Are my batteries working correctly?

New to camping and have questions? Wondering what the switch in the control panel does? Post your questions here and we'll (try) to answer them.
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skater
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Re: Are my batteries working correctly?

Post by skater »

For a test, a standard battery is fine. For permanent installation it has to be a sealed battery, since any offgassing would go into your living area.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
mtodd54
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B190 Year: 1995

Re: Are my batteries working correctly?

Post by mtodd54 »

hi guys, hoping you can chime in on this. I found a cheap 1000w inverter so was planning to replace to replace the old 1500w that squeals when turned on. The new one has pos, neg and ground wire inputs. the old one has the same, but also has a large white one that looks to run underneath what's called an ATS (I assume its a transfer switch and the wires go into the under side of it?) Anyway, here are some pics... still haven't connected a battery under the couch but thought id start with replacing this switch since I stumbled across it really cheap (open box item). thanks for your input as always!
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ATS box under couch
ATS box under couch
4.3 converter.jpg (2.58 MiB) Viewed 6447 times
back of old inverter with large white wire
back of old inverter with large white wire
4.2 romex out.jpg (1.86 MiB) Viewed 6447 times
back of old inverter
back of old inverter
4.1 old inverter.jpg (1.71 MiB) Viewed 6447 times
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skater
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B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Are my batteries working correctly?

Post by skater »

The white wire appears to be standard household wire. So, it's probably the 120 volt AC output wire. I'm not sure what the best option wiring in an inverter would be, but one option would be to wire it into the automatic transfer switch so that when the inverter is turned on and starts producing power, the transfer switch will power the 120 volt appliances with it. (This is how the generators are wired - when the generator starts producing power, the automatic transfer switch kicks over to use it, even if shore power is available.)

(Caution - I'd make sure things like the A/C, microwave, and fridge are off before starting the inverter.)
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
mtodd54
Weekend Camper
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2018 8:04 pm
B190 Year: 1995

Re: Are my batteries working correctly?

Post by mtodd54 »

Ok....i think i see what youre saying. The new inverter is really only putting 120v out the sockets on front of it. It doesnt have a wire to tie into the house-120v outlets. Thw old one HAS that option. Thanks!
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skater
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B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Are my batteries working correctly?

Post by skater »

mtodd54 wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 8:16 pm
Ok....i think i see what youre saying. The new inverter is really only putting 120v out the sockets on front of it. It doesnt have a wire to tie into the house-120v outlets. Thw old one HAS that option. Thanks!
Yeah, exactly.

The one in our trailer is even more interesting - the incoming shore power wire runs all the way to the front of the camper into the inverter, then back to the panel. The inverter also serves as the transfer switch. (There's a flaw in that design: If the batteries are dead, you can't use the 120 volt power either, so the trailer is electrically dead until you find a source of 12 volt power.) It's 1500 watt inverter, so it'll run everything but the air conditioner. The funny thing is that we almost never use it - when we're dry camping, we plan meals that don't require the microwave, for example.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
mtodd54
Weekend Camper
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2018 8:04 pm
B190 Year: 1995

Re: Are my batteries working correctly?

Post by mtodd54 »

Good to hear. Im trying to get everything working.... but honestly dont think i will use all those things like fridge, microwave etc.... but i still need to prove i can get em working i guess
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