Power to my outlets??

[stahake]

Why do I not get power to my outlets while using the charge from the solar panels. I have the inverter with the transfer switch. Am I missing something?



Thanks!

[Donna D.]

But, did you turn the inverter on? It's not automatic, at least not in my trailer...

[stahake]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

But, did you turn the inverter on? It's not automatic, at least not in my trailer...

Yes, I have tried both directions from off... I and II

[davidmurphy02]

You need to turn the inverter on via the solar control panel. Press and hold the "AC" button on the lower left for three seconds until a little "AC" icon appears in the top right corner of the display. The inverter is now on, but it takes a minute or so to go through its startup process before it then sends power to your outlets. If you have a microwave you'll see the display come on when the inverter is powered up. If not, you'll need to have something plugged into an outlet so you will see when the power is on.

When you are using AC power this way you will hear the fan on the inverter run, making a whirring sound - this is normal, to disspate the heat that the inverter generates when running.

Be sure to turn the inverter off when you are through using AC power - same procedure as turning it on, hold the AC button for three seconds and you will hear a "click" and the AC icon on the display will go out.

[stahake]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

Be sure to turn the inverter off when you are through using AC power - same procedure as turning it on, hold the AC button for three seconds and you will hear a "click" and the AC icon on the display will go out.

Thank you! I will get that going tomorrow. Another question... Can I run my fridge off of the solar power? It does have an option for AC power but the AC light does not come on when I toggle between DC, AC, and gas.



I really appreciate your help! I have been plugged into shore power for the past 4 months so I haven't bothered with it. I can always count on this forum for help!

[davidmurphy02]

No, you can not run the fridge on AC from the inverter - it would take too much power so it is not hooked up to AC from the inverter, only shore power. When you don't have shore power the fridge runs on propane - and actually runs more efficiently on propane than on AC.

[C&G in FL]

I would not necessarily agree that an absorption refrigerator runs more efficiently on propane than on 120 vac. I guess it depends on one’s perception of what comprises efficiency. I have the much aligned RM8555 in my trailer, and when on shore power, I cannot set it to the max (5 bars) because everything in the refrigerator compartment will freeze. It often happens on 4 bars also. A few years back, while staying in Monument Valley for a week, with daytime highs consistently at 105° F, I never saw the refrigerator go above 38° F. To me, that seems quite efficient. When I first started camping as a young lad with my parents, it was commonly stated that these refrigerators functioned best on propane. I have not found that to be true in any of the 5 trailers I have owned since I purchased my first around 1982. I have found them to cool equally well on either propane or 120 vac. Of course, that does not mean everyone else may have found propane and 120 vac to be equally efficient.

[Brian B-P]

"Efficiency" and "effectiveness" are two very different things. Many people say "efficient" when they mean "effective", and in most RV absorption refrigerators the propane burner is most effective (provides the most cooling), followed by the AC electric heater, with the DC electric heater last... but even that varies by model.

In many cases the efficiency of energy use or even effectiveness is less important that the availability of energy, and that's the case here: there's lots of energy in the propane tanks, and much less in the battery, so when shore power or power from the tug is not available, it makes sense to use propane.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by stahake

Another question... Can I run my fridge off of the solar power? It does have an option for AC power but the AC light does not come on when I toggle between DC, AC, and gas.

It's probably not a good idea to run the refrigerator on electricity when the only source is the solar-charged battery, but if you do, it would be more efficient to run it on 12 V DC directly from the battery; that would be more efficient than using 12 V DC from the battery to run an inverter to make 120 V AC to feed that to the refrigerator.