power inverters with built in surge protectors life span
 

Yesterday we were out and about. Get back to the trailer to here this noise like a thumping. Thinking it was my furnanace I shut it off, not it. Open up the basement and hear the inverter making this. Shut the power off at the main fuse box, still happening. So then I cut the power at the pole and it shut down. Waiting a few minutes and then power up and all is fine. Over the course of the day into this morning it has happened twice but quit. So is it a power surge here in the campground or do we think the inverter is on its way out?

Bad fan in the inverter?

I am guessing if you have an inverter you have solar.
I would have to be there - investigate more to find the problem. When my inverter is on its not connected to shore power, just batteries (my inverter is connected through out the whole RV and not just certain things). When I hear a beeping I know my inverter is about to shut down do to, batteries getting low or over loading. I then have to shut it off and restart. The way mine works is, turn off power with the battery disconnect as if you are going to store your RV. I then turn on the switch at the inverter, I then have a wireless remote that turns the inverter on and off, if that makes sense. This way, at night I use the wireless remote to turn the inverter off then turn the battery disconnect back on (for battery power) which is located in the RV. The next morning I will turn the battery disconnect off and inverter back on (let the solar do the work). The reason I have it set up this way is 99.9 percent dry camping (boon docking).


Hopefully someone that has had the same problem as you will chime in soon.

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Sorry for the slow response. Just got back and everything put away till Thursday, our next outing. Different campground so I suppose we will see. Inverter works fine, fan comes on and all.


Everything of mine runs through, battery, generator, shorepower.

I guess I am confused. That is a picture of a surge protector/transfer switch. Where is the inverter and what model is it?

Steve

Well, you are right. I keep referring to the inverter but this is the item I was thinking about. This is what I was hearing thumping and then shut the shore power off and it quit.


Sorry about that.

You are on the right track by planning on trying it in a new campground. In addition to providing surge protection, that device automatically switches power source if you have a generator. Give it a decent power diet by seeing if it does it in a new campground. Bad power can make it crazy. If the problem returns, my thought would be the component is failing. You most likely will have to replace it. Replacing it is not complicated as the terminals are marked. The hardest part is the wire is heavy gauge given it is for 50 amps. If you do it yourself, power off of course.

Since power simply passes through it to the distribution panel where your breakers are located, the outgoing leg to the panel really has nothing to do with the function of the transfer switch. :)

Steve

I figure it should be pretty straight forward for the replacement, power off...yup!


I just never had one fail and didn't think it would.


Hoping that it was just dirty power at the campground.

No a big problem area, but I have had to replace a few. Long term high amp draw heaters can place a heavy load on coils and contacts inside. I opened up one and the relay was completely melted on a motor home I worked on. I have also seen folks burn up inverter transfer switches the same way.

Like everyone else I like to use cube heaters when it is cold, but I never use multiples at the same time due to this potential problem. :(

Steve

Well then I am guilty of using two of them, one at each end of the trailer. So if that is the problem I will open it up to see.

Somewhere in my trailer I supposed I have one of these transfer switches also. Beats me where it is though. I know where my converter is but I haven't seen anything that jumps out at me as a transfer switch.

my transfer switch is just below the converter. So my thoughts are that it wouldn't be far from it.

I had the same noise after we had been at the park we are at now for a day (It's the contractor banging in and out). I checked all my connections before the surge suppressor and my end was fine. Talked to the lady that owns the park and she gave me a new breaker for the petistal, after I pulled it appart the breaker was arcing on the bus bar its makes contact with, cleaned it all up and moved the new 50 amp breaker to a different part of the bus bar and all is well.

I have a Progressive Dynamics EMS (surge suppressor) and I don't know why it didn't shut the system down but it didn't, the arcing at the breaker must not of dropped the voltage below the 104 drop out range long enough :confused: maybe these things aren't all there cracked up to be.

Denny

My guess is the power to the EMS was simply cycling too fast for the EMS to catch it. There might be a very small delay built in so it is not overly sensitive. Don't know for sure.

Steve

It was long enough for the satilite tv to reset so there is no reason for the EMS system should have drop out and stay off for the delay timing.

Denny