Inverter for TV only?

[Hosse Posse]

I took my 2019 26Y to the dealership today for a recall for the hydraulic pump mount. Apparently they can fail where you'll drag your pump down the road.

Anyways, I asked the service advisor about another issue, and his answer has me scratching my head. I told him the inverter does not work for any of the outlets. His answer was that it's sole purpose is to supply power to the TV. Can that be right?

[tom35758]

In most cases that is actually correct. The only outlet connected to the inverter is the one at the front tv.
There are a few motorhomes made in the last couple of years that also have the bedroom tv and possibly one other bedroom outlet powered.
Not sure how many watts your inverter has but that was one of the first upgrades to my '05 Granite Ridge, it only had a 400watt inverter(which is plenty for most tv's) so I swapped it out for a 1000watt. Still only have the tv outlet connected, but can now connect a power strip to charge laptops and phones, and watch tv.

[Hosse Posse]

Great info. I don't watch much TV so I'll use that outlet for a powerstrip and see if we can charge some electronics. Of course, will be monitoring the draw with the Victron.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Hosse Posse

Great info. I don't watch much TV so I'll use that outlet for a powerstrip and see if we can charge some electronics. Of course, will be monitoring the draw with the Victron.

Just remember it won't work with the ignition on unless you modify the safety relay.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...-on-11021.html

[Florida Ranger]

My Greyhawk investor works on all TV’s and some of the outlet plugs, Kitchen,bath, and rear bedroom...

[Camper_bob]

It's simple enough to check. Just turn on the inverter, take a small 110V lamp around the rig and check which plugs have power. You could also use a small AC circuit tester, or a DVOM.

In my Greyhawk, the front outlet behind the TV has power (and I've disabled the ignition interlock relay), and the 2 outlets in the bedroom are powered. I believe the outlet under the dinette is also powered, but I haven't verified.

I actually discovered the bedroom outlets by accident. We were on a long journey and left our CPAPs plugged in during the travel day. I happened to be back there getting something and noticed both machines had their little green LED on, indicating they were powered. Had the inverter on for my son to watch a movie while rolling down the long road. I thought "now, that's handy"!

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by Hosse Posse

I told him the inverter does not work for any of the outlets. His answer was that it's sole purpose is to supply power to the TV. Can that be right?

It depends.
His answer is right for some units, not right for others.


On our 2016, he's right. Our inverter supplies power to one outlet, and it's the one behind the main TV

[VKC]

On my 2018 29 MV it does both TVs and the two bedroom plugs on either side of the bed

[nottherealfloridaman]

Originally Posted by Hosse Posse

Anyways, I asked the service advisor about another issue, and his answer has me scratching my head. I told him the inverter does not work for any of the outlets. His answer was that it's sole purpose is to supply power to the TV. Can that be right?

As others have said, this could definitely be true. I have a 2013 greyhawk 31FS and the inverter is wired so that it only powers the outlet behind the front TV. In fact, that outlet is hard wired directly into the inverter, so it only works if the inverter is turned on, which is a bit annoying.

You can pretty easily check to see how your inverter is wired, in my case its located under the main bed along with all the other AC/DC wiring. The inverter is there, in my case a Xantrex pro sw 2000, and your AC connects will either be wired directly to the inverter or in some cases a transfer switch. My inverter has 2 standard looking GFCI outlets, so its literally just plugged into 1 of them.

[craigav]

You could run an extension cord to the TV's outlet to use the inverter to power something like a laptop, that is what I do although I have a more powerful inverter to install whenever time allows me to do so. ~CA

[JimD]

If you are wanting to charge USB devices it is far more efficient to use a USB charger that plugs into a power outlet. With that you would be simply dropping 12 volts down to 5. With an inverter you would be converting 12 volts to 120 and then back down to 5.

I have a multi-tap USB block that plugs into the power outlet (previously called cigarette lighter). Works great! I also sometimes charge my phone from a power brick.

[Scoutmaster253]

Originally Posted by JimD

If you are wanting to charge USB devices it is far more efficient to use a USB charger that plugs into a power outlet. With that you would be simply dropping 12 volts down to 5. With an inverter you would be converting 12 volts to 120 and then back down to 5.

I have a multi-tap USB block that plugs into the power outlet (previously called cigarette lighter). Works great! I also sometimes charge my phone from a power brick.

x2 Get a cigarette lighter USB plug! There is a lot of energy being lost by taking a 12v power source (from the house battery) up to 120VAC in the inverter, just to send it through a transformer to bring it back down to 12 or 5v for a device charger.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by JimD

If you are wanting to charge USB devices it is far more efficient to use a USB charger that plugs into a power outlet. With that you would be simply dropping 12 volts down to 5. With an inverter you would be converting 12 volts to 120 and then back down to 5.

Originally Posted by Scoutmaster253

x2 Get a cigarette lighter USB plug! There is a lot of energy being lost by taking a 12v power source (from the house battery) up to 120VAC in the inverter, just to send it through a transformer to bring it back down to 12 or 5v for a device charger.

Ah - I never thought about the conversion loss! Thank you!
I do use the 120V USB receptacles, just because they're convenient.