I was just about ready to hook up my new inverter when I noticed another connection on the back with a little symbol next to it.

The instructions for the inverter basically say, “Have a qualified electrician install it” and this discovery is a perfect example why.

I have done tons of research into this project. I’ve spoken to the manufacturer, friends who know more than a thing or two about RV electricity, and I have scoured forums. I think that after all that research, more than one person would have noticed that connection and symbol and said, “That can’t possibly be important.

Well, that connection and symbol surely are important and I have a ton more research to do. My mother knows a lot about 120V systems, but not 12V systems, and I know that grounding is different for both. Quick research tells me that this connection isn’t just a matter of connecting a copper wire from the inverter to the chassis.

To make matters worse, the inverter instruction manual doesn’t make a single mention of the ground connection, not even in the diagram that explains read outs and connections on the unit.

So I’ll get all the wiring passed today, but it’s doubtful I’ll be getting the inverter in. Darn, what a complicated project!

It’s amazing how much research one can do about a subject and still completely miss the most obviously solution to a problem. My battery bank project has taught me an important lesson. Yes, it’s nice to offer a ‘tah-dah!’ post to readers with no build up, but the build up posts provide the opportunity for discussion that could change the outcome.

Reader Carl left an interesting comment on my last post. Boiling the comment down to its essence, he asked me, “Why don’t you just plug your RV into your inverter? This way, all your outlets will be live off shore power and you won’t have to run that 120V wiring to a single outlet.”

I can do that?!

As it turns out, I can! I did some research and the end result is that you can plug an RV power cable into an inverter just like you plug it into a generator or a shore power outlet. The caveat is wattage of the inverter and the size of the battery bank determine what can be left on when you’re running off the inverter.

Generally, when you plug your RV into an inverter, you want to turn off the converter, the microwave, the AC, the fridge, and the water heater if is electric.

My fridge’s default mode is propane and my water heater runs on propane, so that leaves the other three.

Now, I know there are transfer switches and all manner of mods to automatically transfer over to the inverter, but I don’t have the electrical gumption to dig into my established power grid, never mind the financial outlay. So I’ll be using the ‘shut off the breakers’ method of electrical management to power my RV from my inverter.

So instead of running 120V wiring from the front to the back of the rig in a straight line, I’ll be running it diagonally to the shore power cord storage compartment. I think I may have a route that will let me do this through the underbelly rather than under the rig. In theory, it would be easiest to bring my shore power cord to the inverter, but the stupid location of my battery bank precludes that option.

There is another thorn in this project because of my battery bank’s stupid location. Since there is no compartment next to it, I have to put the inverter up in the living room. So 12V wiring has to go up into the living room and then the 120V wiring has to come back down into the compartment to be taken to the back of the rig.

That said, the compartment where my batteries are located is huge and the batteries are well vented. I am considering putting the inverter in some sort of housing that would be sealed from the rest of the compartment but still ventable to the outside. The batteries themselves are vented to the outside, too.

I think that this would be sufficient to reduce the risk of the hydrogen emitted from the batteries from eating the inside of my inverter or, worse, meeting a spark that would cause a catastrophic boom. I really can’t see how this option is any more dangerous than having the inverter above the battery banks since hydrogen travels upwards.

If there’s still time after these issues are resolved, my mother and I will pass the cabling for the monitor and the remote inverter starter to the study from under the rig. Otherwise, they will go into the living room.

A reader emailed this evening to say that the monitor should be as close to the batteries as possible, but the Xantrex connection kit has 20′ of cabling and the customer service tech confirmed that this distance is acceptable. I’d like the starter and monitor in the study for convenience’s sake, but, really, it wouldn’t kill me to get up a couple of times a day and walk less than 40′ round trip to go check out the state of my batteries. 🙂

Before I get any concerned comments about whether or not I have enough battery capacity to run my rig off my inverter, I’m in the market for new batteries! The next few months will be a great trial run to determine just how much battery capacity I really need.

Sunday’s task list is gigantic and I hope we can get everything done!

As I started to put together my Xantrex LinkPRO battery monitor yesterday, I needed clarification as to where to fit my main 150A fuse into their wiring diagram. They had the battery monitor fuses tied directly to the positive battery terminal, while my battery bank wiring diagram has only the main 150A fuse tied to the battery and all other positive connections attached to the fuse.

I also wanted to know if my battery monitor cabling could follow the same route to the study as would the 120V wiring from the inverter.

I fired off an email to Andy Baird. His memory was fuzzy as to where I should locate the fuses, but he said that the frequency emitted from the 120V wiring would interfere with the battery monitor. Darn! Since finding one route from the battery bank to the study was difficult, finding two is out of the question. So it looks like the battery monitor will be installed in the living room. 🙁

That said, my mother had originally found a way to route wiring fairly neatly from the living room to the study, so I may be able to convince her to help me route the battery monitor cable under the rig and the 120V wiring through the rig. We are running short on time, but it never hurts to ask. 🙂

Since my guru left me at an impasse, I decide to try emailing Xantrex directly late Sunday, making sure to include my monitor’s serial number so it would be clear that I had purchased one of their products. Can you believe I just received an answer (noon Monday) from them?!

My question:

I would like clarification on two steps of the battery monitor connection kit instructions. This is in reference to an RV battery bank that includes a 1,000W inverter and a 150W solar panel. So all the positive connections are made from a 150A fuse.

Step three (3) of the instructions states:

“Connect the single inline fuse holder to the main battery + terminal.”

Should I be adding the inline fuse holders to the battery terminal (before the 150A fuse) or to the fuse 150A itself?

(Incidentally, the wiring diagram shows that that should actually be fuse holders, plural.)

Additionally, my battery bank is located below the living room of my RV, but I want to install the monitor in my home office, a distance of about 25 feet.

The instructions state in note one (1) below the diagram: “When routing the cable from the battery monitor to the battery system, avoid running it along with mains cables over long distances or in the neighbourhood of large relays or generators/motors.”

The connection kit comes with more than enough cabling to do this, so I know the distance is not an issue. But would there be a problem with running the monitor cables along with 120V wiring that provides a hard wired connection between the inverter and an outlet in the office?

Reply from Xantrex:

The fused power lead can connect to either side of the 150A fuse, however, if the 150A fuse blows, you will also lose meter power if connected to the inverter side of the fuse. The link wires should not be run with AC wires, as this can induce noise that may corrupt readings.

So not only does Xantrex answer its emails quicky, it actually reads them and provides clear and pertinent answers. I am very impressed!

I just may get a battery monitor installed in this lifetime!