Is this right... ? (1 Viewer)

old-mo

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We have three (3) large solar panels, and I assume quite a large "Inverter"... Off EHU the guage only drops about 3 digits out of 10 in a day, and during fairly bright weather soon goes back up to 10...

To get electric (230) to the 4 power points I have to press a button to activate the inverter..

When I connect to EHU there is NO power to the 13 amp plugs until I press the inverter button.. :RollEyes:

Is this normal.. ?

All the other M/homes and RV` we have had... as soon as you plug the EHU in you have power to the 13 amp plugs..

Must admit we didn`t have an inverter in the others..

So this sequence of pushing the button may be correct..

Is it... ?

Thanks.
 

tonka

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First impression is that someone may have re-wired all the mains plugs to operate via the inverter. The switch is no doubt turning the inverter on and off, rather than it running all the time when not needed..

You can get switch over relays that will allow use via the hook up when that's connected and then via the inverter when off grid.. Need someone with a bit of Electrical knowledge to quickly look at how its been wired...

The solar gauge seems to be working by the sound of it but use it more as a guide.. You could run lots of things at night and see how far the level drops and then see if it recovers next day..
 
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eddie

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In essence your inverter is wired to act as a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) That means that the inverter is monitoring incoming mains.

When there is no mains available, inverted power will be available, and should the power fail, the inverter will immediately be available.

Great if your using medical equipment, or recording something for example.

Depending on make, it may also have a power support function (the terminology varies between manufacturers) On my set up for example I have 7 x 135Ah batteries, with a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter charger (100 amp) Should we try to draw say 10amps when on a 6 amp hook up, the inverter charger will recognise that there is a shortfall of 4amps.

It will stop being a charger temporarily, and revert to being an inverter, adding the necessary "missing" 4amps allow the us to draw the 10 amps we have tried to use (wife's hairdryer:Doh:)

Once the additional load has been turned off (Wife's hair dry :thumb:) The unit stops being a inverter and switches back to being a battery charger to replace the 12 V DC it has converted to Mains.

If you can tell me what make (and model if possible) I can tell you exactly what it does (or should be doing)

Cheers

Eddie

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old-mo

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Thanks Eddie for that explanation... :thumb:

I think we may have as you have described...

We did have the fridge on 230, and a couple of computers plugged in, and the wife plugged in a 4 slice toaster and it all went off.. after a few minutes..

I went and checked the site hook up post, and that was OK,,, then checked the on board consumer unit and that hadn`t tripped...

Within a few minutes and after switching off the fridge it all burst into life... and back to normal..

I will check all the manuals and post back later.. :thumb:

Thanks Mate.. :thumb:
 
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Should we try to draw say 10amps when on a 6 amp hook up, the inverter charger will recognise that there is a shortfall of 4amps.

It will stop being a charger temporarily, and revert to being an inverter, adding the necessary "missing" 4amps allow the us to draw the 10 amps we have tried to use (wife's hairdryer:Doh:)

How does it know you are on a 6Amp supply?

Usually if the site is rated at 6Amps then exceeding it results in the breaker tripping and you are on 0Volts/0Amps until its reset.

Can yo set a limit on the current taken from the mains?

Gordon
 

hilldweller

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On my set up for example I have 7 x 135Ah batteries, with a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter charger (100 amp) Should we try to draw say 10amps when on a 6 amp hook up, the inverter charger will recognise that there is a shortfall of 4amps.

It will stop being a charger temporarily, and revert to being an inverter, adding the necessary "missing" 4amps allow the us to draw the 10 amps we have tried to use (wife's hairdryer:Doh:)

Once the additional load has been turned off (Wife's hair dry :thumb:) The unit stops being a inverter and switches back to being a battery charger to replace the 12 V DC it has converted to Mains.
Eddie

Well f**k me, that's impressive.

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old-mo

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"Eddie"..........

The inverter is a "Waeco Sine power, model number MSP2012...

The switch is a "Waeco Sine Power unit model Number MCR-9..

Thanks.
 

eddie

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How does it know you are on a 6Amp supply?

Usually if the site is rated at 6Amps then exceeding it results in the breaker tripping and you are on 0Volts/0Amps until its reset.

Can yo set a limit on the current taken from the mains?

Gordon

In essence there is an ammeter on the incoming main, which will realise that the supply is faltering, as it will read a minute voltage drop, which will bring and the inverter/charger will take action.

The equipment would be more concerned with voltage than the "number of amps"

With the Inverter/charger we use and supply we can set any parameter we chose: Frequency, Voltage charging rate, threshold voltage, cut off voltage al sorts.

Luckily there is a default setting:winky::thumb:

Cheers

Eddie

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eddie

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Well f**k me, that's impressive.
:thumb:

Well it is my bloody job! It would be a poor show if I didn't set my own van up right :roflmto:

Just for the record I have 3 x 130 W solar panels charging via MPPT regulators, the equivalent of a 200 Ah B2B system and an on board 6Kvh generator! to keep everything "topped up" but to be honest most of the time I don't bother with hook up if we are overnighting as we simply don't need it.

old-mo said:
"Eddie"..........
The inverter is a "Waeco Sine power, model number MSP20

Yep, yours is a pure sine wave inverter with voltage synchronisation.

It will run at 2000 watts continuously and will peak at 4000 watts to "start appliances up" (dependent on battery power obviously)

Eddie




 
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old-mo

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Thanks Eddie..

So in laymans terms for a thicko...

It`s working correctly, and plugging in a 4 slice toaster with other electric bits was too much..?

Or could it be updated to a better system.. ?

:thumb:
 

eddie

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Thanks Eddie..

So in laymans terms for a thicko...

It`s working correctly, and plugging in a 4 slice toaster with other electric bits was too much..?

Or could it be updated to a better system.. ?

:thumb:

Perhaps just using two slices at a time may have been easier on the system, given that you were using other electric bits at the time :winky:

No point thinking about upgrading you've got very good equipment and so long as it was installed correctly it should do everything that you want.

If you continue to get problems, we could always check the installation and the settings for you to make sure that every thing is "A OK"

Cheers

Eddie

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Terry

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Perhaps just using two slices at a time may have been easier on the system, given that you were using other electric bits at the time :winky:

No point thinking about upgrading you've got very good equipment and so long as it was installed correctly it should do everything that you want.

If you continue to get problems, we could always check the installation and the settings for you to make sure that every thing is "A OK"

Cheers

Eddie
Come on Eddie we all know the toaster will use the same on two or four ::bigsmile:--as Brian (HD) said both very impressive systems :thumb: I suspose thats a little of where the extra money @ 90k ish is spent :Smile:Both sound very nice and expensive :thumb:::bigsmile:
terry
 

hilldweller

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It`s working correctly, and plugging in a 4 slice toaster with other electric bits was too much..?

Or could it be updated to a better system.. ?

:thumb:

What you need is a brain upgrade, from RV to Euro home -- seriously for once, you do need to think more in terms of gas for any heating, and electricity for TV, light etc because once you start talking toast, tea, hair your batteries are *****ing themselves.

The energy in a can of gas is hundreds of times what you can store in your batteries. Simples.

Your clever system is, unfortunately, encouraging you to work the wrong way.
 
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I have a large master 3 way switch, when I connect to EHU there is no power to anything including sockets & charger until I switch it to mains on the master, if I want the invertor on I switch the master to invertor and it livens up the sockets and I learnt to my cost that the auto switch over on the Tec Tower activates and the fridge/freezer switches to mains from the invertor which pulls a lot out of the battery, when on site I now switch the tec tower off auto and on to gas.
Complcated but it works fine for me

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Thanks Eddie..

So in laymans terms for a thicko...

It`s working correctly, and plugging in a 4 slice toaster with other electric bits was too much..?

[HI]Or could it be updated to a better system.. ?
[/HI] :thumb:
Here you are sorted a four slice toaster that wont use a single milliamp. Simples:winky:
 

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eddie

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I have a large master 3 way switch, when I connect to EHU there is no power to anything including sockets & charger until I switch it to mains on the master, if I want the invertor on I switch the master to invertor and it livens up the sockets and I learnt to my cost that the auto switch over on the Tec Tower activates and the fridge/freezer switches to mains from the invertor which pulls a lot out of the battery, when on site I now switch the tec tower off auto and on to gas.
Complcated but it works fine for me

You can sort that with an automatic transfer switch and by changing the TEC tower to the distribution board, not plugged into your ringmain as it is at the moment. Having said that it can be useful to leave the fridge on mains (inverted) going through the tunnel

Eddie
 

eddie

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There is nothing wrong with using an inverter for a kettle, hairdryer or toaster etc so long as your equipment is man enough, your battery bank is stout enough and your re-charging regime is good enough.

My system is designed to do all those things without compromise. But and it is a big but, I never stay anywhere for more than a couple of days without hookup unless the Summer end of Spring, Summer or the Summer end of Autumn.

Come dark mornings and dark evenings I will either be in a position where I can run my genny or plug into mains or go somewhere else lol

With a 100 amp multi stage charger running my genny for a couple of hours at a sociable time tops up by battery bank 170 - 180 Amps!

But I start with 945 :ROFLMAO:

Eddie :winky:

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hilldweller

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My system is designed to do all those things without compromise. Eddie :winky:

The problem being that the Earth tilts as you drive over it. Arabs detect this and order up another Rolls or two.

a couple of hours at a sociable time
Eddie :winky:

There is no sociable time for a genny. That terrible constant drone.

There may be an acceptable time but always, all around you will be sticking pins in an effigy of you.
 

eddie

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Above Chamonix, Some 3000m above sea level, between Christmas and New Year in a completely deserted carkpark Minus 17 degrees outside was totally acceptable.

No one else there, and had anyone in a European van managed the roads I would have offered them overnight hook up from my 6Kva genny! How many I wonder would refuse a friendly face, mulled wine and and free hook up high up in the mountains.:winky:

Don't forget I end up being at loads of shows where gennies are run sometimes overnight for refrigerated vans.

After an overnight stop on a busy Aire or motorway service station, with lorries driving in and out, again with refrigeration units running, who would possibly risk objecting to a genny being used?

The trouble is that a lot of views are polarised. I think that this is the best way end of!

I disagree totally. I have lots of battery capacity. I have 390 watts of solar charge capability. I have a large inverter. I have a large generator and a 100 amp generator, and I have the system in place to correctly charge a large bank of batteries when the engine is running. I have a good battery monitoring system, telling me exactly what is going where, and if I need to be doing anything about it.

I am not showing off, far from it, I just think that on a sunny day, nothing beats solar charging, just on a cold winters day its a waste of time. When I am touring round charging my batteries from the engine is great.

On a CL this November, the being the only motorhome on the site as the owners are customers of ours and they have opened to let us park there for a wedding, nothing beats the generator.

Ten days at the NEC car park (sorry temporary campsite :ROFLMAO:) next month nothing will beat hook up.

Just to say that one method is best is wrong. We all use our motorhomes differently and I believe that a mix and match approach is better

Eddie
 

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