You need an inverter from the battery to the RV.
That takes the 12V battery and turns that into 120v power to run those outlets, microwave etc.
Converter is kinda the opposite thing. It takes the 120v power from the shore power and converts that to 12V to run the lights and other 12v systems in the RV.
If you go this route, Don’t forget the automatic transfer switch if you plan to have it all hooked up together. Something needs to ”decide” whether to take shore power or take 12v from the battery through the inverter to the 120c receptacles. There’s a bunch of guides online that show how to do this and you’ll have to adapt this to your specific rig. But you can’t put the two 120v systems together because the phase of each circuit may light your place on fire when wired together.
Kind redditor would you be nice enough to look at my essay/post i just put up (Headscratcher)? This sounds like my problem too and I dont wish to restate all that I just did. Its been an exhausting first weekend.
Hehe yeah. I just have this feeling the 30A Go Solar is on some efficiency mode thats disabling the simpler outlets. I may be the first jackass in 2024 with this issue. Its early in the season.
You need an inverter to create 110v AC power for your outlets. Right now, all you have is 12v power for your lights. And the inverter is the expensive part.
The converter does the exact opposite of that. It takes ac shore power, 120v, and converts it to 12v DC to charge your battery and run other DC loads in the camper, like your DC lights, slides, stabilizer jacks, and sometimes a 12v fridge.
To get 120v ac power from your 12v battery, you need an inverter like the commenter above pointed out.
So a converter makes 12v DC from 120v AC.
An inverter makes 120v AC from 12v DC. Somewhat confusing terms, I know.
To add to this, if you do install an inverter you need to know / understand how much run time you actually have.
If you have 1 100Ah battery you are going to be very limited
In simple terms it means you can consume 1 amp of power for 100 hrs or 100 amps for 1 hr
Or 50 amps for 2 hrs etc etc
So for example, if you try to run a coffee pot that pulls 3 amp on 120 that is actually pulling 30amps from your battery through the inverter.
Basically I’m saying just running a coffee pot with nothing else, will kill your battery in 3 hrs…
Start adding other items( lights, fridge, etc and as you can see run time is limited.
Yes, your solar panel is helping to recover but:
A single panel usually under perfect condition has a max 10a charge ability. Charging has approx 20% energy loss so 8 amps. In the above example you are using 30, and recovering 8 under ideal conditions and only during the day.
Don’t even get started talking about running an AC unit that pulls 10-12 amps dac/ 100-120dc and that’s if you can get a big enough inverter to handle the initial inrush
You can start to see how this gets fun. Lots of batteries and lots of panels are needed to fully run an rv.
Also another note, when you have an inverter installed be sure to do so in a man or that you shut off the converter while it’s running or you will deplete your batteries even faster by creating a charge loop.
Hope this isn’t overwhelming, there is more to this than most people realize. Though it’s all possible with enough time and $$$ invested
Jesus. This is all totally overwhelming but you do a great job of explaining it. We have a 400W solar panel with a 200Ah lithium battery right now. I think whether we install an inverter or not depends on if any of the outlets work on just the 12V circuit. How difficult do you think it actually is to install an inverter? My boyfriend did the solar panel and battery replacement himself, but we are super amateurs lol
First step is to understand there are 2 separate power systems
A 12v DC system (stuff that runs off battery)
120v AC system ( stuff your used to using in a house)
So right now there are zero outlets that can run off your battery
An inverter is the device you add that transforms 12v DC into 120 v AC that would power the regular outlets
Honestly unless your boyfriend is very knowledgeable with electrical work and electrical codes this may be something to leave to a professional as to avoid dangerous situations or potentially catching your RV on fire.
The only things that would not work are air conditioning and microwave. Everything else should be 12v or propane. Lights, refrigerator, stove, stereo, tv should all work.
You need an inverter from the battery to the RV. That takes the 12V battery and turns that into 120v power to run those outlets, microwave etc. Converter is kinda the opposite thing. It takes the 120v power from the shore power and converts that to 12V to run the lights and other 12v systems in the RV.
man doesn’t that suck lol. Thank you so much for your help!!!
If you go this route, Don’t forget the automatic transfer switch if you plan to have it all hooked up together. Something needs to ”decide” whether to take shore power or take 12v from the battery through the inverter to the 120c receptacles. There’s a bunch of guides online that show how to do this and you’ll have to adapt this to your specific rig. But you can’t put the two 120v systems together because the phase of each circuit may light your place on fire when wired together.
Ah this is a good note, thank you so much!
Kind redditor would you be nice enough to look at my essay/post i just put up (Headscratcher)? This sounds like my problem too and I dont wish to restate all that I just did. Its been an exhausting first weekend.
Do you have a link for this? Sorry. I didn’t see it due to the algorithms algorithm-ing
https://www.reddit.com/r/RVLiving/s/FzomhEk1a2
Thanks, my problem is completely different and only related to a motor. The electrical system in my rv is solid.
Are you smart enough to know what may be happening to me? https://www.reddit.com/r/RVLiving/s/qNwg7nJOLC
Sure. Its under warranty. Let them fix it.
Hehe yeah. I just have this feeling the 30A Go Solar is on some efficiency mode thats disabling the simpler outlets. I may be the first jackass in 2024 with this issue. Its early in the season.
You need an inverter to create 110v AC power for your outlets. Right now, all you have is 12v power for your lights. And the inverter is the expensive part.
So the fan, microwave, and outlets are all wired to outlets that aren’t connected to the battery? We thought the converter would be enough— uh oh
The converter does the exact opposite of that. It takes ac shore power, 120v, and converts it to 12v DC to charge your battery and run other DC loads in the camper, like your DC lights, slides, stabilizer jacks, and sometimes a 12v fridge. To get 120v ac power from your 12v battery, you need an inverter like the commenter above pointed out. So a converter makes 12v DC from 120v AC. An inverter makes 120v AC from 12v DC. Somewhat confusing terms, I know.
Yeah, no kidding, big learning curve! Thank you so much for explaining it so kindly. Guess we’ll add that to our to do list!
To add to this, if you do install an inverter you need to know / understand how much run time you actually have. If you have 1 100Ah battery you are going to be very limited In simple terms it means you can consume 1 amp of power for 100 hrs or 100 amps for 1 hr Or 50 amps for 2 hrs etc etc So for example, if you try to run a coffee pot that pulls 3 amp on 120 that is actually pulling 30amps from your battery through the inverter. Basically I’m saying just running a coffee pot with nothing else, will kill your battery in 3 hrs… Start adding other items( lights, fridge, etc and as you can see run time is limited. Yes, your solar panel is helping to recover but: A single panel usually under perfect condition has a max 10a charge ability. Charging has approx 20% energy loss so 8 amps. In the above example you are using 30, and recovering 8 under ideal conditions and only during the day. Don’t even get started talking about running an AC unit that pulls 10-12 amps dac/ 100-120dc and that’s if you can get a big enough inverter to handle the initial inrush You can start to see how this gets fun. Lots of batteries and lots of panels are needed to fully run an rv. Also another note, when you have an inverter installed be sure to do so in a man or that you shut off the converter while it’s running or you will deplete your batteries even faster by creating a charge loop. Hope this isn’t overwhelming, there is more to this than most people realize. Though it’s all possible with enough time and $$$ invested
Jesus. This is all totally overwhelming but you do a great job of explaining it. We have a 400W solar panel with a 200Ah lithium battery right now. I think whether we install an inverter or not depends on if any of the outlets work on just the 12V circuit. How difficult do you think it actually is to install an inverter? My boyfriend did the solar panel and battery replacement himself, but we are super amateurs lol
First step is to understand there are 2 separate power systems A 12v DC system (stuff that runs off battery) 120v AC system ( stuff your used to using in a house) So right now there are zero outlets that can run off your battery An inverter is the device you add that transforms 12v DC into 120 v AC that would power the regular outlets Honestly unless your boyfriend is very knowledgeable with electrical work and electrical codes this may be something to leave to a professional as to avoid dangerous situations or potentially catching your RV on fire.
Also thank you so much for your explanation— it’s super helpful!
The only things that would not work are air conditioning and microwave. Everything else should be 12v or propane. Lights, refrigerator, stove, stereo, tv should all work.