Where to put 2nd inverter in 2004 RT 190P

[markopolo]

Originally I thought I would put it the driver’s side exterior compartment and connect it to the chassis battery or the house battery or both. Next I thought in the back of the van on the passenger side within four to six feet of the main auxiliary battery.

I found an interesting spot for it. Inside the van, on the passenger side between the furnace and the interior water tank there is a compartment accessible from the top. It has plywood walls fore and aft. My 2000 watt inverter easily fits in there. It is almost directly over the 2nd auxiliary battery.

I used 4 feet of 1 gauge cable for both positive and negative and 2 feet of 4 gauge gable for the ground. The black access panel is actually a marine drink holder turned upside down (and some bits Dremeled away).

This inverter is only going to be used occasionally. I use an extension cord to run the microwave.



Here are the project photos:

http://members.shaw.ca/roadtrek2/Inv...ect/index.html

[bobojay]

Just saw this mod after all this time. I'm thinking about doing something like this also.
Is your invertor getting enough cooling air being in an enclosed compartment like that? I realize the only heat output is going to be when it's used and the access door is open.
Your installation quality is excellent!

PW has an invertor in the Lexor installed in the TV compartment that gets very warm! when the TV door is kept closed. Like when you're watching it while sitting or laying on the bed/couch.
I've been considering drilling a few vent holes in the bottom of the TV box to allow air to circulate up through that area into the roof area which it's open to. They did think about other plug in possibilities though. It's got easy access, by opening the TV door a little, to 2 110v plugs that are hot when the video/sound system switch is turned on.
Maybe I'll just enhance on that setup a little??

[markopolo]

Thanks bobojay. That compartment was just begging to be used for some purpose.

I haven't used the inverter that much but have never noticed it getting hot. I don't use it at much more than half of it's capacity. It has 3 fans and bassically has access to the same airspace that the furnace inflow has behind the bed & bathroom cabinets.

I use the built in RT inverter for TV etc. I added this one so I could run the microwave etc. I didn't have a generator. Now, that I'm adding a generator, I'll probably use the inverter more because I'll be able to quickly recharge the batteries using the generator when it won't disturb other campers.

If you don't need a larger inverter then your idea of improving the ventilation on the PW install sounds good to me. It's probably operating within specs though.

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Can anyone help me with the amp / amp-hr terminology and math?

I'm assuming that I'm using approx 100 amp-hrs not amps when running my microwave off the inverter.

If I run the microwave for 4 minutes am I drawing 7 amps from the batteries?

Would it take approx 10 minutes to replace the 7 amps used with a 45 amp-hr battery charger?