In my Imagine 22MLE it appears that the inverter prep is under the bed against the pass through wall. Is this where Grand Design recommends locating the inverter? Where do most people install it? I'm sure it would be just as easy to mount it on the other side of the wall in the pass through? Anything important to consider with either location? I am hoping to keep the wiring as simple as possible with the batteries remaining on the tongue. Thanks!!
Much depends on how large your Inverter will be.
Generally speaking, you want to mount your Inverter as close to your batteries as possible. This is because there is a lot of "line loss" when the inverter is operating. The closer the Inverter is to the batteries, the less line loss. The bigger the inverter, the more important it is to co-locate the Inverter and the Batteries.
I am looking at a 2000 watt inverter. It would probably be no more than 5 ft of wire? Would increasing the size of the wire from the battery limit the line loss?
Yes, however, when you are calculating the wire length, you need to calculate the entire length of your wiring, (Both positive and negative wires). Consequently, if your Inverter is 5 feet away, your wire run is 10 feet long.
If you Google for: "Blue Sea Wire Size Chart" you will find a very nice color chart giving you the appropriate wire size to use for any given amperage of a specific length wire run. This is the best chart I have found to calculate my wire runs.
I never knew this. Guess I always thought that if a load would draw 10 amps, then each lead positive and negative, would be sized appropriately for 10 amperes of current.
While the wire might be approately sized, your line loss would be doubled and your circuit might not meet the specifications as designed. I can give you an example; on my prior travel trailer I could never get the brake lights bright enough (incandescent), they always seemed dim. I went in and replaced the ground wires because poor ground is often the cause of dim lights, not the problem. Eventually, I decided that the OEM had undersized the wires for the brake and tail lights and I was getting too much line loss to make the brake lights bright. I solved this problem by replacing the lights with LED brake lights. Since the LED lights require less energy to operate, the new LED lights were nice and BRIGHT.
Last edited:
Jomani
Senior Member
You should also factor in the heat that an inverter can generate. If it were me, I would install an ATS where the inverter prep circuit is and install that inverter as close as possible to the batteries. Since the amperage on a 12v system is ten times greater than a 120v system, it is much more important that you keep the 12v wiring as short as possible.
I like this idea! I hadn't thought about the inverter and ATS being in separate spots. I could put the inverter right on the other side of the front of the trailer in the pass through and would only have a few feet of wire between the batteries and the inverter. Then run wire under the trailer or on the top of the pass through to the other side where the inverter prep wiring is and install the ATS there. So as to wiring, 2/0 wire (or 1/0?) from the battery to the Smart Shunt and the inverter, then 10 AWG over to the ATS?
My Reflection setup sounds similar to your setup. My inverter prep wire is on the wall to the bedroom which is about 5' from the outer wall. I would put the inverter at the outer wall which is about 2' from the battery which is on the tongue.
From what I understand I would put the ATS on the bedroom wall where the prep wire is and then run wires either across the floor or overhead to the inverter and then to the battery. This all sounds simple, but I am electrically challenged.
I am looking at getting a LiTime 230ah battery being it will fit on my tongue. I don't know what inverter or ATS to get.
Jomani
Senior Member
The cable size will depend on the inverter you choose. A Renogy 2k inverter for example has a peak output of 4000 watts and 90% efficiency. According to Renogy’s user manual, it has the potential to draw upwards of 190 amps for a short period of time. If you look at the wire size chart that [MENTION=22656]SolarPoweredRV[/MENTION] mentioned, you should go with 2/0 cable. Some will say that is overkill as even Renogy recommends 1/0 cable but I always like to play it safe.
Not all inverters will require an ATS to be installed with them.
For example: most of the Victron Multiplus Inverters have a built-in 50 amp automatic transfer switch (ATS).
Be careful when choosing your Inverters, make sure it is the unit you want.
Additionally, when choosing your wire gauages, be sure to install cabling that will support the largest inverter you might possibly upgrade to in the future. You don't want to re-cable your system next year when you double the size of your battery bank and decide that the larger inverter is what will really make your wife happiest.
Another caution, be careful that your single 280ah battery, has the amperage capacity to power your inverter. Many larger amp hour batteries come equipped with a Battery Management System (BMS) that can only supply 100 amps continuously, just like the 100ah batteries. If this is the case with the battery you are considering, you would be better off using a pair of batteries, wired to a Buss Bar, instead of a single high amp hour battery.
Yes, this is exactly what I am thinking. I also have the LiTime 230Ah battery which fits my existing double battery box on the tongue. Based on the input I have received here, I am going with the Renogy 2000w inverter.
What double battery box do you have?
Camco. It came with the trailer from the dealer.
That is the one I am looking at. I read reviews that it was wider than the specs said. My "L" bars are 7 1/2" wide. The description says the width is 7 3/8", but reviewers says it is 7 5/8" wide. I may have to spread my bars a little.
I will take a look at it tomorrow and measure the box itself and let you know.
Great!
The descriptions only show the inner dimensions. Could you check the height of just the bottom piece also? I have an overhang over the "L" bars where the battery is. It was rough getting the current battery out and back in.
The battery box measured just about 7-3/8"....maybe a speck larger. It fits my tray but is very tight to the point I could barely move it (I didn't try too hard, haha, because I didn't want to have to put it back in!). But it does fit.
I also measured the height of the bottom piece for you, and it measured 8-3/8".
Thanks you very much! This box will work for my setup.
This is my opinion only and not worth more than the air it cost me when writing it…
When considering moving to lithium batteries, inverter, ATS, etc.on our Imagine it became increasingly clear that buying an inverter, a separate ATS and then the associated wiring would be too complicated and cumbersome. In the end I installed 4 LiTime 100ah batteries, an ExpertPower 2000 watt inverter/charger and tied in 800 watts of solar via a Victron solar charge controller and Victron Lynx distributor. I bypassed the OEM converter and wired from our Progressive Dynamics EMS, to the new inverter and then the output from the inverter back to the OEM circuit panel. I say all that to offer an alternative to integrating an inverter alone with an ATS and also because all 120 volt outlets in the trailer are powered just as if we’re plugged into shore power.
My only regret is not going with a Victron MultiPlus inverter; the ExpertPower has actually been a great unit - the fan is just a bit noisy at times and I’d like to have all components (solar charger, Smart Shunt and Lynx Distributor) integrated for monitoring purposes.
Again, just my 2 cents as another course to take.
P.S. Batteries, solar charge controller, inverter/charger, Lynx Distributor are under the bed in the front of the rig.
Bob
When considering moving to lithium batteries, inverter, ATS, etc.on our Imagine it became increasingly clear that buying an inverter, a separate ATS and then the associated wiring would be too complicated and cumbersome. In the end I installed 4 LiTime 100ah batteries, an ExpertPower 2000 watt inverter/charger and tied in 800 watts of solar via a Victron solar charge controller and Victron Lynx distributor. I bypassed the OEM converter and wired from our Progressive Dynamics EMS, to the new inverter and then the output from the inverter back to the OEM circuit panel. I say all that to offer an alternative to integrating an inverter alone with an ATS and also because all 120 volt outlets in the trailer are powered just as if we’re plugged into shore power.
My only regret is not going with a Victron MultiPlus inverter; the ExpertPower has actually been a great unit - the fan is just a bit noisy at times and I’d like to have all components (solar charger, Smart Shunt and Lynx Distributor) integrated for monitoring purposes.
Again, just my 2 cents as another course to take.
P.S. Batteries, solar charge controller, inverter/charger, Lynx Distributor are under the bed in the front of the rig.
Bob
Similar threads
- ColoFatherOf3
- Electrical System and Wiring
- Replies: 6
- Views: 753
- JPS350
- Electrical System and Wiring
- Replies: 46
- Views: 3K
- tensch
- Electrical System and Wiring
- Replies: 4
- Views: 804
Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days
- Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
- Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
- Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
- and much more...
