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Old 08-08-2019, 11:05 PM   #1
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Inverter

I wonder if the inverter option with one outlet uses a smaller capacity go power. Anyone have that option ?
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Old 08-08-2019, 11:18 PM   #2
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I wonder if the inverter option with one outlet uses a smaller capacity go power. Anyone have that option ?
It is the same inverter. 1500W.
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Old 08-08-2019, 11:35 PM   #3
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Thanks
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Old 08-09-2019, 09:35 AM   #4
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One of the mistakes I made on my build was not installing the all plug inverter. I see your from Ohio so similar weather to us here in Kentucky. My thought at the time was if I need A/C power I would also need the Air Conditioning, so I would bring my Honda generator. Which is true in the summer time here in the south east. What I have found is with solar the other 9 months I don't need the generator and wish I had selected the inverter option with my solar setup. I am currently resolving that mistake! Just for the record, Escape Trailer Industries will not install the all plug option after the build, just the one plug separate plug setup. ( Not that I would drive across the county to have this installed) I did contact them for the part numbers of the items that ETI uses. I'm going to have right around $500.00 usd in the all plug go power inverter setup once installed.
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Old 08-09-2019, 09:40 AM   #5
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I have always tried to make everything 12v or propane while camping and other than air conditioning I have more or less succeeded in all 4 Escapes. Your computers and televisions operate off direct current as does everything else in your trailer, battery or propane or a combination of the two. I can spend that all inverter option money elsewhere...but it is your money, not mine
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Old 08-09-2019, 09:51 AM   #6
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One of the mistakes I made on my build was not installing the all plug inverter. I see your from Ohio so similar weather to us here in Kentucky. My thought at the time was if I need A/C power I would also need the Air Conditioning, so I would bring my Honda generator. Which is true in the summer time here in the south east. What I have found is with solar the other 9 months I don't need the generator and wish I had selected the inverter option with my solar setup. I am currently resolving that mistake! Just for the record, Escape Trailer Industries will not install the all plug option after the build, just the one plug separate plug setup. ( Not that I would drive across the county to have this installed) I did contact them for the part numbers of the items that ETI uses. I'm going to have right around $500.00 usd in the all plug go power inverter setup once installed.
I should have gotten the inverter with all plug option when I bought as I added it myself. I ended up buying most of the stuff needed from Escape as the prices in all were much better than I could find elsewhere. I basically saved $150 CAD and had to put in the better part of the day doing it, so really got paid poorly.

This said, other than some wire, all you would need to buy to do this yourself is the transfer switch that mounts on the back of the converter and a small 2 breaker panel to do the work. Not too tough, just a bit time consuming.

One thing I have learned when working inside the benches in the dinette is to make the area up as a bed, as laying down doing the work is much nicer than trying to reach in while crouched on the floor. A wee nap is also an easy bonus with this setup.
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Old 08-09-2019, 11:24 AM   #7
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One thing I have learned when working inside the benches in the dinette is to make the area up as a bed, as laying down doing the work is much nicer than trying to reach in while crouched on the floor. A wee nap is also an easy bonus with this setup.
Great idea, wish I knew it before I installed my inverter. Wasn't all that comfy working over the bench front, and around the Springfield leg.
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Old 08-09-2019, 11:30 AM   #8
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As usual great advice. I only need an occasional off grid ac power for a coffee grinder and to power a charger so I’m thinking to retro fit just one outlet with a 1000 watt go power to save a bit of money. Would not need the microwave off grid. That install would be pretty quick.
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Old 08-09-2019, 12:43 PM   #9
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FWIW, I installed a 1000w inverter. The 2014 5.0TA has 2 circuits that run to the outlets from the breaker panel, I reran one of the breakers outputs to one input leg on a small transfer switch, the other leg being the inverter. The output of the transfer switch goes to the circuit that includes the MW and a number of outlets. Pretty simple and you end up with a number of outlets and in my case, the MW. Inline Transfer Relay
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Old 08-09-2019, 05:48 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
I should have gotten the inverter with all plug option when I bought as I added it myself. I ended up buying most of the stuff needed from Escape as the prices in all were much better than I could find elsewhere. I basically saved $150 CAD and had to put in the better part of the day doing it, so really got paid poorly.

This said, other than some wire, all you would need to buy to do this yourself is the transfer switch that mounts on the back of the converter and a small 2 breaker panel to do the work. Not too tough, just a bit time consuming.

One thing I have learned when working inside the benches in the dinette is to make the area up as a bed, as laying down doing the work is much nicer than trying to reach in while crouched on the floor. A wee nap is also an easy bonus with this setup.
Jim.
Would you mind sharing a picture and or diagram of your install of the inverter and transfer switch? I ordered the GP-ISW1500-12 Go power inverter and Wfco T-30 transfer switch that ETI uses, it would be nice to see other setups that have been modified post build. I will post pictures when I finish up my setup later this month.
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Old 08-09-2019, 06:26 PM   #11
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Jim.
Would you mind sharing a picture and or diagram of your install of the inverter and transfer switch? I ordered the GP-ISW1500-12 Go power inverter and Wfco T-30 transfer switch that ETI uses, it would be nice to see other setups that have been modified post build. I will post pictures when I finish up my setup later this month.
I haven't taken any photos of this setup, but can in a day or two and post.
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Old 08-09-2019, 08:41 PM   #12
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Also would someone who has the factory installed option let me know where the components are located in a 21. Mines a 2017. Is the inverter on the battery side or the circuit breaker side. Thanks in advance .
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Old 08-09-2019, 09:25 PM   #13
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Our 2013 Casita has a 400 watt portable inverter which we have never used so logically when we got our Escape 21 I just had to get the full built in inverter package ,which again we have never used . I suppose , I could brew a pot of coffee one morning just to see how inverter brewed coffee tastes , but I doubt it would taste anywhere near as good as propane or fire brewed coffee .
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Old 08-09-2019, 10:10 PM   #14
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Also would someone who has the factory installed option let me know where the components are located in a 21. Mines a 2017. Is the inverter on the battery side or the circuit breaker side. Thanks in advance .
I have the u shape dinette - below are pics of both ends under the back seat hatch.

The first pic show the location of the 2 position breaker panel. It is located on the drivers side of the trailer. It supplies 120v to all the circuits powered by the inverter when the transfer switch is enabled. I used 4 breakers so that I could split the outlets up and have a dedicated breaker for the microwave. The panel is fed by a 30 amp breaker in the converter or the inverter depending on the transfer switch.

The second pic show the other end of the rear bench area. On the lower left, the yellow box is the inverter mounted next to the battery box. You want the inverter close to the batteries so the power leads are as short as possible. The silver box in the foreground of the pic mounted on the back of the converter is the transfer switch.

Pic 3 shows the power cables to the inverter from the battery.
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Old 08-09-2019, 10:28 PM   #15
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Ours is a stock seat configuration, so I assume that the inverter gets mounted like yours at the battery side and the 110 out put feeds into the transfer switch and into the sub panel that’s fed by a 30 amp breaker in the main dc and ac distribution power center. So retro fitting would only require to fish the 110 cable through the back wall to the drivers side . And ouf course mount and cable the transfer switch and sub panel. If anyone has done one of these please chime in. I once made a cart that carried a wireless transmitter using inverter and transfer switch for a national park so they could broadcast a mile out in the field to webinars through a public tv station. I also assume that the battery and solar charger remains a separate cable to the batteries?
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Old 08-09-2019, 10:32 PM   #16
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Ahh I see you did retrofit this one ?
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Old 08-09-2019, 10:37 PM   #17
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Ours is a stock seat configuration, so I assume that the inverter gets mounted like yours at the battery side and the 110 out put feeds into the transfer switch and into the sub panel that’s fed by a 30 amp breaker in the main dc and ac distribution power center. So retro fitting would only require to fish the 110 cable through the back wall to the drivers side . And ouf course mount and cable the transfer switch and sub panel. If anyone has done one of these please chime in. I once made a cart that carried a wireless transmitter using inverter and transfer switch for a national park so they could broadcast a mile out in the field to webinars through a public tv station. I also assume that the battery and solar charger remains a separate cable to the batteries?
You're correct on where to mount the components.

The battery feed to the converter panel and the solar charger remain separate. Of course, if you have a battery monitor - the negative returns all terminate at the shunt. If you look at pic 3, the three negative terminations on the left of the shunt are the 12v negative from the converter panel, the negative from the solar charger, and the negative to the inverter.
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Old 08-09-2019, 10:41 PM   #18
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Ahh I see you did retrofit this one ?
I corrected a few things that didn't look right. I bought the factory all outlet inverter from Escape but am a retired electrical engineer.

So, all DC and AC wiring was separated per code, the microwave breaker dedicated per code, and general cleanup of the wiring to meet my standards.

The solar system was installed my me as I wanted a Victron MPPT controller - also the Victron battery monitor.
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Old 08-09-2019, 10:42 PM   #19
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Thanks for your explanation and generosity
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Old 08-09-2019, 11:06 PM   #20
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Thanks for your explanation and generosity
You are welcome!

Just a note. Escape wired the drivers side of the trailer on one breaker and the passenger side on another breaker. That doesn't meet NEC as the microwave must be on a dedicated breaker and it was on the same breaker as the other outlets.

I noticed they had did this right away on the way back from Chilliwack as I was heating up breakfast in the microwave and my wife plugged in a hair dryer on the drivers side outlet. Of course, the breaker tripped as the microwave was already pulling 12 amps by itself.

So as soon as I got the trailer home - out comes the Romex, 4 breakers to replace the two that came with the subpanel, and the outlets were rewired per NEC requirements.

You might want to keep this in mind as you install the subpanel for the inverter.
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