Power Issue

[Soonerfan1]

Hello everyone. New member, just joined and it looks like a great community. We have a 32' Georgetown Class A. Just installed 2 brand new 6 volt Interstate batteries. Also put in a Solar kit to charge them daily. Bought a 3000 watt inverter so that we can watch TV at night without running the generator. All works well except that the Inverter alarm goes off once the voltage drops below 10. This usually happens around 2 to 3 am. Point being is that... shouldn't there be enough power to run a TV from 7 pm til 11 pm or even 12 am and also run the roof fan all night? I'm puzzled as to why it wouldn't. Am I missing something?

 

[Neal]

Welcome to RVForums @Soonerfan1. Make sure you know what the 50% voltage is on your batteries, it's typically around 11.9V's and the general recommendation is to not go below that as you can damage the batteries. RV's such as mine have a low battery cutoff setting in the inverter controller, I suggest reviewing your manual and set accordingly. Your inverter manufacturer may be able to offer guidance through a phone call and/or a cheat sheet of recommended settings such as my Magnum inverter has.

The inverter has nothing to do with how long batteries last, the DRAIN on the batteries determines that. Two batteries is a pretty small bank but it all depends on what you're using and the current draw. My house battery bank has 8 batteries and based on the higher demands I can go about 12 hours. I also have a solar setup so good on you with that, you'll enjoy it. Now you just have to get acquainted with your battery consumption and set proper limits.

I'll remove the duplicate thread in the test zone

 

[Soonerfan1]

Welcome to RVForums @Soonerfan1. Make sure you know what the 50% voltage is on your batteries, it's typically around 11.9V's and the general recommendation is to not go below that as you can damage the batteries. RV's such as mine have a low battery cutoff setting in the inverter controller, I suggest reviewing your manual and set accordingly. Your inverter manufacturer may be able to offer guidance through a phone call and/or a cheat sheet of recommended settings such as my Magnum inverter has.

The inverter has nothing to do with how long batteries last, the DRAIN on the batteries determines that. Two batteries is a pretty small bank but it all depends on what you're using and the current draw. My house battery bank has 8 batteries and based on the higher demands I can go about 12 hours. I also have a solar setup so good on you with that, you'll enjoy it. Now you just have to get acquainted with your battery consumption and set proper limits.

I'll remove the duplicate thread in the test zone

Thanks Neal. I'm just surprised that 2 fully charged batteries wouldn't last all night with just the fan and a TV. What's your thoughts on how many batteries are needed to..... let's say run the TV and fan all night then power the coffee maker in the morning? Would 4 do it?

 

[Neal]

I suggest verifying what is draining power, such as the inverter simply inverting can be a high demand especially at that size. I don't know...but you really need to analyze what is drawing power. There are flow monitors such as the Magnum Battery Monitor Kit (BMK) for my inverter setup, I also use a Victron Energy BMV-712 which I highly recommend you check out as it can answer a lot of these questions if you don't have a battery flow monitor installed. It is pretty important to pair with solar.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075RTSTKS/?tag=rvf01-20

 

[Soonerfan1]

Thank you Neal. Much appreciated.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Welcome toRVF, @Soonerfan1, glad to have you here.

I think @Neal is spot on; two batteries is probably not enough capacity to do what you want. The inverter does take power to do its thing and there are other unseen draws in most coaches. The key is to identify as many draws (TV, fan, inverter, refrigerator (?), clock in microwave or other appliance, etc.) as possible and then calculate the available amp hours in your battery bank. Remember Neal's cautions about drawing the batteries below the 50% level.

Good luck.

TJ

 

[Jim]

Just installed 2 brand new 6 volt Interstate batteries.

How many amps does each battery hold?

 

[AbdRahim]

I had 2 12 volt batteries on my Class C. It could not run the fans and a few lights without dropping to 50 % by morning. I always run the generator all night on overnight stops for the air conditioner now.
I now have 6six six volt batteries on this one, but a residential refrigerator, so I suspect I may be in a similar boat still. Thank God for the generator.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Lets start at the beginning. Lots of questions. Did you do the install or have it done for you?

If you installed it did you feed the inverter into the house wiring?

If you did install did you use a transfer switch?
is the relay powered when you are using the inverter? (relay should be powered by the grid not inverter)

If you didn't use a switch does the coach cord plug into an outlet from the inverter?
If this is how it was done did you install a switch to turn off the converter? (if no this is an endless loop)

How much power does the TV use? Old TVs are energy hogs.
How big is the fan?
Is this the first night you used the batteries?
or the 3rd or 4th.
How big are your panels?
How many hrs of sun?
Are we talking high end inverter or Harbor Freight Inverter?