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Question Do you ever turn off your inverter?

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Neal

Staff member
RVF Administrator
Joined
Jul 27, 2019
Messages
11,477
Location
Midlothian, VA
RV Year
2017
RV Make
Newmar
RV Model
Ventana 4037
RV Length
40' 10"
Chassis
Freightliner XCR
Engine
Cummins 400 HP
TOW/TOAD
2017 Chevy Colorado
Fulltimer
No
I personally leave the inverter on all the time. Who here turns theirs off and if so, why?

I would imagine if I was in a boondocking situation trying to maximize battery and have zero gen run time relying on solar then this would be the one scenario.
 
Mine has been on since day one, and that was a long time ago.
 
I’ve always turned mine off when on shore power. My reason was/is that I was “giving it a rest” ?. Although, honestly, I never knew if that was what it was really doing when I shut it off. I guess I thought I was prolonging it’s life. So help me understand this. Why leave it on all of the time? What actually turns off when you turn it off? What does the manufacturer recommend? Just trying to clearly understand this as my coach is the first one I’ve owned and didn’t have any instruction when I bought it.
 
Always OFF when in storage.
Why leave it on, when nothing is being used?
Only asking for problems; heat, failure, worse while unattended.

And, if not on even minimal shore power, batteries get drained with a couple weeks...even with nothing running. Been there-got the shirt.
 
Why leave it on, when nothing is being used?

I do have things on when in storage:
  • Refrigerator: Like light bulbs things go bad when cycling on/off - I prefer leaving it on forever. I also don't empty it as I do use my coach frequently
  • Some electronics remain on such as a web cam - honeywell c2 for security
Right now I'm in my most minimal storage config due to the pandemic so I could turn it off. It's just not necessary for my use so it's always on. Quartzsite would have been the one case I should have turned it off at night although not sure it would have mattered, the 12V heating draws a lot of battery in cold weather.
 
Refrigerator: Like light bulbs things go bad when cycling on/off
@Neal , the refrigerator cycles itself on/off all day and all night regardless. Might as well shut it off in storage.
 
It is my understanding that refrigerators don't do well being shut down for long periods. Compressor seals dry out and leak.

I think it is better to let them run in their normal cycles. At least, that's what we do. We put 3-4 jugs of water inside just to provide some thermal mass and prevent frequent cycling.

TJ
 
My refrigerator remains stocked other than the current time where I wanted to avoid going to the grocery store as long as possible so all RV food including pantry came into the house.
 

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