Newbie inverter advice please

[RV-AL]

A couple of weeks ago i took delivery of a Auto-Trail Delaware 2018. It has a sterling quasi sine wave inverter. To power my 230v sockets off hook-up is it as simple as switching off the battery charger and plugging the shore power cable into the front of the inverter? It all sounds a bit too easy to me, but would be great if that was all to it. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[mitzimad]

The invertor provides 240v electric from 12v batteries for when you have no shore power

 

[funflair]

I don’t know what you want to run off it but quasi sine wave are not good with delicate electronics, to answer your question yes you could do as you say and plug your hook up cable into the inverter and turn off the battery charger, keep an eye on the battery level though.

 

[Lenny HB]

You also need to turn the fridge off auto and set it on gas.

 

[jako999]

As nothing is plugged in to the outlets of the inverter I would say it’s never been used to run any internal power sockets. Who ever owned it before must have just ran something plugged in out side or may be a small vacuum then ran the cable back in through the habitation door. As has already been said don’t run anything that has delicate electronics like a laptop or ebike charger you need a PURE sign wave inverter.

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[autorouter]

You should be aware of the limitations. A typical leisure battery is 12v 100Ah, so it contains 12x100 = 1200Wh of energy, not all of which is usable. So a 1200W inverter at full power is not going to last long.

Inverters are best used for high power in short bursts - think microwave, coffee maker or hair dryer, rather than for a long time. The no-load drain is significant over a 24-hour period, so they are best switched off unless actively used.

As well as turning the fridge to gas, make sure the water heater or space heater are turned to gas, ie the electric elements are off.

 

[RV-AL]

Thanks for the advice, I hadn’t thought of the fridge. Sounds like if I really want an inverter I need to go pure sine, but maybe better still put in a few more 12v sockets and rely on them when off grid.

 

[two]

The best way to use an inverter is to do so sparingly because it can drain or damage your battery very easily. Plug whatever mains device into it directly. The Sterling inverters are some of the better ones, so even its modified wave may be good enough for your needs. Don't use it for cooking, though, use gas. You may not need one at all.