Inverter on all the time?

[blujay40]

We just got our 2017 Eagle 330RSTS with the residential refrigerator/1000w inverter.

The tech told me to leave the inverter turned on when towing so the refrigerator will keep running but said I didn't need it on when on shore power. But for whatever reason, I picked up a "feeling" that he didn't know for sure and was just tossing it out there.

So should I leave the inverter on all the time or can it be turned off when on shore power?

TIA

[norty1]

I always go with my "gut" feeling.

[Grumpy]

He's right. You can turn it off while on shore power.

[blujay40]

Thanks!

[norty1]

I thought I read somewhere that the inverter has a pass thru feature that does not use the inverter when on shore power.

I'm not clear on how it gets switched on or off.

I get annoyed when people are reluctant to say, " I don't know" and just spout off when they are not sure or don't have a clue!

[hoppers4]

The monitor panel for my inverter only shows battery voltage when I'm on shore power. It will no longer display current draw. I've always assumed the inverter turns off and is bypassed when on shore power. I can switch the inverter off and the outlet it feeds is still hot.

[Grumpy]

Right from the owners manual:

Operating in Shore Power Mode
The XM 1800 is in shore power mode when an AC source (a generator or
utility power) is present to power the appliances connected to the XM
1800. The status LED glows green to indicate that the XM 1800 is using
utility (or generator) power. The inverter draws minimal power from the
battery.
Whether or not the on/off button is on, shore power will pass through the
XM 1800.
When the XM 1800 is on, if the AC source drops to less than 90 Vac or is
disconnected, the transfer switch automatically transfers the appliances to
inverter power. The status LED glows yellow to indicate the XM 1800 is
using the battery to power the appliances.

So as the tech said it can be off.

[Hoppy220]

I need to read my manual, the tech that walked me through mine stressed heavily that the inverter had to be shut off while on shore power or it would burn up the inverter. Don't know if there is a difference, I assume the xm1800 is 1800 watts, mine is only 1000 watts. I will check after work tonight and see what I can find out.

[hoppers4]

The tech that told you the inverter had to be turned off is dishing out bad information!

[klassic]

Just leave it on.
If your shore power gets disconnected for some unknown reason or you blow a breaker, you will at least have a plenty of hours to catch the problem before before your fridge starts to heat up the food and start melting your ice all over the floor.
And when you are ready to drive off and unplug your shore power, if you left the inverter off , (because you forgot to turn it on) you won't arrive with cold brews.

[Hoppy220]

It's good to hear (and bad I guess) that it is bad information, that has been one of my big concerns, forgetting to shut that off. I usually check it 3 or 4 times during set up before plugging in for fear of burning the inverter. Happy to hear that is one item I can take off the list

[klassic]

I leave mine on also to read the battery voltage and see what charging stage the smart charger is on.

What's the point of having an instant transfer switch in the inverter (that doesn't even make the tv skip a beat when it switches), if the inverter can't be left on? That's the whole point!

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by hoppers4

The tech that told you the inverter had to be turned off is dishing out bad information!

The tech never said "it had to be off". Re-read his orginal post. Also read the owner's manual again. It can be off.

Originally Posted by blujay40

The tech told me to leave the inverter turned on when towing so the refrigerator will keep running but said I didn't need it on when on shore power. But for whatever reason, I picked up a "feeling" that he didn't know for sure and was just tossing it out there.

TIA

[jasum]

I like the way the guy that did our PDI handled it.
He did NOT say anything about the inverter or the inverter switch other than when traveling down the road the refrigerator runs off the batteries.

[hoppers4]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

The tech never said "it had to be off". Re-read his orginal post. Also read the owner's manual again. It can be off.

I was referring to post #8 and not the OP. Sorry, should've quoted.

[Hoppy220]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

The tech never said "it had to be off". Re-read his orginal post. Also read the owner's manual again. It can be off.

He was referring to my post, my tech absolutely told me it had to be off, I am learning from this post that he had no idea what he was talking about.

[Grumpy]

I jumped too soon as well. Didn't read Hoppy220's post completely.. Apologize.

[jasum]

Looked at my booklet on mine and it says to turn it off when hooked to shore power.

I don't think it's that hard to remember to turn it on when getting ready to tow.

It's just one of the things that has to be done.....like closing slides.
Unplugging the shore power cord etc.

[hoppers4]

Originally Posted by jasum

Looked at my booklet on mine and it says to turn it off when hooked to shore power.

Just looked through the installation and operation manual for my Xantrex XM1000 and it doesn't have that particular statement. Apparently there's different requirements for different inverters.

The one statement that it does make concerning powering down is if you're on battery power you should turn it off when not in use to keep from running the battery down.

[norty1]

My uninformed guess is that when it is on there is some battery draw just keeping it ready to work if someone turns on something requiring AC.