conecting inverter to 240 volt sockets

[Laurence]

HI all

A quick question

Has anyone or is it possible to have the invterer power ran through the 240 volt points in the van?

thanks

LB

 

[BUSH PALACE]

Hi Lawrence our 3000w inverter is fitted up next to the hws which is near the batts with an outlet outside of the van and all we do is have a small extension cord from that outlet to the vans 240 inlet , turn on the inverter and walla you have power at all outlets ....

 

[relgate]

Hi Lawrence our 3000w inverter is fitted up next to the hws which is near the batts with an outlet outside of the van and all we do is have a small extension cord from that outlet to the vans 240 inlet , turn on the inverter and walla you have power at all outlets ....

That is very clever. Wish I thought of that!

 

[mfexpanda]

Hi Lawrence our 3000w inverter is fitted up next to the hws which is near the batts with an outlet outside of the van and all we do is have a small extension cord from that outlet to the vans 240 inlet , turn on the inverter and walla you have power at all outlets ....

we do the exact same thing

 

[Deano]

BP and MFE, any chance of some pictures???
Maybe some commentary on what appliances work and which ones struggle.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Deano

 

[Brad]

Hi Lawrence our 3000w inverter is fitted up next to the hws which is near the batts with an outlet outside of the van and all we do is have a small extension cord from that outlet to the vans 240 inlet , turn on the inverter and walla you have power at all outlets ....

Great idea BP. Do you have any restrictions as to what you can and cannot run inside the van when the inverter is on?

 

[BUSH PALACE]

Great idea BP. Do you have any restrictions as to what you can and cannot run inside the van when the inverter is on?

Hey Brad with full batterys we can run everything but the a/c the missus even uses a hair dryer when were away bush camping and having the solar on the roof bumps the power straight back up in no time .

 

[BUSH PALACE]

BP and MFE, any chance of some pictures???
Maybe some commentary on what appliances work and which ones struggle.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Deano

Deano everything we take we can use except the a/c - the power outlet from inverter is a clipsal weather proof female plug just a bit hard to take fotos at this time sorry ..

 

[boots33]

if you are connecting your inverter to your vans 240v in you should also remember to turn off the setec unit at the 240v outlet otherwise you will be wasting power as the setec tries to recharge the battery with power the battery is already supplying.

 

[ROnEM]

Yep - as Boots says - make sure you disconnect the Setec.

While researching and looking for an inverter, I came across a company that makes inverters, but is soon to release one that you can leave connected to the AC power, however, when the AC power source is removed, it has an automatic transfer switch (ATS) that will then switch it from a multi stage battery charger to an inverter providing power to the AC points around the van.

They will be available in 1,500W or 3,000W versions.

Cheers,

Rohan

 

[BUSH PALACE]

if you are connecting your inverter to your vans 240v in you should also remember to turn off the setec unit at the 240v outlet otherwise you will be wasting power as the setec tries to recharge the battery with power the battery is already supplying.

My mistake forgot to mention that !!:der:

 

[mfexpanda]

BP and MFE, any chance of some pictures???
Maybe some commentary on what appliances work and which ones struggle.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Deano

I will when I get a chance . i dont run the AC or the microwave

 

[Cootay]

Maybe a dumb question, how do you turn off the setec?

 

[BUSH PALACE]

by the power point !!!

 

[Cootay]

Bush Palace - What size is your inverter and batteries?

 

[Burnsy]

I might get a few negative responses on this but i was sitting at home yesterday thinking about the way BP plugs the inverter into the vans 240V inlet. I came up with an idea as i didn't really want to cut in another 240V outlet for the short extension lead so i went and asked my neighbor (licened sparky). My question was, can i plug the inverter into the same power point that the setec is plugged into to supply 240V to all power points? He seems to think that would be fine providing i had a switch or relay which would switch off the 240V to the external male pins for the inlet. So you would switch from mains in or inverter, that way no need for an extension lead....easy as! Any thoughts on this?

Cheers.

 

[macca]

External male pins. They dont have potential to be live do they?

 

[Burnsy]

External male pins. They dont have potential to be live do they?

Hi mate, only if you plug 240v into a power point without isolation of the external 240v input!

 

[boots33]

My question was, can i plug the inverter into the same power point that the setec is plugged into to supply 240V to all power points? He seems to think that would be fine providing i had a switch or relay which would switch off the 240V to the external male pins for the inlet. So you would switch from mains in or inverter, that way no need for an extension lead....easy as! Any thoughts on this?

Cheers.

Hey burnsy
I'm not a 240v sparky but to my way of thinking that would have to be highly illegal. the problem would be the lead coming from your inverter would have to have exposed male pins on it to be able to plug into the power point. if you were to touch those pins by accident you would get the full power that the inverter could supply. You would also be by passing the built in circuit breaker and rcd that jayco install. Perhaps one of our 240v sparkys can give us a comment.

 

[Burnsy]

Hey boots, thanks for the input, and yes the male pins on inverter would be live (didn't think of that), even though the plug is under lounge. I wonder if it depends on where abouts in the 240v circuit that the supply comes from depends on whether the circuit breaker and rcd work or not?