Bought Victron Inverter/Charger but it only has one hot, now what?

[Johnxhc]

Got Victron Inverter/Charger(Victron Energy MultiPlus 24/3000/70-50 Inverter with Charger )

Just realized it only has one hot, but I have 50 amps panel on my RV!

now what? the shore line & generator input goes to a transfer case, and the output of transfer case suppose to go to inverter, but the inverter only has one hot, what do I do???

Please advise.

Thank you!

John

[GlennWest]

The way you imply, you need 2 inverters. One master one slave. That gives you two hots. This why I going to use Magnum. Now you can install a breaker and pull power to inverter. Install second breaker to supply a sub panel for what you want to power with your inverter. Pull lines from your panel to sub panel. Might not be what you want to hear though. Sounds like you want everything on it. Not possible with what you have

Edited September 15, 2020 by GlennWest

[Johnxhc]

Unfortunately there is no more budget for another $1,200 inverter/charger at the moment 🙁

Matt from Continuous Resource came up with a very smart idea:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNx1xRmo46mnFyBdiqlvmfCVJVD4crG_yFMl079x0rlzYCgzYiep7AH0zWpse-Etw/photo/AF1QipPhBRhgQ4MHpU_ir9XxRSpV_l5o1Pa6r4Fn_78S?key=UE96VU1CTldHbDJiQ1Z3X01DeXpadHZXY3BNN0V3

[GlennWest]

Never seen wiring on a transfer switch so out of my league.

[jcussen]

Not sure how to read your pic,  with no shore power, do you mean one leg of 50 amp panel is fed by inverter and the other not? A lot of coaches have a subpanel just for inverter loads that is fed from main 50 panel when shore power available, and from inverter and batteries when not.

[GlennWest]

18 minutes ago, jcussen said:

Not sure how to read your pic,  with no shore power, do you mean one leg of 50 amp panel is fed by inverter and the other not? A lot of coaches have a subpanel just for inverter loads that is fed from main 50 panel when shore power available, and from inverter and batteries when not.

Same way I thought but not being familiar with transfer switch, didn't want to mention. I think you could use a transformer to get 240v. Would use neutral on inverter for second leg since it is simply pass thru. But it would be limited to 30 amp when running with just inverter. You would be lot better off with a 120/240 Magnum inverter. Just wire it between transfer switch and panel. 

Edited September 15, 2020 by GlennWest

[mptjelgin]

1 hour ago, Johnxhc said:

Unfortunately there is no more budget for another $1,200 inverter/charger at the moment 🙁

Matt from Continuous Resource came up with a very smart idea:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNx1xRmo46mnFyBdiqlvmfCVJVD4crG_yFMl079x0rlzYCgzYiep7AH0zWpse-Etw/photo/AF1QipPhBRhgQ4MHpU_ir9XxRSpV_l5o1Pa6r4Fn_78S?key=UE96VU1CTldHbDJiQ1Z3X01DeXpadHZXY3BNN0V3

With the diagram shown, only half of your circuits will be on the inverter.  This is fine if they are the half that you want, or perhaps you can move circuits around to get it in the configuration that you like. 

As Jcussen mentions most RV's with an inverter utilize a subpanel for circuits on the inverter. This way the high-load circuits like A/C, Electric Water Heater Element, Electric Refrigerator Element, etc. can be left off of the inverter. If one of these is on the inverter circuit it will either overload the inverter or draw your batteries down very quickly.  

[Al F]

What RV do you have?  Was there a factory installed inverter in the RV when it was new?

As jcussen, wrote earlier, RV's with an inverter installed from the factory will have a sub panel installed with c/b's just for the circuits to be powered by the inverter.  

If you are installing the inverter in an RV which didn't have an inverter installed from the factory, then most people install a sub panel for the 120V outlets, the microwave, and maybe the fridge. 

Usually no need to have the air conditioner(s) or the water heater connected to the inverter. 

Edited September 15, 2020 by Al F

[GlennWest]

He has a Thor Windsport MH. Also 6 battle born lithium batteries.

Edited September 16, 2020 by GlennWest

[Johnxhc]

No, The coach does not come with inverter/charger, I understand when using the inverter, I just won't able to use 50 amps , even if I could with two inverters, I probably need double my battery bank (right now is 600 ah)

I have two A/Cs, I guess I could just power one A/C in case I need it and just use half of the panel (the one side with most outlets), if I really feel inconvenient, I will install a new subpanel late on  and move most of used outlets there.

 

Thank you all for your help.

 

[GlennWest]

A dry transformer just a few hundred dollars. Could power both sides on panel then. Like stated earlier, just 30 amps since that is all inverter puts out. Just have to turn off ac. Victron sells one just for this

Edited September 16, 2020 by GlennWest

[Johnxhc]

Could you please elaborate how  dry transformer will work in my scenario ?  is the following the kind of transformer you are talking about?

https://www.hodgesmarine.com/vicitr040202041-victron-isolation-transformer--2000w--115230.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwzIH7BRAbEiwAoDxxTkNezuuNYzZ5yocjQzIaCtvhFqkwLWQQGelmyWeVGPcQK_1l-v5TdhoCaCAQAvD_BwE

 

Thx

[GlennWest]

Not an isolation transformer. Victron labels theirs as Autotransformers. They will turn 120v into 240v. Is your generator single or split phase? If single the autotransformer will make them split phase. This will power both sides/legs of your panel. Everything will work but limited to your inverter output.

Edited September 16, 2020 by GlennWest

[Sehc]

3000W inverter will provide only maximum 25 amperes 120 volt power. No matter how you try to trick it. 

[GlennWest]

3 minutes ago, Sehc said:

3000W inverter will provide only maximum 25 amperes 120 volt power. No matter how you try to trick it. 

Ok 25 amps. I hadn't looked it up, Magnum does 30 amp in their hybird. All said might be less money to use a subpanel.

[jcussen]

Even with the transformer to feed 2 legs, isn't he still limited to 25 amps? Basically one AC on one leg and maybe a fridge and a small coffee pot on the other leg. 600 a/h will only run the ac for 3 or 4 hours without big solar assist. Now he has to buy the equipment necessary to charge the 24 volt batteries from a 12 volt alternator and a 24 to 12 volt converter to run his 12 volt house items.

[GlennWest]

I use a simple bulk dc/dc converter. 50 amp. Runs everything in my Teton that's 12v. And yes he is limited to 25 amps. It does have a healthy surge wattage though. His ac 120v dc converter will also run his 12v and charge engine batteries. That is all I have seen in most MH is 2500-3000 inverter. 

[jcussen]

38 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

I use a simple bulk dc/dc converter. 50 amp. Runs everything in my Teton that's 12v. And yes he is limited to 25 amps. It does have a healthy surge wattage though. His ac 120v dc converter will also run his 12v and charge engine batteries. That is all I have seen in most MH is 2500-3000 inverter. 

Good point, can use his converter to run 12 volt loads, will that work without a 12 volt battery? He will have to plug the converter into 120 source.

[GlennWest]

Yes, but no 12v without 120v. Only downside I see. Battery you would have 12v as long as charged. I like buck dc/dc converter better

[Nwcid]

I will give this a shot.  There are 2 main ways to use a hardwired inverter. 

In the past the "traditional" way to do it was to decide what circuits you wanted to run from the inverter and add a sub panel just for those items.  In the past many inverters only had a 20-30 amp pass though circuit so you could not wire it directly inline with a 50 amp system.  

Now there are units, like the one you purchased that can pass though 50 amps and they can be wired directly to one leg of your RV.  If you want to wire both sides, you need an inverter for each side.  In my case I put my inverter on one side and then moved items in the main breaker that I wanted to run on the inverter and still keep from overloading. 

The next item you have to consider is the inverter output.  When you are plugged in you are getting 50 amps x 120v on = 6000 watts on each leg.  Your inverter is only 3000 watts.  3000 watts / 120v = 25 amps.  So whatever you run on that inverter can never exceed 25 amps.  If you do ever pull 3000 watts, not accounting for loss, you are pulling 250 amps of 12v, how big is your battery bank/solar bank?  I have a 960 watt solar system and at peak it puts out just over 50 amps.  I have a battery reserve of about 325 AH, which means just over 1 hr of run time pulling 250 amps. 

Depending on the size of your AC you would not be able to run both, and if you did, not for very long unless you have lots of solar and battery.