Inverter Selection and Questions

[BigJohnD]

I put this in the mod section since it's fixing to be a mod. Ditching the Norcold and putting a residential in our rig soon. I'm down to deciding which "brand" of inverter to go with. The 2 I have selected are both 1000 watt pure sine wave inverters. One is the GoPower, the other is the Xantrex ProWatt. Does anybody have any experience with either or both?

The small fridge will be the only thing run off of this inverter and only has a 6 amp draw on compressor start up. Batteries will be a pair of 6 volt golf cart batteries, probably the one's at sams. I'm not going off the grid here, so I'm not sinking a fortune into this.

Not real sure whether I should go ahead and run the 2ga or 4ga cable from inverter to batteries.

Also not 100% sure on which fuse to run between inverter and batteries, 150 amp or 200 amp. Cable run from inverter to batteries shouldn't be no more than 3-4' tops, since inverter will be mounted in front compartment. Forgive me for all the questions. I can make anything work, but hadn't fooled with inverters too much.

Thanks for any input.

[norty1]

I will be doing this same mod one day so I and following your change.
I go for overkill on the wire gauge. This is a common OE addition on larger rigs.
Maybe look at one to see what they are using as to fuses and wire size.

[Grumpy]

JAYCO iis using the "PRO" not "PRO-WATT" here is the link it works great. I have actually connected another line to it since I have an in-motion sat on the FW. The"Boss" has a couple day-time shows that she records. It's been working great.

I think the difference is the fact that the "PRO" has a built in transfer switch so you can wire it dirrect and not have to switch the plug back and forth. They also install it with the remote control panel.

Power Inverter, Marine Inverter, PRO Series Inverter

[BigJohnD]

Here's a few links to the 2 I was looking into. I don't need one with a built in transfer switch since I already have a transfer switch from a previous project. Also want to keep cost down, but still have a pure sine wave. Just trying to find good bang for the buck. You get mixed reviews from both, kind of like RVs in general. One guy loves it, another says it's worthless. Price wise, the Xantrex looks hard to beat.

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Power-GP-SW.../dp/B00153CXVK
Amazon.com: Xantrex 806-1210 PROwatt 1000 SW Inverter: GPS & Navigation

[Mustang65]

A couple questions:
- How long will you be running the fridge off batteries (between charges)?
- I know you said it has a 6 amp (660 watts) at 110VAC, but that is 55 Amps at 12VDC (drain on the battery). Granted that load is only for a minute or two, but I would go with the 2AWG or 0AWG
- A more important question is how many watts will it use while running?

Based on the above information you can figure out what batteries you will need so as not to KILL your batteries, because they do not have enough power to supply your fridge without having the batteries drop below 12VDC (the 50% level).

Good Luck,
Don

[DHH57]

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/...ging-puzzle-2/

Check out this link. All of your questions answered and more by a pro.

[DHH57]

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/...ging-puzzle-2/

Check out this link from a pro.

I posted this earlier but said mods had to review and now it is gone entirely. How long does it take for a review?

[DHH57]

I posted a link on here twice and it stated must be approved by Mod first. That was several hours ago. How long does it take?

[BigJohnD]

I guess I'm basing my proposed set up on what I've seen in other fifth wheels and motorhomes over the years, and I'm on a ton of other forums for our previous rigs with similar set up residential fridges. So, I based their battery set up, inverter set up etc to figure out what I wanted. A lot of fifth wheels are running (OEM) 2 - 12v parallel with a 1000 watt magnum inverter. This is running a 18cf residential with way more draw than what I'm dealing with. All the people I know have success running the fridge on the batteries far longer than I'll need, but I'm going with the 2 - 6 volt for the amp hours regardless. Running amps on this little fridge is only 3 amps, it's the compressor start up that's 6, which I know I do have to account for. It should be more than sufficient. If not, I have the generator on the back.

Don, the 2awg sounds like what I should run no doubt. Based on what little info I've provided, what is the best fuse block / fuse rating I should be running between the inverter and batteries?

Thanks all for the replies. Still haven't seen many opinions on the 2 inverters? Looking for some feedback / opinions on Xantrex vs. GoPower.

[DHH57]

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/...ging-puzzle-2/

Tying a 3rd time.

I posted this yesterday and still not showing.

[sebring96hbg]

Have you considered the Samlex PST 1000?

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

This is running a 18cf residential with way more draw than what I'm dealing with.

The 18 cu/ft SAMSUNG that JAYCO is using has a max draw of 3.9 amps.

[BigJohnD]

Originally Posted by sebring96hbg

Have you considered the Samlex PST 1000?

Really don't know much about Samlex, but I will check them out. GoPower is already more than I want to spend on this right now, so I'll see what the Samlex is going for. Just hadn't heard of them really.