Inverters
Has anyone got any experience with inverters? I have a120w solar panel on the roof of my caravan connected to a solar charge control panel and looking to connect a 1000w inverter with 2 sockets,if I connected it up to the battery would the solar panel be able to keep up with charging the battery or will it just kill the battery
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Check out Greg Virgoe on YouTube, he gives master classes on Van wiring👍🏻
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Only looking to run a small tv and maybe a hot plate for cooking
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Have you looked at the thread about saving money - there is a lot about using things off grid. I have a 60watt inverter and 120 solar and run the tv off the caravan battery It's an Avtex 12v one. I am not a heavy user of electricity but I have used a hand mixer thing, the electric toothbrush - I have done a blast with the hair drier but not a full dry - so to speak. Merve runs a microwave and a toaster off his considerable array!
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It might be worth having a look at this old thread https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/discussions/welcome-hobby-talk/tips-for-making-caravanning-touring-cheaper/how-to-survive-a-non-240v-ehu-site/ It contains lots of information on how to survive off grid.
David
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Inverters, unless running very low demand items, i.e. less than 10 watts will kill anything other than lithium batteries. I have a 3x 100W solar array and two 120 Ah lithiums feeding a 1500W inverter. I can run high demand things like a low power toaster and travel kettle for short periods but they certainly give the batteries a good workout.
All TV's run 12V, even mains ones. You just need to bypass the 240V socket and feed the 12V side. Any competent electronics shop should be able to modify it for you. Better still, buy a proper 12V TV.
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In my experience you really need a battery or batteries in tiptop health. Drawing too much load at once could damage it. I’d not use it for heavy loads like cooking rings or kettles unless of the low wattage kind and then it might just be quicker to use gas.
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Very interesting!
Some pretty heavy duty cables from the batteries to the Inverter!
Also, could you tell us, what charger do you use from the Solar array to the batteries?0 -
Epever Tracer AN 30 amp
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Hello all
Been thinking of more off grid trips given the recent energy prices, and been looking at lithium battery set ups for use in the summer months with solar but really want better electrical protection as I would like to be able to simply drive the caravan from the inverter to make use of the 240 sockets and hot water boiler set at 1kW, would also disable the 230 volt caravan 12 volt battery charger.
Had a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzCGE5wnWos which is a good source and confirms that using Residual Current Device (RCD) with an inverter will not give any protection, hence gone off the idea of using the caravan sockets.
Looking at some other sources it looks like the Australians make use of a Residual Voltage Device (RVD) which allows all of the sockets to be driven from an inverter.
Question:- Has anyone heard of or used a Residual Voltage Device (RVD) ? see https://www.rvdsafe.com.au for example.
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You will be hard put to provide 1Kw of power from solar, even through a lithium battery. You'd need a very big caravan with a massive payload to carry the weight of the amount of solar required.
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Thanks Cyberyacht, Yep does look a tall order 40 amp hr's for 1/2 an hours use of the boiler set at a kW, will stick with gas for the boiler and fridge. Coffee machine and toaster look more favourable as well as the hair drier.
Have you any comments on the RVD protection ?
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I had my inverter fitted for me. Operates independently of any other van circuits.
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This is the theory.....I am NOT an electrician....
You really need your inverter just to run the 230v sockets NOT the fridge or the Truma unit.
the Truma can run off gas (we have refillables) as can the fridge, HOWEVER, with the appropriate regulator (I have a 30amp Epever similar to CY) the fridge can be triggered (by a cable from the regulator) to switch to 12v and run from the batteries provided sufficient solar power is a available and the batteries are full.
in order to run just the sockets, the cable into the sockets trip unit will need to be disconnected and fed into an inverter either via a manual switch (for mains or inverter) or by an inverter that allows pass through of the mains when present but automatically switches to inverter when it isn't.
the output of the inverter is then fed back into the socket trip which powers your van from mains when available, inverter if not.
re the RCD. It is recommended that the output from a large inverter is protected by its own RCD. GOOGLE CLIVEWAY this is Clive Mott's (MMM magazine) all in one switching and RCD unit for inverter that don't have their own pass through.
Like CY, I have 300w of solar which can rapidly replace used battery power...however in winter time, without this luxury, batteries will take a bashing.
remember, with an inverter up scaling 12v to 230v that's a nr 20 times increas when taking amperage from the batteries.
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The Cliveway Priority Switch looks interesting, thank you for the info.
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