Escapees July-August 2024

2 DIRECT CURRENT (DC) , typically 5V-12V, runs off of the battery bank in your RV. DC power often runs lights, vent fans, radio, slide-out motor, power awnings and USB outlets, among others. Inverter vs Converter— What’s the Di ff erence? Most RV manufacturers install a converter into the RV’s electrical system so that your battery bank will charge while you are plugged into shore power—it simply converts AC power to DC power. An inverter does the opposite; it transforms the DC power from your battery bank to AC power so that you can run AC appliances when you are off-grid. Most RV manufacturers do not include an inverter into the factory electrical system, unless otherwise speci fi ed, or the RV is designed speci fi cally for off-grid travel. If you want to boondock/dry camp and still run some (or all) of your AC appliances, you will need to install an inverter.

the DC battery source in addition to charging your battery bank off of shore power when you are plugged in. These devices are larger, more complex and more expensive. Most inverter chargers can handle loads up to 3500W. Another reason to choose an inverter charger over a standard inverter is when you’re upgrading the batteries from any type of lead acid ( fl ooded, Gel, or AGM) to Lithium Iron Phosphate and your current converter is not compatible with LiFePO4 battery charging parameters. Typically, only RVs manufactured in the past few years have LiFePO4 compatible convert ers, so be sure to check your owner’s manual. The type and size of inverter you need depends upon how you intend to use your RV, and the number of electrical appliances you want to run while away from shore power. If you only plan to spend a few nights per week off-grid, and you don’t mind reduc ing the number of appliances, you might be able to get away with a relatively small inverter. However, if you want the ability to live mostly off-grid without sacri fi cingyour typical AC power consumption, then you’ll need to install an inverter that can handle a much larger load. The amount you can run is limited only by your space constraints, the size of your battery bank and, of course, your budget. To size an inverter, calculate your AC load. This is the total wattage of your AC appli ances that you plan to run all at the same time. Let’s say you want to run your laptop, coffee maker and TV at the same time and the wattage on these appliances adds up to 1550W. Add an extra 25% of 1550W for a safety margin (1550 x 1.25=1937.50). You will need a 2000W inverter to handle this load safely. If your number adds up to 850, you can get away with a 1000W inverter. If you want to run a 10–15K BTU RV air conditioner (even for a short time), you’ll need at least a 3000W inverter and a very large battery bank. In this case, you may also consider installing a higher voltage system such as 24V to 48V. * What Type of Inverter Works Best for My RV?

The highest quality inverters on the market are pure sine wave inverters, which closely reproduce the type of AC power supplied by the electrical grid. Many modern electrical appliances, laptops for example, require speci fi c parameters of AC power and could be damaged if plugged into an inferior inverter. Two Types of Pure Sine Wave Inverters: • Battery Inverters are designed to simply change DC power to AC so that you can run typical household appliances in your RV. Inverters designed to handle typical RV electrical loads range from 700W to 3500W. • Inverter chargers do the job of a battery inverter as well as a converter, all in one device. They provide AC power from

* See this QR code for details about higher voltage systems.

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ESCAPEES Magazine July/August 2024