Findings of an Inverter Investigation & Battling Humidity
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มิ.ย. 2024
- Trying to keep the humidity level down in the RV to prevent mold growth. Also, I start to dig into my inverter problem to see what I might find.
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Not to know it all.........But I retired from the HVAC field. So what I see on your indoor weather station the humidistat reads indoor 63% outdoor 46% if you open your screened door and windows the indoor would equalize with the 46% outdoor humidity.........For free. I hope this helps.
Thanks, I did have some windows open
True but doesn't hotter air hold more humidity thus making the relative measurement appear lower? So the tradeoff would be making it hotter but "relatively" less humid. Kind of a win-lose situation.
@@vladimus9749 Drier heat allows better skin evaporation which is what you feel as heat, so lowering high humidity usually results in more gains than losses.
This is why air conditioning that cools the air inside AND lowers the humidity inside is the best way humid northern environments. A dehumidifier would work in a basement because it is naturally cooler typically in a basement, but for above ground living areas, air conditioning is the way go.
My hat is off to you for not hesitating to dig in and learn the systems in your camper. New subscriber and Thumbs up!😎👍
sometimes that's how people learn always stay curious
@@jar407 , Yuuuuup!👍
The 140W is probably going to your trailer battery charger. In most RV power panels the converter is part of the panel. You are on the right track. The converter is the "box" below your panel. They are generally replaceable so you should be able to shut it down. The strip of all white wires are a neutral bus. Each outlet and appliance gets a black wire (line power) and a white wire (neutral) plus either a bare wire or a green wire for ground. With three prong plugs the round "post" is ground, the fatter blade is neutral, and the skinnier blade it line power.
At least you have good cat management, I could not live without it.
i had 2 cute black cats at different times and some striped now Russian blue color boy and his gf a lovable silky soft tortie
Jenna, after you opened it, that one fan not working has a heat sink around it to pull heat away, if it doesn’t come on, it overheats, surely!
Yep, that fan should be on, fans are cheap compared to an inverter, I would get a new fan and try it out before replacing the entire unit.
That's probably true I had a computer that over heated and shut down so I took a small fan and blew air into it from the outside and it worked but in your case if the transistor. FET has been damaged it wont help.I have had a few inverters my last one was last march in Yuma Az. I ended buying another at Walmart for $150. because I didn`t want to wait for one from Amazon.
I would be lost with all that technology. Completely lost.
Luckily you have all that backup systems. Carry on Gypsy you are doing great. Love the way you end your videos. Bottoms up Jenna.
Thank you 🍻
Me too!!
A few tips you can try out.
Fully disconnect the inverter and let it cool down, or take it inside out of the sun, then after a 1a2 hours connect it back and do the hairdryer test outside.
Outside and in that small wooden box, there is not much space to let the warm air out. In front of the 2 cooling fans that blow the hot air out, you need at least 5inch of free space to prevent back pressure to the fans. Also i suspect that 1 fan on the other side is broken, that fan is for pulling cold air into the inverter.
If the inverter is overheating it can also be the cause of the Overload Protection to kick in.
When you opened the inverter, those big aluminium blocks need to be cooled all the time, on the sides of those aluminium blocks, there are black components, these are the "drivers" of your inverter and these work as a team, with that broken fan it is possible that one or more of these "drivers" has failed on the aluminium block in front of that broken fan, and the load is too much for the remaining working drivers. Also never touch those aluminium blocks , because you can get a zap when the inverter is running. Grtz
If the problem is overheating, could you leave the cover off and use an USB powered fan to blow air onto the inverter? If you are able to run your hairdryer, you have identified the problem.
PS Not an expert.
You are very knowledgeable!
Good afternoon Jenna, the best way to handle humidity when the weather is getting warmer is to turn on your air conditioner if you have one. An air conditioner like your dehumidifier will discharge warm air out the back. That’s just the way it works. If you can find a way to discharge the warm air from your dehumidifier, then you can use that with the confidence that it will not make your home hotter inside. The converter inside your home will run at more watts when the battery is being charged and the less watts as the battery charges up. There is a chance that you can pull one of the plastic fuses to find out which one your converter uses to charge the battery. I see those plastic fuses are blue in color and one is black. Try pulling one at a time until you can hear The converter no longer charging . There is also a chance that you’re getting an overload protection on the inverter because one of the cells in your battery is extremely low. When you put a high wattage on it, the battery itself will drop below the voltage needed for your inverter to keep operating. You may not have noticed the inverter running before because the batteries or battery at the time was brand new and all the cells were good. I love the way you spend time to investigate things! You’re awesome girl! It looks like the inverter is on it’s way out 😮
Please be careful not to touch any of the wiring and please don’t stick your hand into the inverter. The capacitors still carry a charge and I’d hate to see you get knocked on your butoonsky
There's a fine line when setting the dehumidifier, too high of a setting and it puts out too much heat. Too low and it doesn't get rid of enough humidity. lol
Wow, a wealth of knowledge in the comment section. So it seems like the inverter is the problem. I would test each battery to make sure all the cells are where they are supposed to be, a multimeter is a great tool for this. Check the electrolyte fluid level of each cell if they're not sealed batteries. Seems like a decent 3000 watt inverter on Amazon is going for around $300. We purchased the VOLTWORKS 3000 Watt Pure Sine Wave inverter from Amazon for $319 U.S. for our off grid residence here in Alabama and it's getting the job done. The review comments on this inverter are very positive.....
On the wires on your breakers the white is the neutral ( it can still shock you) you can think of the white as the return and the black as the hot, going to the device or outlets,lights.
The dehumidifier will work like a dream. Good to turn it on in the AM. Sleeping, with all the snoring and drooling, makes it like a swamp in there. Lol 😂
Dang, there's a picture! Pillow drool making the camper moist lol. I guess it happens to everyone at some point lol.
If u have a breaker that is arcing on the inside, it may be affecting your inverter though as I’ve said in the past, if you’ve got five years out of that inverter, you’ve been blessed.
Yo! Fellow ADD sufferer. My trick to avoiding forgetting about a task I am doing then attempting to multitask is setting a reminder on my phone. “Hey Siri … set a timer to check water transfer in 15 minutes…” and have an obnoxiously loud ringer set for reminders. Works for me! Love your videos!
I have never spoken to Siri in my life but maybe I better start lol
After I almost burned up a new frying pan ... I do the same thing. ;-)
In the inverter it can shock you even if it is unplugged/ not hooked to the battery. The big tall round things are capacitors and they can hold a charge. If you cross the black and red cables after you unhook it from the battery it can/ will spark. Stay safe. Search pre charge inverter
Ah yes ,as a industrial electrician put it to me one time said - nobody totally understands the mysteries of electricity.I think you proved your case w/the house totally unplugged it still won`t run a hair dryer. If them inverters are that $ reach out for a sponser like everybody else does or better yet just go for it
That breaker with the red tape is your Main. That's why there are two wires going into it. Also, get yourself a pure sinewave inverter and put it inside. Note: make sure all your cables are large enough to carry the load. There could also be a weak fuse inside the inverter. The inverters that aren't pure sinewave get old and worn out quickly. Take your power station out and see if it's able to run your loads on the same connection. This will make sure it's not a fault wire in your home.
NO, the Green, 30A breaker to the left is CLEARLY marked as Main. Your other points are valid.
I feel that same about humidity it's hot in New Braunfels Texas . Always enjoy your videos
Dehumidifier has a compressor and does put off heat, mine does also.
The heat from my dehumidifier drys my laundry for me. Now that's economical!
I love how you don't take yourself too seriously . You make me laugh.
Jenna, you are so wise and scientific to figure out all your systems!! You amaze me!!
Thanks Karen, just don't be too amazed because I am SUPER confused currently, haha 😅 🙃
She's blinding me with science!
i love to listen to you talk about things and your explanation on things for real iam not kidding
It is possible your inverter can no longer handle a heavy load and needs to be replaced. If the new inverter gives you trouble running high wattage devices, use the formula: 200 amp or more of battery input per 1000 watts of inverter output. So far the guy that said that has been correct. Less than that and the inverter may not work correctly.
As for the unidentified 100 watt mystery draw, I like that you identified the circuit breaker that it's on. I would now go through the RV and unplug or turn off items one at a time to try and isolate the source.
I love watching your channel. I recently moved into an rv myself. I love living this way, and you give me faith that I will succeed. Thank you for sharing your story..
Thanksnfor watching and best of luck! It's a great way to live!
Jenna those Inverters are made of 2 1500w Inverters joined together and one of them has a blown mosfet or diodes that is why when you apply more than 1500w load it goes into overload protection. There's nothing wrong with the battery feeding the inverter if it was it would say low power protection. I have one of those Inverters mine did the same thing and it was a diode blown on one half of the inverter. Don't use modified sine wave . Pure sine wave Inverters are what you need and aren't expensive like they used to be. The Reliable Electric pure sine wave inverter is affordable and great for what you need I highly recommend them.
@TxGypsyJenna-j8h sure what do you recommend
GJ, you are a trooper, I will give you that. Never a dull moment off grid, lol
Howdee GJ! Keep at it girl. I love the way you document your videos. Someone suggested glueing a chute from your dehumidifier and run it outside😳. I am actually going to take that advice myself amd run the exhaust out my passenger side window. So cool 😎
Awesome! Not a bad idea, too bad those things didn't come with a hose already on the exhaust eh? I don't run mine for overly long but I guess that explains the heat it lets off
Your comment section is always so informative. Keep at it GJ, we need you out here!
You are good at the electronic field of working with and testing devices and you know how to do it !
I basically live with my Fluke meter for accurate readings on devices ! I admit I don’t understand all the readings it gives me 😂
Thank you for posting a follow-up video Jenna. Looks like lots of good suggestions to try. Just be careful, it's not much fun to be lit up by an electrical circuit. Take care.
You're right! That does not sound fun at all! Lol
My trailer has an internal battery charger too. It was plugged into an outlet under my stove. I just unplugged it and everything works great.
The black and white wire going down under in the charger are likely the power to it, you may try diconneting. Tho you will loose 12vdc from it, If it is used . Which means no power to the fuses to right of your breakers. Most rvs have approximately 50amp combo powersupply/ charger.
Also they are specific to LA,AGM ,GEL and or Li
The load of 100 watts is the seperate converter . You can bypass it. the Inverter creates the 110 volts you need, and the Lithium battery is stout enuff to handle most of yur trailer loads. That old converter is old technology. By removing the Breaker, and using the wires to direct connect to yur outlet wires. the Inverter already has an Overload built in. Just a suggestion. 🙏🙏🤙🤙Gitter done Jenna.
there are automotive blade-type fuses in the inverter, if you're comfy with it, pull each one and see if the fuse has blown--there is small window that will show if the fuse blew, that might be a quick and easy solution. otherwise doesn't look like anything in the inverter is easy to service. also, someone said in an RV situation, it is a good idea to have a backup (inverter)--if it's in your budget
I agree with this. Also, just pulling each fuse out and pushing back in again, even if they are all good, will help scrape/clean their connections which may be part of the problem. If you do open it up, also use the proper screwdriver to tighten every screw you can find, inside and outside. Some of them will be the mounting screws for the mosfets which all the current flows through, and loose screws there will cause excess heating and contribute to the shutdowns, and will ultimately cause the inverter to completely fail. PS: I am a retired electrical engineer living in the cottage country area of Ontario.
Well, we have to put a new central air unit in!! It's always something!!! Hope your world gets better!!! Can't wait til you go fishing again!!!❤❤
Thanks, me too, I could use the mental break, haha 🎣
If you're fuse box is the same as mine the converter is below the breakers. You will have to take off the entire breaker door and follow up the black and white wires that come off the converter up to the fuse box and disconnect them. Awesome channel. Keep it up.. Peace
I use damp rid in my closet and laundry room 😊 Love it
Great stuff!
And as an addendum to my wordy comment on capacitors, you showed a look inside the suspect inverter. There are lots of caps in there, huge honkin' ones, tiny ones, and average-sized ones. I amped up the video resolution to the max, and re-viewed what you had. No obvious signs of capacitor distress, but then it's hard to see every little detail because the camera can only gather so much from a bird's eye view.
I just hope that CP gets their stuff in gear, and things go smoothly in the near future.
Sorry for being so verbose. Not trying to take over your comment section.
It's all good. I appreciate it!
I just replaced the power converter in my pop up camper last week because it was over 20 years old and a recent trip out had the camper smelling of burnt wires (my fault for running a 1500watt space heater for hours on end) .. It wasn’t unexpected either, as these older units are considered ticking bombs and can overheat or short out due to aging components. It was pretty cheap (under $150 for the basic model I needed) and fairly straightforward to install once I made note of the wires attached to it. The new unit has a 3 stage charger and is whisper quiet. I opted to install a main breaker like yours has. I think doing a search for your unit “Magnetek 6332” and manual or replacement key phrases will get you on the right track. I believe you’re on the verge of a converter failure anyways, probably best to get started on a replacement.
Yes, dehumidifiers do add heat. They are basically an air-conditioner that runs both ends through the room. The cool side condenses moisture and cools that air down but then it's passed through the condenser coils (that are usually outside) and back into the room. The extra heat is from the motor and any inefficiency from the process.
Good job for diagnosing that the problem is the inverter. Looks like you have to check all the fuses in it... esp. the uppermost right one, which looks loose(?). Maybe that's all that it is.
Hi Jen I am an electrician and I have just watched everything you have done. Your problem without a shadow of a doubt is your inverter. You disconnected your whole install and that inverter dropped out. The cooling fan on the inverter should be spinning with a load as large as a hair dryer. ❤
My converter in my travel trailer works everything but the battery charging. It got wet and that part fried. I hooked a solar panel with a small built in charge controller to keep my house battery charging. You seem like a smart young lady and FYI just bought myself another 2000 watt Renogy on a pretty good sale. This will be my 4th one and never had a problem yet.
I have never seen a dehumidifier that cools while it is running. It is a refrigerator that has a cold interior chamber. The heat extracted to cool that space inside is pulled out and blown into the room.
Very similar breaker box with converter/battery charger in my '92 Winnebago. One of those black wires from the breaker is going down to the converter that you hear humming just below the breaker compartment. I'd turn off/disconnect all incoming AC remove the black wire from that breaker that runs through that small hole under the breakers to the converter. Tape the disconnected wire end with electrical tape and then turn everything back on and see if the converter is no longer running trying to charge batteries that are not there. Mine pulled about 200 watts when it was running without any batteries in the system for it to charge.
Without the converter you probably won't have any 12 volt stuff(lights, control panel on original fridge, etc) working in the RV. You can fix that by getting a 12v power brick of sufficient wattage(10amps minimum if you run the DC exhaust fan in the bathroom more if your water pump uses that 12v as well) and plug it into an AC outlet and the other end wired to your DC fuse box as an input. Probably better to use the 12v output on your power station considering your DC lights and 12v water pump. Water pump will probably have a decent surge on startup so I doubt a typical AC to DC power brick similar to size of a laptop charger will be up to task.
Hope that's not too complicated. Those old AC to DC charge converters are horribly inefficient and are not smart at all. They would literally boil batteries if you allowed them to charge constantly by leaving the RV plugged in off season.
I agree. One of those 2 black wires at the bottom of the circuit breaker with the red tape under it, is almost surely going to the onboard 12 volt convertor. Removing it will probably stop the hum you are hearing near it, and will shut the unit off.
Thanks for the info
She is better off doing what I did in my girlfriend's trailer, since she's using the batterys differently. Disconnect the battery wires and tape them up well. That way, the Converter can still power all her outlets and 12 Volt stuff, but it won't be trying to charge a battery off of the same system that it is running. Since she's running the inverter off of a solar-charged battery that is not hooked into the trailer 12V system, this should work fine. She may want to check that the origional battery cables are still not connecting to each other or the trailer frame.
@@marktomlinson3448 I don't know if Jenna is still using any of the 12 volt circuits in the trailer. Those were mostly for the 12 volt overhead lights, ceiling exhaust fans, fridge, water pump, and furnace in our trailers. Her new fridge doesn't need it.
Hi Jenna, Rory 🐈⬛, Ramsey 🐈👋🏻 Hope you get things figured out Jenna 🤞🏻 Stay safe and take care my friends 🫶🏻 God Bless 🙏🏻 Appreciate you!
You can try to solve your 100W to 170W current draw with the following:
With all 110V sources off and unplugged!!!
Remove the wire from the Air Conditioning breaker, tape the end and label the wire in case someone before you owning the camper messed with the wiring.
Remove both wires from the only breaker that has two wires connected and reconnect one of these wires.
Install the other wire that you removed and connect it to the AC breaker.
Now there will only be one wire per breaker.
To test if you still have the 100W to 170Wparasitic power draw turn on all breakers and connect the inverter as you did before.
Then leaving the MAIN green? breaker on switch off each of the others in turn.
Hopefully one breaker will stop that parasitic load and you still have power at all your other camper outlets.
Good luck and let us know what happens.
Thank you 😊
Hi again Jenna, I want to try and sort things out because there is some confusion. You have an Inverter that changes 12-volt DC from your batteries to 110-volt AC, which you have outside. You have a Converter connected to your electrical panel that changes power from 110-volt AC to 12-volt DC, used to charge your batteries. If the batteries are being charged solely by solar, you are powering the Converter to charge your batteries, taking more battery power than you are replacing. (12v to 110v to 12v) You do not want this. When you run the generator you want a separate battery charger (like you use for car batteries) connected to the generator and batteries.
Before anything else, make sure you do not have your trailer plugged into any power source so you have no AC power. Now you want to disconnect the Converter in your trailer which you should find underneath your electrical panel, removing the front cover. It should be a silver rectangular in shape and it probably just plugs into an outlet but it could be wired directly to the electric panel which you want to disconnect those wires at the panel. Then 12v wires coming from the Converter going to the panel. You can remove the Converter if you want. I hope I didn't make this more confusing. (Solar charging the batteries via the charge controller and supplying 110-v through an Inverter. Generator charging the batteries via a battery charger and supplying 110-v power directly.)
Howdy Jenna,
First off, have a Happy Canada Day on Monday! Well it looks like the intake fan is not running on the inverter as you pointed out. I wonder if it supposed to run all the time or if it just kicks on when it reaches a certain internal temperature? I would check all of those fuses. Maybe the fuse is bad that runs the fan? I hope there is not internal damage from any overheating that may have occur-ed. As far as the enteral breakers on your electrical system; I would leave that up to a licensed electrician. The only thing that I do with my breaker box is turn the breakers back on if they trip or I turn them off if I'm installing a new light switch or something like that.
Looks like summer has sure come to Nova Scotia. It's here in Ohio too. The heat isn't so bad, it's the humidity that makes things miserable. Rory and Ramsey look like it's the dog days...err...excuse me, the cat days of summer already. Rory wasn't so camera shy today.
Well, we have two more months of heat before September so I hope you stocked up on your adult beverages of choice to help you cool down. It did look a little windy to go fishing. I hope you find a shady place to drop a line when you do go. Please wear sunblock if you're out in the sun for any long periods of time. That sun will tear the hide right off you, especially if you have freckles. I imagine Ramsey is really making use of his water fountain bowl now, better keep those battery banks charged up. 😛👍
Enjoy the weekend and Monday Jenna and stay cool...............Steve
Thanks Steve, I am recharging a battery bank as we speak and yes, Rory wasn't so shy that day for some reason. He was probably too warm to see the camera in my hands lol. Stay cool down there, the humidity is definitely the worst!
This year I have a portable AC that you run an outlet out the window 12000 btu. I’m not getting a charge on the batteries tho not a big discharge. I’m looking into solar panels and charger just for the extra pull of the AC. I’ve been doing good to get a 100% charge on my batteries during the day without the AC.
Hi Jenna. After your last video, I thought, when testing you should turn the breakers in the RV off one at a time, in case one circuit is causing a draw. Humidity sucks! You should try to purchase a couple acres from your relatives, maybe? Or ask if you could build a small addition, like a screened in porch. I enjoy your videos, Thank You for sharing your off-grid life with us.
Thanks for watching!
It would take several paragraphs to explain in detail, but my advice is to disconnect the trailer inverter and the factory trailer battery, then hook the load circuits at the breaker panel to the output of your solar inverter. I believe that it's a failure in your trailer inverter which lies at the base of your electrical problems, specifically I think a diode in there is failing in the battery charging circuit which is causing your 'phantom' load. Your solar inverter covers all the functions so you don't need the trailer inverter. Unfortunately you do need a new solar inverter or to have that one repaired. It's unlikely that the manufacturer offers a repair service but ask anyway. If you get a replacement inverter keep in mind that it is the heart of your electrical system and both design and build quality matters a bunch. I know they ain't cheap but you don't get what you don't pay for and the better inverters will last much longer with fewer issues than the less expensive ones.
On the heat and humidity problem the solution is easier. Put a fan in the window on the shadiest coolest end of the trailer blowing inward. Use cardboard or wood and tape to seal it to the opening; you don't want to lose air pressure there which will greatly reduce it's effectiveness. Open an equal or larger size window at the other end of the trailer and close off everything else in between. This will not only cool the whole trailer as it's blowing through the whole trailer, it will equalize the inside humidity with the outside, and the breeze of the flowing air will make you feel cooler. Also important to this cooling system is to block direct sunlight from entering the trailer; awnings, curtains, anything which prevents the sun's rays from heating up the surfaces it shines on directly inside will help. Indirect sun loses much of it's ability to heat things it shines on so you don't have to turn the camper into a 'cave', just block direct sun preferably from outside the camper. And the more direct sun you can keep off the outside of the camper itself the better as these 'tin cans' absorb sunlight energy like crazy and their insulation is minimal. Remember the key to making this work is cool air in and no loss of airflow till it leaves the other end. I've spent most of my life in the SE USA where summer heat and humidity is always high, but rarely have I had air conditioning or even a dehumidifier to help. Most places this needs just one 20 inch box fan to be effective so low power draw too. There will be unbearable days, but most of the time this is enough for comfortable living without mildew issues. Keep any doors open or cracked in places where mildew has been a problem as mildew doesn't form where there's adequate airflow.
The cheaper you live, the more money you have for the pleasures in life. You don't have to suffer to live cheaply if you're smart and go about it right.
Thanks for all the info!
If you get to inspecting the outlets for a short, one place to look is where the wire enters the outlet mounting box. Usually there is a fitting there that protects the wire from scraping any sharp edges of the outlet box, careless installation and or leaving that fitting out can subject the wire to a shape edge on the outlet box and lead to a very high resistance short. I have personally experienced this, it is especially likely to happen if the wiring is too short in length and the wires had been pulled hard into the box to make connections with the outlet, this results in much strain on the wire and usually it will cause a rub thru or cut in the insulation leading to that high resistance short.
Yes sir seen that quite a few times 100% !66
Having just chased a similar ghost load in my own RV I can tell you that one of the wires on that breakers screw terminal for your general outlets is the battery charger the other is for the actual outlets. You need to power down the system unscrew the screw over the terminals so you can pull those two wires free re-insert the one for your plugs back into the breaker and tighten the terminal screw. You may be able to tell which is which if all the wiresin your RV are a solid core and the battery charger is likely a stranded wire core . This will disconnect the AC supply to the battery charger . If you have upgraded to lithium batteries that charger wont charge them like a lithium charger or your solar charge controller would. Lithium charge to a different voltage so if you charge with an older charge controller not set up for lithium batteries the batteries will not charge all the way. That may be the case with your older renogy PWM controller. Consider going to one of their mppt line of solar charge controllers. For absolute certain, that charger is your phantom 140w load.
All those white wires are natural or ground wires. The black wires are the hot power wires. Maybe disconnect one of the two wires on the red label breaker. But make sure no power is connected before doing that and test one wire at a time to see what happens. Maybe look around for a wind generator for extra power. Hope you figure things out. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day and stay cool.
Verify all fuses on the inverter circuit board are not blown. If those fuses are good the inverter is probably end of mission without a technician bench repair. The 3A trickle charger portion of the
RV power converter should be disconnected to eliminate an unwanted power loop when
the RV 120V AC power cord is plugged into the inverter output. A dedicated switch should
be installed in order to enable or deactivate the trickle charger of that RV power converter.
Identifying which of the 2 wires on the bottom of that breaker with the red tape is for
the 3A trickle charger will identify what wire needs a 120V AC switch inserted for the
convenience of being able to turn off that trickle charger. All the panel breakers are for
120V AC circuits including the 120V AC input to the RV Power Converter which supplies
12V DC to your lights and other 12V equipment and powers a trickle charger for the 12V battery.
All of the 12V DC circuits are fused in that panel to the right of the breakers. Knowing
you are sometimes using an inverter and are going to plug your RV power cord into the
inverter you will want to add that switch to turn off the trickle charger so you don't
need to keep connecting and disconnecting a wire from that breaker depending on
whether you are using your generator or your inverter as a 120AC source for your
RV power cord. Off grid power management is nothing but never ending fun huh.
Fun for sure! 😅
@@gypsyjenna If you are not using the air conditioner, that breaker can
maybe be repurposed as an on/off switch for the trickle charger if it is
one of the 2 wires that separately powers the trickle charger. Move that
wire over to the air conditioner breaker so that while the air conditioner
breaker is Off, the trickle charger is also Off. Why is it that you don't
use the Air Conditioner? If it works it would be better dehumidifying
and would also cool things much better in a shorter time.
@artpatronforever good idea on moving it to that breaker. The roof AC does not work
@@gypsyjenna A small split system or even a window unit would be better than a dehumidifier. A dehumidifier will generate heat so is better for conditioning air that is cold and damp. But you need cooling so an AC is more efficient and will be dumping the waste heat outside along with the condensate you won't have as a chore to empty.
The power converter & charger should be beneath the cabinet and just plugged into an outlet under there. Since you’re no longer using the rv fridge and have more than adequate battery power to run all of your 12 volt lights you can probably just unplug the power converter without issue.
Jenna DO not mess with electricals if you do not know what you're doing and especially if you're alone, You could shock yourself and be unable to let go of the wire that is shocking you and that would be your end. Map out the trailer's electrical so you know exactly all the outlets and hard wired things like overhead lighting is. Unplug EVERYTHING and with someone there, turn the general purpose branch circuit for the 120v outlets on, (not the green one). If it shows 100 watts or anything, maybe you have a short created by a chewing mouse or squirrel or something. It may turn out to be your inverter afterall.
Thank you
Damp rid helps pull moisture out of the air. I have two in my camper and can definitely feel a difference
Awesome!
Greetings from oakville Ontario it's very wet and now we are under a thunderstorm watch thanks for the presentation it was very informative and interesting ciao
Stay safe!
Good Morning Jenna as always another great show thanks for sharing 👍 Johno Darwin NT 🍺
Yes a dehumidifier will warm your rooms !
Hate say it but when the invert does this it’s a slow death for sure I would suggest when you get a new one just one that is over kill if you only need a 3000 then get a 5000 that way it is never over worked or pushed to the limit you get a longer life I have had mine in my camper for 7 years it takes 5000 to run ours of grid and when mine went out I went back with a 7000 I can watch tv lights be on and wife run hair dryer with no issues what so ever and make sure to weather proof your box but leave vent holes so it can breath. If you do that you should be good. You can get a 7500 watt inverter for around $ 450-375 one last thing make sure you look at peak verses surge and on inverter. Stay safe and keep the faith love your videos
That looks like an old Magnetek converter / charger. I hate to say it but they're not great converters when they're new. Most people replace them they have so many issues with them. As far as separating the charger from the system I don't know that it's even possible. When you turn on the all purpose breaker, that powers the 12V / converter & charger section of the panel. You would have to essentially keep that breaker off to take the charger out of the loop. There's a momentary blip on the lights because they switch over from 12V to 120V supply. It's a tough spot to be in. Myself I would tear out the converter and roll the whole camper over to 120V with a good mean well or samlex inverter. As always it's always more money... LOL. Take care Jenna.
I agree dehumidifier makes heat just like the fridge so counter productive inside
Jenna you and I have the same camper, I've been living in mine for 5 years.. underneath where your fridge is take a peek in there you'll see an inverter style box that'll be your converter.. there will be one outlet there with a single plug just unplug the converter.. you will need to hook up a battery on the front of your camper to run you a 12-volt lights without the converter. The green breaker is your main.. when that breaker is off none of the other breakers will have power either.. the general purpose breaker runs all of your outlets. The reason the red tape is there is probably for quick reference.
My converter burnt out within months of me moving in because it was always trying to charge a battery and the lights. It overheated and almost set my camper on fire.. I plug my trailer into my inverter directly. And then I bought a 12-volt DC converter off Amazon and run my lighting that plugs in where my converter was.. like I said there's a little compartment underneath the refrigerator you'll have to get down on your belly and look inside the cabinet.
Hello Jenna , I think that some of the fuses inside the inverter may be blown. Aside from that I found the specs on that inverter. The alarm "olp" is overload protection . "lup" is under voltage , so your problem has nothing to do with your batteries . I was able to find the specs for that inverter and it states 1500 watt max continuous per outlet . As far as the 100 , 160 watts , the inverter is maybe 30 watts plus lights and what not seems about right . I understand you are on a budget , if I was in your situation I would maybe save up for a higher quality inverter . Hope this helps .
Anything and everything you have plugged in will still pull a small amount of power even when it’s not turned on. Unplug everything and only plug it in when you’re ready to use it. 🤩
I enjoyed the video Jenna.
Hi Jenna, long time viewer, 1st time contact. I have a suggestion on your electrical issue. Your AC to DC converter box is used to charge your battery(s) and run DC circuits when trailer is connected to grid. That box draws current from your batteries/ solar panels as you use your inverter. Duh! If you eliminate the box and hook up your battery directly to the DC fuse panel everything in trailer will work directly from battery and not off converter. Hope you understand what I'm saying. You might need an electrician to help you with doing this to be safe! Good luck!!
Thank you, I think a friend of mine tried to explain this very thing to me
Jenna, I googled OLP, it is an overload/overheating error code. Now more suspicious it is that one bad fan causing it to overheat, possibly? Like I mentioned before, for a few dollars yiu could look it up, order a replacement for a few bucks, swap it out. Cheap attempted fix?
Put a shout out to Renogy, Redodo, or even better Victron, see if they will send yiu one to install/review? Your channel is sure big enough?
Stay at it, you will figure it out.
The white wires in the power converter are the neutral wires for all of your 120VAC circuits. They are all connected together on that bus bar. The black wires are the hot wires for your individual 120VAC branch circuits. The bare copper wires are the grounds for all of your 120VAC outlets and the hard wired 120VAC equipment.
Power flows from the breaker (hot - black wire) through the load, and returns on the neutral (white wire). The ground wires are there to ground the metal cases of appliances just in case the hot wire to the appliance short circuits to the metal case either from critter activity or water intrusion, or something else. If that happens, the ground wire provides a short circuit current return path that will trip the breaker and de-energize the circuit, keeping the current from flowing through your body if you happened to be touching the energized metal case.
Under normal circumstances, no current should be flowing on the ground wires. In a sticks and bricks home, the grounds and neutrals are tied together at the main electrical panel, which provides the connection that allows the short circuit ground current back onto the neutral to complete the circuit and trip the breaker. In a trailer, it can get complicated because, technically, the trailer is being powered by either a generator or a campsite plug, and tying the grounds together at the trailer will result in current splitting equally between the ground and neutral wires back to the campground or generator, which may result in issues with GFCI tripping.
In your case, since you're tied to battery power and a generator and you don't have a transfer switch between them, it can be difficult to have a proper transfer between them. At a minimum you would need an inverter/charger with a built-in transfer switch, but even then... well it can get complicated to ensure that the source ground is transferred properly so that there's always exactly 1 point of connection between the ground and the neutral at the power source.
Believe it or not, I'm oversimplifying it, but I'm sure all I've done is confuse you. Unfortunately, it's a complex topic and getting it right can be difficult.
As far as your inverter goes, yes, the front fan on your inverter should be running, especially under heavy load. If you'll notice, there are 3 identical power control devices, each with its own fan. So, the one with the non-working fan is overheating very quickly and tripping the overload protection.
As far as finding your stray load goes, if you want to determine where it's coming from, you'll need to unplug every item from every outlet, and plug them back in one at a time. If the draw persists with everything unplugged, then you may have something that's hard wired to that circuit or you may have a critter wire nibbling problem.
Sorry for the long winded post! Just a lot to get across in this format.
always be aware of electronic device readings, the cheap meters we normally use can be quite a bit out of true reading range. It is a good idea to invest more money to have at least one reliable meter to test volts, ohms and amps. Cheap devices to read humidity are notoriously inaccurate, reliable devices are pretty expensive.
There are some very good cheaper DMM's which are more than adequate for all but the most precise needs, but you're right about things which measure heat or humidity as the cheap stuff is almost never calibrated correctly.
Hi Jenna seeing that fan not coming on is a concern to me. With that fan not working allows your inverter to over heat, At the end of your video you took off that panel and at the bottom of the video screen the aluminum square block is a heat sink and that fan should be cooling that block off. My be just as easy as replacing that fan. I have tested those fan before by disconnecting the fan wires and touch the wire say to a 9 volt batter real quick and the fan should come on. if the fan comes on that mean something with the invert is bad. if fan don't come on just order another fan and hope it didn't mess up your inverter already. it would be a cheap try. I hope this helped you out. 🥃
Your an awsome young lady!!!
Hey Jenna, it may be as simple as the one fan blew out, then it heats up, then cuts off? You could try replacing it, sure it’s a few dollars? It seems like something minor, because it actually worked, just not for long. I’m a good problem solver, but these inverters, solar, etc, have me studying it for 2 years, and still scratching my head, lol I plan to build a portable power station, 3,000 watts with 200-400 amp hours of lithium.
Girl, I live in my RV camper in the south, and I have the Eva-Dry..been using it for 3 years now. No heat, and I also have two wireless ones to for my closest. Highly recommended.
I have used them before!
Good afternoon I enjoy your video thank you
Humidity is related to temperature. If you raise the temperature of a volume of air that is at 90%, the humidity will drop. As temperatures drops the air becomes more saturated with moisture. If you keep cooling it, at some point it reaches the DEW point. Once it reaches few point visible moisture can start to form (clouds in the sky, or clouds on the ground (fog))
My dehumidifier definitely raises the temperature in my basement. So i can’t imagine trying to use dehumidifier in summer in a trailer. I would only use air conditioning in summer to lower the temperature AND lower the humidity inside.
You should look into getting some Blue Roof Grapefruit vodka cooler. They are sooooo good! I am a dude and I love them. haha I always stop and stock up before heading over the bridge to PEI each year. Also get some samplers for a little kick!
Ohhh yummm, never heard of these!
I really like these videos on solar/battery/inverter stuff, it is definitely my weakest point so I always pay close attention. You are teaching me a lot. Have you ever used an ozone generator for mold and mildew control. I think I am going to try one soon. I am trying to stay away from propane for heating because of the water it leaves behind, and I use the A/C unit as a humidifier in the summer (sparingly). Apparently the ozone generator will kill mold plus take out the mildew smell.
Haven't tried one
The draw is from the on board battery charger....disconnect the charger from the panel....there will be a 12 volt feed to your dc side of the panel and your ac feed will be in one of the breaker feeds..trace the wires and disconnect them...
The general rule of thumb on inverters is 1 100 AH battery per 1000 watts. You can find this in your inverter manual. If you go 3 100 AH batteries and a 3000 watt inverter you will be able to run almost anything with a high load. If your attempting to pull 1800 watts on a 2000 watt inverter with a 100 AH battery you will have issues. Most inverters can surge however for not very long. The bigger the inverter the higher the power draw. Lifepo4 batteries are alot cheaper now so that may be your best option just make sure your charge controller has that option that type of battery. Another consideration is have a 1000 watt inverter for day to day stuff and a 3000 watt inverter for when you need it.
Stay cool, Jenna!.... but then again, you're always cool!
😎👍
All sounds a bit complex to me wishing the best of luck at least you do have a breeze outside
@beckypennington79 true that!
Others have said that you need to buy new batteries, while not commenting about that right now but I strongly suggest that you research about 12V vs 48V off-grid systems.
Check out YT videos from AZ EXPERT who just installed new lithium batteries in his RV.
He truly is an expert in RVs but still needed help with his new lithium battery installation.
Also for much more information watch a number of recent videos from DIY SOLAR POWER WITH WILL PROWSE.
Obviously there are many more YT videos and other sources for good information but I trust those two.
Enjoy the heat we will soon be complaining about the cold, take care.
If you are wanting to exhaust ALL of your possibilities, check each one of those fuses that I saw when you opened the cover. It really could be that simple. However, if a fuse blew, we must wonder what caused THAT. This means it could happen again. I would definitely check those fuses and obviously replace any if bad. Its worth a shot. If that doesn't work, just get a new one. You'll feel safer, and youll have some normalcy back. Lol
Those fuses can be found at Walmart or any auto parts store. Best wishes
Thank you
I don't know the time lag between when you shoot your footage and when vids get posted for us to see, but please, please... If you go inside any electrical devices that may have capacitors ( look up capacitors and find pictures to see ), you should keep in mind that capacitors can store a very nasty "zap" should bare hands accidentally touch both poles of a capacitor. There are safe ways to fully discharge a capacitor, but please treat them at first as if they could hurt you.
On the same topic of capacitors, some caps are very good quality and will last for many, many years. Nothing lasts forever, though, and whether cheapies or the very best, capacitors can, and do fail. Some times failed caps show outwardly visible evidence. They may seem bulged, or might even be out-and-out ruptured. Sometimes they can leak their electrolytes out, which may cause damage not unlike a battery that has leaked in a remote or some device that was put away and forgotten about. When a cap fails, or "pops", you will hear it, and smell it, if you are nearby. If it happens while you are away, the only signs when you return may be a burnt electical smell in the vicinity, and upon visual inspection, you might be able to see signs of distress and then relief to a cap that has failed. (bulged, ruptured top, dried electrolyte that leaked out)
Capacitors are storage devices that can charge and discharge multiple times per second. Even though a device might be unplugged, battery removed, and had been sitting there for a few weeks, a capacitor could still be fully charged. The ones found in typical household devices PROBABLY wouldn't kill a human, but could give you one heck of a surprise. So, if you do choose to go poking around inside any devices, such as an inverter... I just wanted you to have a little heads-up.
some caps can store 450 volts so yea what he said.
Yes, capacitors are dangerous.
@@CRYSTALSHIPSS
Things with capacitance like old video displays hold a very high volated, up to and above 30-80K volts. In the wrong circumstances they can injure or kill. At work years ago we had these old video display monitors that had been sitting there for years and they were still charged up and if shorted could cause a bang like a cherry bomb going off.
Gotta respect electricity.
lots of fuses inside that invertor to check...hopefully that's the quick fix, the round capacitors didn't look like they had burst/surged & not leaking...cheers!!
Don't feel bad, I was filling my hot tub and went to town. My hot tub was inside the house, over a basement which I flooded.
Oh my goodness, sorry to hear this! I flooded out my Mom's kitchen one day by filling a water jug that I had forgotten about 🤣
Hi Jenna I also have an off grid rv trailer. My built in battery charger converter has a plug to allow you to unplug it. It should be unplugged or disconnected when you have your trailer plugged in to your inverter that is running off your battery's. This due to the fact you are powering your trailer with your batteries and inverter which is sending power to the battery charger converter which is then trying to charge the battery that is powering it aka a loop. So all this does is drain the battery that it is trying to charge. Your going from 12volts inverting to 120v then converter to 12volts to charge the original 12 volt source. I'm sure this is the source of your draw You should only use the battery charger converter when connected to shore power/grid power or when connected to your generator. If you do see this I would be willing to explain more if you need I'm not sure how to message you on youtube so that you would see this. Hope this helps from your fellow off grid Canadian a few provinces over in the west. Happy Canada Day!
Thanks for the info, Happy 🇨🇦 Day! 🍁
So, Jenna...I'm no electrician, but I'd consider replacing the fan. Should be inexpensive and a relatively easy swap out. Maybe I'm way offbase, but it seems logical, at least.
Hi .my caravan has a manual switch to turn on the battery charger. You need to be able to turn it off when you don't need it going because it's draining your battery. Good luck, and you are awesome.
Do not stress your power system----go easy on the wattage pull. hug
The easiest way to disable the onborad charger is to pull the 20-40 amp blade fuse the amperage depends on your charger(car style) and the charger will no longer be connected to your batteries.
@5:55 Use a simple, inexpensive kitchen timer with bell to remind you of tasks, mechanical wind-up not electronic.
Hopefully you can repair the inverter.. humidity might have played a part . Or just age of the parts.. heck mine was never used and it failed I think, I’ll take a look at mine.. I was going to install it in my tent trailer..with a marine battery and 200w solar panels.. but decided to sell the trailer after our August Algonquin trip. Humidity here has been terrible, same 75% humidity in the house.. and yes the humidifier eventually pushes out warm air..
Stay cool and don’t work to hard around home. You have become a good electrician.
Thanks, I wish Inwere better, haha
Its normal for the dehumidifier to blow warm air out the side. It uses heat to evaporate the ice buildup on the coils inside the unit
Hmmm.... maybe take out the fuses one by one to check and re-seat them? Other than that, i'm as lost as you are. The capacitors (barrelly looking things) don't look bad, they're not bulging.
Thanks for brining us along........
Thanks for watching!
if you get a new inverter get one that has a 3 screw bar lookin hing on it along w 2 regular plugs. u can put a small breaker panel and wire a camper plug to it that way but that wire termnal deal gives say 20 amps out instead of the standard 15 amp coming from the regular plug outlets. plus if u get a new one go to a welding shop and get BIG welding cable(short as possible) to wire the new inverter. bigger main pwr wire means it wont work as hard to pull pwr from the batteries. with that setup u should only need mebbe 2 2 feet pieces of wire for the main battery connections.