sunray 1500 inverter

[rick danger]

Looking at this inverter. any feedback on it? Will it power my coffee maker OR microwave OR TV and sat. reciever OR hair dryer? I know some of these things vary in consumption, just looking for a general idea. http://www.amazon.com/Ramsond-SunRay.../dp/B007AAS4EC Oh, BTW I have two 12v deep cycle marine batteries. I may get two more 6v golf cart batteries if these dont last long enough. ....One more question: could I make a double male plug and use it to connect the inverter to a wall outlet? Or should it be more elaborate directly wired to the converter/power supply panel? Thanks

[Ela1948]

I don't have that particular unit but I do have a 1600 watt inverter. It will do all the things that you ask one at a time. Excepting the TV and sat. receiver as they don't require lots of power. When you are using your electric coffee pot, you are using about 900 watts for the 10 minutes or so while its working. Microwaves are from 1000 to 1300 watts while they are doing there job. An inverter of that size will eat up a lot of battery!!! If your batteries are group 24's, they collectively are approx. 160 Ah total. Using them to the 50% level means that you have 80 Ah available to use. if you were to run one hour at 1000 watts, it would eat up over 83 amp hours of battery. Not that you are going to run your microwave or your coffee pot for an hour but start adding together there cumulative use. Add in your lights, tv, water pump and all the other 12 volt power used by your camper. Two group 24 batteries won't take you to far unless you are very careful how much you use your inverter. I have 430 Ah in batteries and need to recharge every day. I use an electric coffee pot and a microwave as well as a CPAP device. I normally end up around 40% of my batteries used in a day.

[Ela1948]

You talked about using a double male plug and charging up some outlets. I tried that and my inverter immediately kicked out. I really don't know why but there is something in the inverter that it didn't like when I tried charging some outlets. My unit is situated in the kitchen so that most appliances can be run with a 4 ft. extension which is left attached all the time.

[rick danger]

Thanks, good info. I have a 3000 watt generator that I have been running all night when in rest areas and truck stops. Mainly for the white noise, but I can turn on my coffee maker in the morning and watch tv a few hours before bed. I'm thinking thats a waste of the genny's lifespan so I'm going to try the inverter and a sound machine instead. How long (without knowing the capacity of my converter) to charge two average 12v batteries from 50%? (about)......Also, my battery indicator is the four red light type like the gray/black/ fresh tank levels. When it reads two lights is that 50%? Or is it 50% when no lights?

[rick danger]

Originally Posted by Ela1948

You talked about using a double male plug and charging up some outlets. I tried that and my inverter immediately kicked out. I really don't know why but there is something in the inverter that it didn't like when I tried charging some outlets. My unit is situated in the kitchen so that most appliances can be run with a 4 ft. extension which is left attached all the time.

I wonder why. Were there more things drawing than the inverter could handle? Maybe the converter was charging the battery and some other draws you didnt realize?

[Ela1948]

I am assuming that the inverter sensed a ground fault in the outlets. I had the outlets disconnected at the control panel at the time. The inverter disconnected immediately, no hesitation. It takes me almost 4 hrs. to bring my 430 Ah batteries back to 90% with my Progressive 60 amp converter when discharged 40%. You really need to get a better way to see your voltage. The light bar that you have is very ineffective for knowing your battery content. A simple but accurate way is to put a power port (cigarette lighter) into your control panel and purchase a plug in voltage meter from Amazon. It will give you accurate voltage readings and also a power port for other 12 volt devices. I would send you a picture but Im not smart enough to know how to put it on this site.

[Ela1948]

This is a pic of what I installed in my 5th wheel.

[rick danger]

Originally Posted by Ela1948

This is a pic of what I installed in my 5th wheel.Attachment 19545

Great, thanks. Yeah I'll get a better volt meter. I guess if this inverter is a good unit and 1500 watts is enough for those things I listed above I'll get it. Maybe try it with my two batteries first and see how long they last. I can probably just add to them if needed. Does the "dont let them go below 50%" rule apply for all batteries? True deep cycle (golf cart/electric motor) and Deep cycle marine (kind with CCA ratings)?.....Also, will the only way to speed up recharging time would be to get a more powerful converter? Running my generator every morning for 4 hours seems a long time. But then again the batteries might not be discharged to 50% every time either. Guess thats another thing I can address in the future when I see how it all goes

[Ela1948]

Because you only have 160 Ah batteries, its doubtful that it would require 4 hrs to bring back to 90%. The first thing that I would address is the means of knowing your voltage!! All wet cell batteries and AGM batteries are applicable to the 50% rule. Unless your present batteries are new, it would not be advisable to run new golf cart batteries in the same series as the older 12 volt batteries. Your battery pack will tend to regress to your older batteries if all in the same series. Most folks that dry camp expect to run there generator for an approximate 4 hrs a day unless they have some addition solar. At least thats my understanding. Obviously with less battery Ah, it won't take as long to reach the 90% stage. Charging batteries is not like filling your gas tank. A good converter will put a bulk charge in your batteries rapidly when heavily discharged. As they get closer to being charged, the filling process slows down significantly. The charging process can't be rushed if done properly. It takes time to properly charge a battery unlike your fuel tank.

[sebring96hbg]

Originally Posted by rick danger

Looking at this inverter. any feedback on it? Will it power my coffee maker OR microwave OR TV and sat. reciever OR hair dryer? I know some of these things vary in consumption, just looking for a general idea. http://www.amazon.com/Ramsond-SunRay.../dp/B007AAS4EC Oh, BTW I have two 12v deep cycle marine batteries. I may get two more 6v golf cart batteries if these dont last long enough. ....One more question: could I make a double male plug and use it to connect the inverter to a wall outlet? Or should it be more elaborate directly wired to the converter/power supply panel? Thanks

From my spin around the internet last week on the subject for my own install, a double male plug backfeeding an outlet from an inverter will cause problems. A search on double male plug, backfeeding, inverter and rv should provide more detail on why you would not want to do this.

I chose to buy a 10 foot, 15 amp rated, heavy duty replacement cord with a male plug and the other end, ROJ. I ran the unterminated end through the hole in the floor up front to the tongue. There, I installed a 15 amp female plug. Now, I pull the shore power cord with the 15 amp adapter forward to the front and plug it into my extension cord that is plugged into the inverter.

Before I turn on the inverter, I turn off the converter at the breaker. I had to install a new breaker for the converter only, because the outlets and the converter were on the same circuit breaker.

I hope this helps.

[rick danger]

Thanks, yeah I guess I'll go with my plan b. I ran a length of 10 amp sj cable that plugs into my gen. and the other end to an outlet mounted in the side of the trailer right next to the shore power cord. I might do the same with the inverter. Run a cord with a male from the inverter to another outlet in the side of the trailer next to the one for the gen. Then plug the shore power cord into either the gen or invert. That way I cant do any kind of accidental cross feeding or whatever.

[rick danger]

Originally Posted by Ela1948

Because you only have 160 Ah batteries, its doubtful that it would require 4 hrs to bring back to 90%. The first thing that I would address is the means of knowing your voltage!! All wet cell batteries and AGM batteries are applicable to the 50% rule. Unless your present batteries are new, it would not be advisable to run new golf cart batteries in the same series as the older 12 volt batteries. Your battery pack will tend to regress to your older batteries if all in the same series. Most folks that dry camp expect to run there generator for an approximate 4 hrs a day unless they have some addition solar. At least thats my understanding. Obviously with less battery Ah, it won't take as long to reach the 90% stage. Charging batteries is not like filling your gas tank. A good converter will put a bulk charge in your batteries rapidly when heavily discharged. As they get closer to being charged, the filling process slows down significantly. The charging process can't be rushed if done properly. It takes time to properly charge a battery unlike your fuel tank.

Thanks for that tip about mixing old and new batteries. I didnt know that

[Ela1948]

[QUOTE=sebring96hbg;329022]From my spin around the internet last week on the subject for my own install, a double male plug backfeeding an outlet from an inverter will cause problems. A search on double male plug, backfeeding, inverter and rv should provide more detail on why you would not want to do this.

I chose to buy a 10 foot, 15 amp rated, heavy duty replacement cord with a male plug and the other end, ROJ. I ran the unterminated end through the hole in the floor up front to the tongue. There, I installed a 15 amp female plug. Now, I pull the shore power cord with the 15 amp adapter forward to the front and plug it into my extension cord that is plugged into the inverter.

Before I turn on the inverter, I turn off the converter at the breaker. I had to install a new breaker for the converter only, because the outlets and the converter were on the same circuit breaker.


Surprisingly, I did the same thing with entirely different results. i bought a 15 amp pigtail that adapted to the receiver of the shore power cord. Like you, i snaked 14 ga wires down to my battery box which is close to my shore power connector. When I hooked it up, I had the same results as the double male plugs. Immediately shut down! The inverter works fine but clearly has issues when I have attempted different hook ups that were somewhat creative.

[sebring96hbg]

Originally Posted by Ela1948

Surprisingly, I did the same thing with entirely different results. i bought a 15 amp pigtail that adapted to the receiver of the shore power cord. Like you, i snaked 14 ga wires down to my battery box which is close to my shore power connector. When I hooked it up, I had the same results as the double male plugs. Immediately shut down! The inverter works fine but clearly has issues when I have attempted different hook ups that were somewhat creative.

Was the inverter properly grounded? A properly rated extension cord from the inverter connected to the shore power cord via adapters with the converter and any on-board generator turned off should work, absent any overload.

[Ela1948]

Originally Posted by sebring96hbg

Was the inverter properly grounded? A properly rated extension cord from the inverter connected to the shore power cord via adapters with the converter and any on-board generator turned off should work, absent any overload.

Yes, the inverter was and is grounded. The converter was also turned off. I even tested the new pig tail for shore power to make sure it wasn't faulty. Like you, I don't know why it shut down.

[Mustang65]

Most inverters have an internal cut off voltage which is around 10VDC, if your TT's initial drain is large it will trip your inverter off. Not sure as to how long befor it resets. Check your battery voltage when you turn the inverter on.

I do not recommed gerry-rigging your AC as to many things can go wrong. The first problem is that you are bypassing your AC breakers, as you are putting the 110VAC source on the LOAD end of the TT's circuit and not the SUPPLY end. More things can go wrong.

If you want to SAFELY utilize ALL your TT's 110VAC outlets there are really only a few safe ways of doing it:
..
1. Wire the output of your INVERTER to the shore power receptical and plug it in there. Then just rewire your DC controller's 110VAC souce to its own breaker. This will supply AC to all your outlets and unfortunitally to your Air Cond circuit also.. a fast way to bring your inverter down to its knees
2. An $80 Automatic Transfer switch.. takes the HUMAN intervention out of the equation.
3. The INEXPENSIVE method.. rewire the TT's incoming shore power cable to the AC controll center, as I did. Here is the link to the PICTURE
Scroll down to the pictures. I can plug the TT into either the shore power oulet or the one connected to the inverter in the front storage area.

Don

[sebring96hbg]

Originally Posted by Mustang65

Most inverters have an internal cut off voltage which is around 10VDC, if your TT's initial drain is large it will trip your inverter off. Not sure as to how long befor it resets. Check your battery voltage when you turn the inverter on.

I do not recommed gerry-rigging your AC as to many things can go wrong. The first problem is that you are bypassing your AC breakers, as you are putting the 110VAC source on the LOAD end of the TT's circuit and not the SUPPLY end. More things can go wrong.

If you want to SAFELY utilize ALL your TT's 110VAC outlets there are really only a few safe ways of doing it:
..
1. Wire the output of your INVERTER to the shore power receptical and plug it in there. Then just rewire your DC controller's 110VAC souce to its own breaker. This will supply AC to all your outlets and unfortunitally to your Air Cond circuit also.. a fast way to bring your inverter down to its knees
2. An $80 Automatic Transfer switch.. takes the HUMAN intervention out of the equation.
3. The INEXPENSIVE method.. rewire the TT's incoming shore power cable to the AC controll center, as I did. Here is the link to the PICTURE
Scroll down to the pictures. I can plug the TT into either the shore power oulet or the one connected to the inverter in the front storage area.

Don

I would turn off the breaker for the A/C and any other breaker for a circuit that would exceed the capability of the inverter.