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inverter vs inverter charger

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thepilot

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Trying to upgrade my 30 yr old motor home electrical power system. I was thrilled to find Will's you tube channel and I have purchased his book. I am determined to do this upgrade myself even though I know very little about electrical things. I want to learn!! My budget is small so I went with the Will's suggestions for "The Minimalist Package" When the inverter arrived today, I notice that there isn't a place to hard wire the shore power plug for my motor home. I would like to be able to charge my batteries when plugged into shore power or a stand alone generator. Do I need an inverter/charger instead of an inverter?
Thank you
 
Welcome!
You don't give us much information to go on.
Can you describe your existing setup.
Bonus points for a diagram.
This drawing program can help if you don't already have one.
Did you implement the "The Minimalist Package" exactly as Will described?
Did you integrate it into your motor-home's existing electrics?
Most motor homes of that era had a "converter" which connects to AC shore power and converts it to DC.
Do you have one of those?
What make and model of inverter did you purchase?
This is likely going to be an interactive process with a lot of back and forth to determine what you have and what you want.
Over to you.
 
Thank you for your reply! My current setup is a very dead 12v battery, fuse box and a circuit breaker box...I have been without power in the motor home for many years due to finances. I do not have a converter. The original converter died and was removed. I bought some of the items that Will had the links to on his website under minimalist package with the links to amazon. The inverter is GoWISE Power PS1002 Pure SINE Wave Inverter 1000W Cont/2000W Peak. Also bought the solar charge controller he recommended. Nothing has been installed yet as I am still looking over the components. I have not purchased the battery or batteries yet and I only have one 100 watt solar panel. Have to save up for those and the wire and tools Do I need an inverter/ charger instead of an inverter to be able to charge the batteries from shore power and a stand alone generator?
 
thepilot said:
Do I need an inverter/ charger instead of an inverter to be able to charge the batteries from shore power and a stand alone generator?
Click to expand...

You can either swap out the inverter for an inverter/charger or you can get a dedicated charger.
BTW an inverter/charger also usually includes an automatic transfer switch as well.
You might also consider one of the all in one systems.
 
I looked at the all in one system and wondered where to wire the shore power cord? Also wondered how to run everything in the coach without having to plug each thing in individually.
 
thepilot said:
I looked at the all in one system and wondered where to wire the shore power cord? Also wondered how to run everything in the coach without having to plug each thing in individually.
Click to expand...

All the connections AC and DC are on the bottom.
Shore power goes to the AC input terminals.
The output is a little trickier, depends on how you are integrating the battery into your motorhome.
Do you have a DC load center?
 
I do not know what a dc load center is ...I have a fuse block and a breaker box for ac loads
 
thepilot said:
I do not know what a dc load center is ...I have a fuse block and a breaker box for ac loads
Click to expand...

My mistake.
I was referring to the DC fuse block that is integrated into your motorhome.
I was not referring to the DC fuse block that is part of the "The Minimalist Package".
I don't know the configuration or state of your motorhome electrics and it seems you are going off recipe from "The Minimalist Package" so I urge you to be very careful.
I'm not sure how much more I can help without really specific information on your setup.
Pictures would help.
 
I have a dc fuse block just like the one recommended in the package. It has wires attached to it from the various things inside the motor home...will get some pictures today. Thank you so much for your help!!
 
Here are pics...the fuse block and the breaker panel are located in an outside fiberglass box originally designed to hold a coach battery. I would like to bring them into the undersink/stove area that is in the other picture. In the under sink picture, you can see the back of the old battery box. I want to eliminate it all together to free up space in the cabinet. I do have the shore power cord, but it is not in the picture.
IMG_6103.JPG

IMG_6103.JPG

IMG_6102.JPG
 
Please itemize everthing attched to the DC fuse block by name and amp draw.
Are the labels on the AC panel still correct?
BTW you can't run a air conditioner on a 1000 watt inverter.
 
The ac panel labels are correct. How do I identify and find amp draw for items in fuse block?
 
I can list the 12v items in the coach but I have no idea what the wires are from in the fuse block.....
water pump, 2 separate cigarette lighter type outlets with usb, ceiling fan, led lights......there is no over stove exhaust fan and the fridge does run on propane without a battery but has dc and 120 capability, I have a trailer brake and light 4 prong plug on the bumper but I am guessing that it goes through the truck fuse box but I do not know
 
This is a can of drunken alligators.
Do you have a buddy that you can rope into helping you?
Possibly with the bribe of pizza, beer or skill trade.

I'm going to excuse myself now.
Maybe somebody else would like to pick up where I left off.
Best of luck.
 
Very much appreciate your help smoothJoey!! Thank you for taking the time to respond and your advice !! cheers!!
 
It looks to me like you have a breaker panel/converter setup.Shore power goes in and dc 12 volts goes to the fuse panel and 110 to the a/c. I can't tell if you have battery charging from the converter. I have a similar setup in the bus I converter but it also does battery charging(or its supposed to-its useless). If all you want to do when plugged into shore power is charge the batteries then but a battery charger. The inverter is to convert your battery 12v power to 110 volts a/c. In my case I wanted 110 power when boondocking-primarily to run my TV (no shore power) so I added an inverter to hook up to the batteries.
 
I agree with smoothJoey!! It's a can of drunken alligators!! But thank you for your advice!! I may just purchase a converter/charger and a cheap battery and see if I can get some power out of that...thanks again for taking the time to respond..
 
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