Replacing stock IOTA converter with Magnum Energy MSH3012M converter/inverter.

[Rustic Eagle]

Look forward to hearing about your spring mods ........, I spend most of my time camping under the canopy, but as I venture more into the open solar is my next step.

Bob

[Big Sky]

OK, Spring has sprung and we've been camping this Summer without my ME swap out. Today I'm diving in and getting her done. I'll post pics once she is finished. What I did learn is that this is a very simple mod. I'll be installing the inverter/charger up close to my batteries in the pass-through storage under the bed and directly behind the battery bank. What I learned is I simply disconnect the shore power from where it goes into the IOTA, twist tie that to some ROMEX 10/2 & run it to the input of the inverter/charger. The output lines come directly back to the IOTA and go into where the shore power was connected. Then I turn off the circuit labeled "UTILITY & CONVERTER". Connect my DC lines appropriately to the battery bank and that's it. I spoke with technical support from Magnum Energy, IOTA & Jayco Electrical Technicians who called me back within 24 hours. I wanted all of them to confirm my plan was correct, but I owe the credit to Handy Bob, he told what to do, they all confirmed it was correct. I'll be excited to post the finished job. Stay tuned.

[Rustic Eagle]

Look forward to seeing the pics

Bob

[Big Sky]

OK, here is what I've got so far. I'll finish tomorrow. Let me know your thoughts!

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/album.php?albumid=529

[Rustic Eagle]

Big Sky,

Great pics and step-by-step write-up! Your existing IOTA converter/charger setup looks just like mine and I also let it attached to the back of the Load Center.

Thanks again for the detailed information thus far.

Since this thread has evolved into a detailed "how-to", I will move the entire thread over to the "Jayco Mods" forum for increased visibility and response, but will leave a temporary "auto re-direct" in the original Travel Trailer forum.

Bob

[Big Sky]

Finished the project last week and took it immediately on the road to test and use. We absolutely love it! If anyone has any questions on making a similar conversion, feel welcome to send any questions you have my way. Please check out the photos I posted of the mod.

Thanks.

Here are the pics!

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/album.php?albumid=529

[Seann45]

"and my wife requires use of her CPAP all night."
Check the cpap many convert down to 12VDC. If this is the case you can wire it directly to your battery bank and then not have to keep the energy hog inverter going all night. A Magnum Energy inverter uses 3AH with no load on it.

[Rustic Eagle]

Big Sky,

Excellent project completion pics and write-up! Always great to see lots of pics with mod descriptions..., makes the project more doable for us guys (myself included) that normally work with a wrench and hammer

I may have overlooked it, but what are your plans to shield the overall converter/charger and associated wiring from items put in the storage area...., I've seen some use a clear lexan panel(s).

Bob

[mikeadrenaline]

This thread came at a great time for me last year my converter was fried due to incorrect wiring on a shoreline power pole, over voltage took the microwave out as well. Now I need to replace the converter.

I like the idea of having an inverter to power a tv and charge the camera and phone batteries as needed. But if all I do is disconnect the converter at the breaker (remove the wires) then the converter is still connected to the DC power through the splicing that was done to install it. Since I know the converter is now bad does this make a difference? Or should I replace it cause yeah never know when you may need it and then add the inverter?

Thanks,
Mike

[Big Sky]

Mike, You'll still need to install a method to re-charge the battery bank. Whether you decide to swap a like for like converter or go to the extreme that I did. I HIGHLY recommend you begin researching more advanced charging systems that use a multi-stage recharging system. The stock converters in our TT's do not do a very good job unless they have been modified to a more advanced multiple staging charger (bulk, absorption, float & equalization). There are many manufacturers of "CONVERTERS" that have the more advanced, multi-stage charging capability. That is where I recommend you start.

The other mod I would very highly recommend is a true battery monitor of some kind. These are very easy to install. See my pics from the Tri Metric 2025-RV I installed. http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/album.php?albumid=488

A battery monitor will give you specific detail of exactly how much power you have left in your battery bank as well as allow you to monitor how many amps you are using each time you use any device in your TT. The battery indicator that comes with our TT will give you a false read of the batteries being full, when in fact they may indeed have a charge of 13.5 volts, but not a full capacity of all your amps. I installed my monitor prior to installing new inverter/charger. I was shocked after one weekend outing to find that my stock converter took nearly 3 weeks of being connected to shore power to bring my battery bank up to 100% full (volts AND amps), yet my stock battery indicator in the TT lit up to show me full batteries after only a few days.

If the only power requirements you would like is the ability to power a tv and charge phone/camera batteries, then you can add a very inexpensive inverter to invert your DC battery power into AC power. I would bet for that small requirement you could get by with with a 500-600 watt inverter, pure sine wave because of your electronics, NOT modified sine wave. I do have my previous 1000 watt pure sine inverter posted in the classifieds here on JOF, you could look at that. I would research replacing your converter with an advanced charging ability and a small inverter as your most cost efficient way to address what you posted. The research will teach you a great deal and in the end you may want to do what I did, but first weigh your options.

What I did was from a desire to create a system that would invert my entire TT so that every outlet and even my microwave & electric coffee maker could run from my batteries. It is a "whole home" inverter that has a very advanced multi-stage charger built in with it. However it is a very expensive mod. My cost with wiring & battery cables was about $2,300 + probably 14+ hours of DIY time. (mainly because I'm NOT an electrician nor a regular DIY kind of guy)

I apologize for the long explanation, but there are many things you should consider. That said, we love the way our TT now operates and allows us to make the best use of our batteries.

GOOD LUCK to you, please let us know what you decide to do.

Shawn

[mikeadrenaline]

Thanks for the help, I have done a bunch of reading and found a fairly simple replacement of the iota converter. Since I wanted to add an inverter to my trailer it makes sence that I use a transfer switch so I can run everything without the need for extension cords and I believe I can get it and a converter in the cabinet the old iota was in.

Was looking at using a progressive dynamic converter and a samlex 30 amp transfer switch and a samlex ssw pure sine wave 2000w inverter.

Will keep you updated Shawn

[Big Sky]

Surge Protector/EMS need: UPDATE ON INSTALL **CAUTION**

There was recently a thread that has since been closed, regarding the need for having a surge protector and/or EMS. Part of that conversation revolved around protecting against brown out conditions. This perked my curiosity with regard to the Hybrid technology in my inverter/charger and knowing it absolutely will protect against low voltage situations because it has "load support" to supplement from the battery bank when the shore voltage is low. The shore power setting on the inverter/charger, allows you to program a set point as to when battery power will kick in to support the load. This setting is actually in amps. I had mine set at 30 amps, meaning any drop below 30 amps coming in on the shore line would be automatically "supported", as the inverter would draw power off of my battery bank and load support deficiency from the shore line. You can see this happen live on the control panel when it occurs. This happened for us just last month. We stayed at an older RV Park in the town of East Glacier Montana, just outside of Glacier National Park. The power pedestals only had 20 amp plugs and they were older. We hooked up and when I went inside I glanced at the control panel and it was displaying my load support and the amount of amperage it was supported. That was a cool feeling for me to see my new mod actually working. Bottom line is the load support feature of the Hybrid Magnum Energy will act as protection against brown outs. It does NOT however protect at all against surges or spikes. The tech support at ME advised to use either the TCI Surge Guard or the Progressive Industries EMS system.

IMPORTANT INSTALLATION CAUTION: I've made a big error on my install and I want to make sure I warn everyone. I used 10/2 wiring, same romex Jayco uses throughout the TT. The Magnum Energy technician wrote back to me after I had sent him a picture of my install and told me that if I did not replace the wiring from the inverter back to load panel with 6 AWG wiring I would not have 60 amp over protection and risk melting my wiring and have a potential fire hazard! The load support feature, shore + battery, could potentially exceed the 30 amp rating of the 10/2. Shame on me for not following the install instructions. I had 60+ feet of left over 10/2 from another project, consulted with a friend that does electrical and he did not know about the load support feature or why the inverter manufacturer would recommend 6AWG when 10AWG is all you need for 30 amp. I now have to modify my mod. PLEASE BE CAREFUL I can adjust my setting high to 60 amp before load support and effectively turn off the load support feature for now until I correct my error.