Advice for Inverter Setup in New Reflection with Inverter Prep

brockm11

New Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2024
Messages
2
Location
Parker, CO
Hello! My wife and I just purchased a 2024 Reflection 298bh fifth wheel. It comes with the Inverter Prep which is just the orange Romex wires that power the outlets and microwave. To help future proof the electric load with a growing family, I plan on getting a 3,000w inverter and two 230ah 12v lithium batteries. The "simplest" solution seems to be to keep our existing Progressive Dynamics 60amp converter/charger and just adding the inverter and automatic transfer switch. I've hear plenty of glowing reviews for the Victron MultiPlus-II which would come with the converter/charger, inverter, and transfer switch all in one but a little pricey at over $1,000. And if I did go with the Victron MultiPlus-II, would I just ignore the orange Romex inverter prep wiring altogether? Victron's documentation says "Any 240 V loads will therefore be supplied only when the MultiPlus is supplied by a split phase AC source. This prevents heavy loads such as water heaters or 240 V air conditioners from discharging the battery" which makes it sound like I would be safe just ignoring the inverter prep wiring and wouldn't have to worry about accidently turning on the AC when using the inverter.

Does anyone have any recommendations on replacing the stock converter/charger to get an all-in-on solution, or to just add the inverter and transfer switch separately? We have the stock 370W solar panels and 60a controller as well if that changes anything with the suggestions.
I am not an electrician by trade, but I am very handy and plan on doing the install myself.
Also, we plan on doing a mix of boondocking and campsites with power. I do bring my generator when boondocking which can help recharge the batteries, but it's nice to use the microwave and outlets without having to run the generator every time.
 
Looks like you're new here, welcome to the forum. I did a similar install on my coach with the Inverter Prep (see my post here). While I initially went the individual component route, I now have two pieces of Victron equipment and they work well. Spend as much time as possible evaluating how you will use the system, then size everything slightly larger.
 
If you use the orange inverter prep wiring, you won't be able to run the AC by mistake. The orange wires only provide electricity for a few outlets, microwave and I believe the TV. You can turn the inverter breaker off and see where you lose power to confirm what will be hot with just the inverter. It's a backwards way to find out, but it's easy to do.

Note; the orange wires are usually #10 and therefore are not big enough to carry the load of an AC.
 
Looks like you're new here, welcome to the forum. I did a similar install on my coach with the Inverter Prep (see my post here). While I initially went the individual component route, I now have two pieces of Victron equipment and they work well. Spend as much time as possible evaluating how you will use the system, then size everything slightly larger.
Thanks for sending over your setup. I did have a question, is the automatic transfer switch required? Or could I simply have the inverter connected to the battery and the inverter prep wire and just manually turn it on if we need it?
 
Thanks for sending over your setup. I did have a question, is the automatic transfer switch required? Or could I simply have the inverter connected to the battery and the inverter prep wire and just manually turn it on if we need it?
Yes, you could do it manually but I wouldn't recommend it. The inverter pulls a lot of juice, the cabling for the inverter would be tricky. Renogy has a 2.000 watt inverter with a built-in ATS. That's what I would go with if I had to do it again.
 
I added a standard Powermax 30A ATS to my unit with an inverter and used the "inverter prep" circuit. Since I have no desire to run my AC from my batteries---everything works fine in this configuration with my batteries. We are able to use all the plugs and everything we need in the camper from the inverter when boondocking.
 

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