What inverter is best for boon-docking?

[Grt520]

I have a 2022 GD Reflection 260RD. I've added solar (630 watts) with four 6vdc AGM batteries for a 12 vdc system. I don't have a generator yet. I'm looking at INVERTERS now to run A/C equipment on the camper. What make and model inverter works best for boon-docking?? It must be durable enough to take the beating that everything thing gets when dragging your home down unpaved roads. Will it be enough to run the Air Conditioner which is on a 20Amp breaker? Yes, my 260RD has 2 ACs but I will only run one at a time as needed. OR.......Do I need a generator too??

[Jlawles2]

Have you checked out the solar section of the forum? https://gdrvowners.com/forum/solar Soar is a rabbit hole of a discussion. Almost everyone suggest getting the book and starting there.

For equipment, a lot like the Victron as it's dependable.

[TucsonJim]

You will have a difficult time trying to run one AC off of your battery bank.

If you have four 6V batteries in series/parallel, you should have approximately 225 amp hours of useable battery power. One AC will typicall draw 15 amps at 120 volts AC. When you use an inverter, you will pull approximately 10 times the current at 12 volts that you do at 120 volts. So you'd be pulling 150 amps per hour (150aH) out of your battery bank. With 225 useable amp hours, you'd be able to run for approximately 90 minutes before your batteries were depleted.

As for the inverter, you'd need at least a 3000 watt inverter. 15 Amps x 120VAC = 1,800 watts. Add in losses and start up current, and you're easily at 3,000 watts. A 3000 watt inverter will need to be mounted close to the batteries, and you'll need 4/0 gauge wire and appropriately sized fuses.

Jim

[Grt520]

Tucson Jim. Thanks for your input. I had almost forgotten about this forum. I'm again/still looking for a decent/reliable inverter. I didn't really need one this year. After reading many reviews of many different manufacturers and their support, I haven't found a make/model that I'm willing to drop good money on. Any suggestions about make/model? BTW, my 6vdc batteries are rated at 220Ah each. I don't know enough to calculate how long they would last with an A/C running. Probably wouldn't be doing much of that anyway. I need a pure sine wave inverter for my medical equipment and would like =>3 circuits/plugs. Any help appreciated.

[howson]

Grt520

I'm sure TucsonJim will be along soon with an input.

I typically will look at what Will Prowse recommends. Check out his inverter recommendations here: https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/inverters.html

Howard

[acoleman43]

Tucson Jim. Thanks for your input. I had almost forgotten about this forum. I'm again/still looking for a decent/reliable inverter. I didn't really need one this year. After reading many reviews of many different manufacturers and their support, I haven't found a make/model that I'm willing to drop good money on. Any suggestions about make/model? BTW, my 6vdc batteries are rated at 220Ah each. I don't know enough to calculate how long they would last with an A/C running. Probably wouldn't be doing much of that anyway. I need a pure sine wave inverter for my medical equipment and would like =>3 circuits/plugs. Any help appreciated.

In my opinion there are many good companies producing quality inverters. As with many other things you typically get what you pay for. I prefer Victron because it is a tried-and-true brand popular with RV and marine applications. I've also had some Magnum inverters that are good quality products. Start by looking for features that are important to you, then search for the inverters with those features. Pure sine inverters are preferred and most all inverter manufactures have pure sine inverters...that will not be a limiting factor.

for any power consumption looking at watts is more accurate. To calculate watts you simply multiply current and voltage. Each of your 6v batteries have about 1350 watts of potential power. If you have 4 of them, you have about 5400W of potential power. A typical 15K air conditioner runs at about 1500 watts. So you take 5400W and divide by 1500W and you get 3.6 hours. So you will have approximately 3.6 hours of air conditioning with your current battery setup. That is assuming you can fully deplete the batteries and the batteries will continue to produce acceptable voltage, and that you are using no other electrical component in your trailer.

Also, once your batteries are drained you need to charge them. This will take many hours depending on how much current is charging the batteries. IF you are relying on solar to do this, you only have 5 or 6 hours of solar each day, and that is assuming you get 5 or 6 hours of sun each day. 5 or 6 hours may not be enough to charge your batteries to 100%, and they will be depleted slightly during the night. Also any electrical device you are using during the day is taking power from charging the batteries.

I say this because you may not ever see 630W of energy from you solar panels. Realistically you will see 50-70% of that on a regular basis. If we say your solar panels average 400W of production for 6 hours a day, that is 2400W of energy per day. Your batteries store 5400W of energy. using some basic math (5400/2400) and you see that it will take more than 2 days to charge your batteries from 0% to 100%.

I would suggest having a generator (or 2) to help charge your batteries when needed. a generator will also allow you to run electrical devises while charging the batteries.

I hope this helps more than it confuses

[TucsonJim]

for any power consumption looking at watts is more accurate. To calculate watts you simply multiply current and voltage. Each of your 6v batteries have about 1350 watts of potential power. If you have 4 of them, you have about 5400W of potential power. A typical 15K air conditioner runs at about 1500 watts. So you take 5400W and divide by 1500W and you get 3.6 hours. So you will have approximately 3.6 hours of air conditioning with your current battery setup. That is assuming you can fully deplete the batteries and the batteries will continue to produce acceptable voltage, and that you are using no other electrical component in your trailer.

It's really important to focus on the last part of this statement "That is assuming you can fully deplete the batteries". Since you have AGM batteries, you should plan on only depleting them approximately 60% so you don't damage them. Following the 60% guidance, your 5,400 watts of potential power is actually only 3,240 USEABLE watts. This will power your ACs for 2 hours and 10 minutes using the calculations above.

Remember too. If you install an inverter, you need to figure out how you're going to get the power to the outlets. You can use dedicated outlets, or a transfer switch, along with some other less used options.

Jim

[Grt520]

TucsonJim. Thanks for providing your knowledge. I've settled on an AIMS 5K industrial pure sine wave. 3K would work ok, I'm sure. I don't expect to use anywhere near 5K watts but one never knows what's in our future. I will be adding fuses or breakers and building my own transfer switch with appropriate sized wire/switches for those circuits I'll be switching. When switched to shore power, they will be fused through the standard breakers. Thanks again for all of your input. Much appreciated. Same to others who have offered guidance. Thank you!

[glennco]

Grt520

There is a lot in your question. What is your budget? Does it need to run 24hr/day?

if you haven’t purchased yet, this is a very highly rated inverter. It draws very little when there is bo load on the system. Victron is great stuff, but very pricey.

https://www.victronenergy.com/invert...inverter-smart

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I have a 2022 GD Reflection 260RD. I've added solar (630 watts) with four 6vdc AGM batteries for a 12 vdc system. I don't have a generator yet. I'm looking at INVERTERS now to run A/C equipment on the camper. What make and model inverter works best for boon-docking?? It must be durable enough to take the beating that everything thing gets when dragging your home down unpaved roads. Will it be enough to run the Air Conditioner which is on a 20Amp breaker? Yes, my 260RD has 2 ACs but I will only run one at a time as needed. OR.......Do I need a generator too??

IMO....a gen is always needed for boondocking. If you don't use the air conditioner you are probably good for solar supplying you in good weather. But a gen for backup..in poor weather...(or running the A/C) is a necessity.

[howson]

TucsonJim. Thanks for providing your knowledge. I've settled on an AIMS 5K industrial pure sine wave. 3K would work ok, I'm sure. I don't expect to use anywhere near 5K watts but one never knows what's in our future. I will be adding fuses or breakers and building my own transfer switch with appropriate sized wire/switches for those circuits I'll be switching. When switched to shore power, they will be fused through the standard breakers. Thanks again for all of your input. Much appreciated. Same to others who have offered guidance. Thank you!

The 24V model? 5K is a huge inverter for an RV. To leverage all of the 120vAC the unit can provide for any length of time (~42 amps!, since 120vAC x 42A=~5KW) you'll need an extensive battery bank.

Typically an inverter with NEMO outlets is not meant to tie into an RV's circuit breaker panel (directly). The diagrams in the AIMS inverter manual shows devices hooked directly up to the inverter itself. Hard for me to imagine needing 5K worth of inverter in an RV for items that will be directly plugged in (but I don't have much of an imagination!). Are you going to run extension cords from the inverter to what you're going to power?

My questioning is not meant to put you on the spot (though it might be--sorry). My purpose is to try and help by asking questions that may lead you to clarify the requirement needed and potentially drive you to think about what you're buying and if it will meet that need.

Please post an outline of the system you intend to install if you'd like constructive input.

Howard