021) I don't have a converter but a hybrid inverter/charger (MSH 3012 RV). How is an inverter different from this inverter/charger? A related but different question is: while plugged into a pedestal, is my 12V source my battery or does the inverter/charger also supply this 12V? I believe the answer is my battery but I'm not sure if this inverter/charger also diverts some the 'charging' component to supply 12V . Thank you
Whoa. Awesome knowledge. I have a quick question that no one seems to know or talk about. I have agm batteries They all say don’t run then down pass 50 percent. Well when do I know when the batteries are down to 50 percent. Thank you
Fully charged =12.7 volts 50% charged =12 volts Both of these values assume resting voltage. ie: no draw on the battery for a period of time before testing.
New to our TT. The dealer provided one battery, but everyone has mentioned to switch to lithium batteries. We don't boondock (yet), but I can see a rest stop or cracker barrel stop in our future. When I looked at LifePo4 batteries, I am told that our wiring and other equipment cannot handle this change over......adding to the cost. Someone mentioned that a more cost effective (though still limited) would be an AGM battery over what we have? Your thoughts?
Thanks Darren I got more understanding on this topic, However, most RV's come with (1) 12v battery. If you are boondocking a lot, how would you hook up two 12v DC Batteries in Parrell with a 400w solar system and will this cause a problem with the solar system and/or your Inverter/converter? My inverter is a Xantrex Freedom x2000 Model 817-2000, Thank You
Some manufacturers will wire the generator through the chassis battery, others will wire the generators to the house batteries. I've seen it wired both ways.
Would it be helpful to install a switch for the inverter to turn it on and off as you need it so you don't have to worry about it running when you do not need AC power?
My inverter remote is showing low battery. Can I turn the inverter off and my RV should work off just shore power? The power went off in my RV, and the inverter remote was not displaying anything, then three days later the power just magically came on again, then after a day and a half it went off again, but the inverter remote is now on. From this video I thought maybe something is set to drain the battery, but I haven’t changed any settings and power has been fine for a few years so I’m just trying to figure out what happened.
Totally OFF TOPIC,,,, I'm hoping you can help with a problem. I have a 2017 Jayco Greyhawk, and the screen in my door is torn. I don't see a bead to remove to replace the screen. It looks like its Glued in place. Is there something I'm missing. Thanks in advance, Ron INDY
Best place to find that information is in the installation manual from the inverter itself. The manufacturer will list different wire gauges based on length etc.
Nice video. I wish you would totally stick to the RV application and not venture off into some of the complicated variants. For my newby RV status, its not necessary. Thanks
That's not true a diode can have current going both ways because it can raise voltage and lower voltage depending on the direction you have the diode inline
Thank you for the criticism. We always appreciate folks when they give us feedback like this. To be fair, we pulled Darren in from the field that day, set him in front of a camera, and told him to start talking about inverters. Darren was doing this totally unscripted. But is there anything that you would suggest we have him do in the future so that the we can improve our production?
Very good for newbies to rv electrical systems! Putting confusion into layman's terms.
Yes please get into the solar panels, batteries and inverters, I do everything in my RV with your videos!!!!!!!
It would be great to see the whole system sizing for battery ( amp hours) solar needed for charging etc. Those calculations for planning a system would be great.
If you are wanting to run a refrigerator, for example, on solar/batteries, then look at the label for total current.
If you have 2 appliances, add both currents together.
A refrigerator does not run all day 24/7 and sometimes the current will increase for a few seconds when the ice makers are running.
2 appliances may or may not come on at the same time, but you must be ready for when they do.
If the refrigerator label says 6A, then size your Full Sine Wave Inverters to be at least double that.
If the freezer says 6.5A, then you total current is 12.5A.
I use a 2000W FSW Inverter to power 1 refrigerator and 1 upright freezer.
You could use a 3000W Inverter, but I would not go much higher than that.
The batteries are different if you are using lead-acid or lithium.
I use 4- Group 27, 12VDC lead-acid batteries in parallel for a 12VDC system.
I also have 600W of solar panels to charge the batteries.
The system will only draw what it needs and on a cloudy day the system cannot draw all it needs.
Expect to stay on grid more on cloudy days, clouds/shade cost you money.
This system will only operate your refrigerator for about 6 hours per day when the sun is out and few clouds.
Make sure you have a Grid Backup Relay that will transfer to grid so you do not lose food.
I use the 80A double pole relays for a Transfer Relay. (About $22 on Amazon.)
Your charge controller turns the system on and off as the batteries allow. (About $10 on Amazon)
If you want more battery time, then add more batteries. (About $100 each at O'reilly)
You could have 12 batteries and not make it all night or it could make it for 2 days depending on use.
Taking any appliance off grid for a few hours will save you money on your electric bill.
A natural teacher 🙏
Great presentation! Yes, I'd like to get into the math about just what you need to run your appliances and how to go about calculating you solar needs.
Great suggestion! We do have a plan in the fish bowl were we will go into that.
Even when one is out of service ie rotator cuff surgery it’s always good to refresh one’s mind thanks Darin
Great information. So in stead of buying a converter/ charger, I use my inverter to run my RV outlets and appliances. I ran a 12 gauge cord 1 ft from my inverter and hard wired into a metal junction box. from there it runs thru the frame of the RV into where my power cord is located. It terminate into a 120v outlet. I just plug my shore cord into the outlet, turn off the converter and turn on the inverter. I do have 500 watts of solar and 300 amp hrs of lithium batteries. hank you for all you do. Don
I use a aims 3000 inverter charger
Thank you for the clear information. You made it very understandable, and I liked how you repeated what we learned along the way!
Couldn't be more timely. I'll probably have to absorb this a few times but grateful to have the information out there.
Thanks for the detailed explanation. Clear on converter versus inverter. Yes please create solar tutorial to charge this system. Yes there are many solar videos out there however appreciate your approach in explaining.
Hello Darren, As a fairly new tt owner I find your vast knowledge of information extremely helpful/valuable! I thoroughly enjoy and get a lot out of each video! Yes please do a video on a solar system set up for rvs, we would appreciate it, THANKS!
You are an excellent teacher !! I love how you present your material . It’s awesome. Your posts are GREATLY appreciated !!!!!!
Great explanations !!!
Thanks, this helps for me to understand how it all work. Spring break here. 24 inches of snow here.
The DC current is usually shown on a graph as going up and staying there until turned off, it does not turn on and off or go below zero.
What you showed is closer to a Modified Sine Wave that is put out by Modified Sine Wave Inverters.
The Modified Sine Wave Inverters are cheaper to buy but makes a lot of noise and does not run motors correctly.
Some of the newer battery chargers put out the wave that you showed and their pulse is off longer when the battery is close to being fully charged.
Nice smart explanation! Shocking how many ppl think a solar pnl can run AC current devices. Big inverter big wire, big battery BANK. Do discuss amount of power needed to run a 1500w microwave!
YES! Please discuss how much solar is needed to recharge a bank. Especially in Oregon, where it rains A LOT! Have a 300 ah Lithium battery.
Sorry, NOT capable of starting an Rv repair...... just a few state park volunteer gigs here & there. 😉 and offer some assistance to others to understanding their rig.
Darren, A few comments. When DC comes from a battery, the DC line is flat in one direction. When AC is converted to DC, that is when you get the square wave and saw tooth. I think you were looking for IGBT(Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor). When I was designing Utility solar systems, we used 500Kva 600-1200Vdc to 480/277Vac inverters. These hade massive NGBT’s (N Gate Bipolar Transistor’s). The difference between the modified sine wave and the pure sine wave is the number of these transistors used to assimilate a sine wave. Each transistor makes 2 points on half of a wave. The inverters we used were pure sine wave and had 16 NGBT’s per completed sine wave. I disagree with your double 120 volt sines from two inverters is 240 volts. If the waves were as shown, the voltage above the line and below the line would cancel each other out and be zero volts. I believe that the wave that is 240 is twice the height of a 120 wave. By connecting the inverters together, you are doubling the number of windings of the output transformers. You did give lots of good information to those who have no knowledge. Respectfully, Kevin
Great explanation. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome! Thank you for this!
Hey Darren, Great info. There seems to be a major push in the RV/ TT community to change over the stock converter/ inverter to a inverter charger. can you do a little info sharing on that change over? Thanks again.
I live in Rockville MD and never knew tasty cake was in Baltimore I see tasty cake everywhere I shop and utz too
We want the solar video!!! Semper Fi!!!
Very good vidio nice, and thank you.
Well done buddy, you are very helpful thank you so much for explaining all this inverter and converters 👍.like your videos please do one with the solar panels.
Thank you! Great info
Yup go there, I'm experimenting with a solar system and a 3000 watt inverter.
Yes, I'd love to go through the math of calculating solar array, battery, and inverter.
Thanks
PS - great video...
Hello Darren, thank you for your very simplified explanation of how an inverter does and how it works, I don’t know if I’m asking incorrectly my question, but I would like to know what is the job of the converter, what does it do for or what is it’s function in thre rv?
Thank you, K.Luke Indianapolis.
yes, lets go there to the solar subject you mentioned
Thanks!
Good foundation information
Looking to stay connected to House 110 and not trip the
It would be awesome to see the solar system setup from top to bottom.
Continue the discussion of battery size and solar size etc.
Daren thank you very much for your discussion of inverters and converters. In my RV (Renegade Veracruz 2021) I don't have a converter but a hybrid inverter/charger (MSH 3012 RV). How is an inverter different from this inverter/charger? A related but different question is: while plugged into a pedestal, is my 12V source my battery or does the inverter/charger also supply this 12V? I believe the answer is my battery but I'm not sure if this inverter/charger also diverts some the 'charging' component to supply 12V . Thank you
Whoa. Awesome knowledge. I have a quick question that no one seems to know or talk about. I have agm batteries They all say don’t run then down pass 50 percent. Well when do I know when the batteries are down to 50 percent. Thank you
Fully charged =12.7 volts
50% charged =12 volts
Both of these values assume resting voltage. ie: no draw on the battery for a period of time before testing.
New to our TT. The dealer provided one battery, but everyone has mentioned to switch to lithium batteries. We don't boondock (yet), but I can see a rest stop or cracker barrel stop in our future. When I looked at LifePo4 batteries, I am told that our wiring and other equipment cannot handle this change over......adding to the cost. Someone mentioned that a more cost effective (though still limited) would be an AGM battery over what we have? Your thoughts?
Thanks Darren I got more understanding on this topic, However, most RV's come with (1) 12v battery. If you are boondocking a lot, how would you hook up two 12v DC Batteries in Parrell with a 400w solar system and will this cause a problem with the solar system and/or your Inverter/converter? My inverter is a Xantrex Freedom x2000 Model 817-2000, Thank You
What about the batteries that run the generator &/or how the generator works?
Some manufacturers will wire the generator through the chassis battery, others will wire the generators to the house batteries. I've seen it wired both ways.
How do you install a inverter in your RV main power panel? That way you are powering your appliances as you would being hooked to shore power.
Would it be helpful to install a switch for the inverter to turn it on and off as you need it so you don't have to worry about it running when you do not need AC power?
When I am not using any electricity should I turn off the inverter
I want to know the fomula from (appliances)inverted ÷(battery +wire)=comfort&coffee
My inverter remote is showing low battery. Can I turn the inverter off and my RV should work off just shore power? The power went off in my RV, and the inverter remote was not displaying anything, then three days later the power just magically came on again, then after a day and a half it went off again, but the inverter remote is now on. From this video I thought maybe something is set to drain the battery, but I haven’t changed any settings and power has been fine for a few years so I’m just trying to figure out what happened.
Totally OFF TOPIC,,,, I'm hoping you can help with a problem. I have a 2017 Jayco Greyhawk, and the screen in my door is torn. I don't see a bead to remove to replace the screen. It looks like its Glued in place. Is there something I'm missing.
Thanks in advance,
Ron INDY
Can you help with sizing a battery bank size of wires etc... for a 12vdc 3000 watt inverter please
Best place to find that information is in the installation manual from the inverter itself. The manufacturer will list different wire gauges based on length etc.
My coach was hooked to shore power and I experienced sulfication. What is going on
If a converter goes bad and fan cuts on and off will it make the power bill go up
Nice video. I wish you would totally stick to the RV application and not venture off into some of the complicated variants. For my newby RV status, its not necessary. Thanks
It took him over 20 minutes to get to the question "What Does An RV Inverter Do & How Does It Work?"
That's not true a diode can have current going both ways because it can raise voltage and lower voltage depending on the direction you have the diode inline
Just constructive criticism, too convoluted. Checked out at the 30 minute mark.
Sorry, 20 minute mark.
Well then hi Tricia. Lol
Omg! So confusing with electrical jargon . Get to the point! Elsewhere for info.
This guy really doesn't understand what he's trying to explain. Confused, awkward, and a very sloppily prepared presentation.
Thank you for the criticism. We always appreciate folks when they give us feedback like this.
To be fair, we pulled Darren in from the field that day, set him in front of a camera, and told him to start talking about inverters. Darren was doing this totally unscripted. But is there anything that you would suggest we have him do in the future so that the we can improve our production?
You are definitely confusing
That is a horrible explanation since you were just talking about an oscilloscope then your digrams were completely wrong