gg923 Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Greetings, I have a good issue. My inverter does such a fine job that if I lose power at the pedestal (breaker trips) the inverter takes over and I don't realize it until the batteries reach a level where the inverter shuts everything down. Normally this is not the case because we have either AC or HPs running but this year we are in a very cool environment and are not using either very much. My question is whether there is a setting or a trick that I can use to help me recognize when the "shift" takes place (we lose pedestal power or the inverter takes over for any reason)? I guess I could shut the inverter off unless I purposely want to turn it on - is this what most folks do? Thanks! Gene & Lisa (and Abby) 2014 Chevy 3500 D/A 4x4 Dually 2015 DRV Mobile Suites 38PS3 Trailersaver TS3 2012 Toyota Prius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp51443 Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 A cheap power failure alarm plugged into a non-inverter powered outlet is the easy solution. First rule of computer consulting: Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day. Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Yes, I use a power failure alarm. That solves the issue if you are at home. But if away you could potentially still kill your battery bank, depending on the length of the power failure and the load. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gg923 Posted July 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Thanks Stanley & Jack! Didn't know there was such a thing - will check it out AFTER I find a non-inverted outlet! Gene & Lisa (and Abby) 2014 Chevy 3500 D/A 4x4 Dually 2015 DRV Mobile Suites 38PS3 Trailersaver TS3 2012 Toyota Prius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFchap Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 I never turn the inverter on unless I need to use it. It uses some power even in standby mode... Paul (KE5LXU), former fulltimer, now sometimer... '03 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage 40E '05 Honda Odyssey Escapees, FMCA, WIT, SMART http://www.pjrider.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty77_7 Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 If you have Auto Generator Start (AGS) module for the Magnum, you could set it to come on at a higher then normal SOC. Say 85% SOC. Of course, the alarm is still prudent, as your AGS settings could have blackout times set from say 10:00PM to 6:00AM (or whatever you set it to be). So, still a risk of running things down. We keep our inverter on 7/24 while traveling, for the residential fridge and for the puppy too. We had an interesting failure of power in a park a few days back. The park did not have individual breakers at each site plug in. They had a box that contained anywhere from just two, to up to four, sites. The gent next to us, turned our breaker off by accident, as he was working on his electrical system. Never figured out why he just did not unplug his cord, if he wanted to disconnect. Wife had the convection oven on, the TV, Genie, and Stereo Receiver were on too. If we had not got hot and I went to turn on the AC - where 10 mins later it had not kicked in - I would not have known we had a power failure:)! Talking to the gent next door, it had been about 40-50 mins, and when I realized we'd had a power failure, we were at 83% SOC already. Suspect the convection oven consumes some power:)! So, on my shopping list at the next big Lowes or Home Depot, is the audible alarm via power failure:)! We do have our AGS set at 75% SOC, and were a few hours away from quite time settings, so it would have been a good test of the system. (I did set the AGS to 90% SOC when we first were setting things up, and then ran some loads, and sure enough the AGS did kick in:)! But, that's been 2 1/2 years so testing again would not hurt:)! Best to all, Smitty Be safe, have fun, Smitty 04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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