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More inverter questions

July 18, 2010, 11:55:19 am

I did a due diligence search on inverters but find no answers to my questions.  I have the Freedom Heart 2000
I know I can shut off the Inverter parts of the coach with the circuit breaker on the bed frame, but what is the on/off switch for on the inverter itself?  Is there a simple explanation as to why those outlets still run off the inverter even when connected to shore power?
What kind of a sine wave does it put out, my volt meter only reads it at around 100 volts.  Is that an accurate test?  It definitely runs stuff weakly.
I see no way of shutting the inverter supply to the main breaker box on the bed, is there one, other than disconnecting the batteries?
What is the box for that is in the large storage bay, to the right of the vacuum cleaner system?

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Re: More inverter questions

Reply #1 – July 18, 2010, 01:05:49 pm

We had the same inverter/charger and are pleased we replaced it with a true sine wave Xantrex Prosine 2.0.
The Freedom inverter is a modified sine wave, which can damage electronic circuits that are designed for home usages.
We burned up a couple of Tripp-Lite surge protectors, almost causing a fire in our motorhome.

Freedom has a 50-amp AC supply breaker in the main breaker box on the foot of the bed.  When inverter is off, a relay inside the inverter redirects this AC input to the small inverter panel on the foot of the bed.  When the Freedom is inverting the small panel is powered by the inverter circuit.

AC volt meters can read incorrectly when the sine wave is modified.

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Reply #2 – July 18, 2010, 01:43:21 pm

I have the Heart unit as well.  When plugged into shore power, the unit will convert/charge the coach batteries (with the inverter switch in the off position).  As I understand it, the on/off onn the unit itself is always left in the on position.  Inside the coach, the panel also has an on/off switch.  If on, it's inverting, if off, not inverting but still charges the coach batteries if plugged to shore power.  Is this correct?

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Re: More inverter questions

Reply #3 – July 18, 2010, 04:35:42 pm

I believe you need a meter that reads, RMS voltage to get an accurate result.
If you turn the inverter off at the monitor panel, it will quit making juice from the batteries.
If you happen to be plugged in to shore power or are running the generator, it will make NO difference whether the monitor switch is ON or OFF.
The switch on the inverter/charger itself, in the bay, should be left on at all times as it defaults to the monitor.
Did you purchase the smaller inverter for the reefer yet?
Regards,

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Reply #4 – July 18, 2010, 07:36:32 pm

I agree with the above replies for the most part.  I have the Heart Freedom 2000 that was installed by Foretravel.  Not sure if my volt meter reads RMS, but my inverter voltage has always been acceptable, not exactly 120 but close enough.  I also checked it with a KILL-A-Watt which is a small device that plugs into an outlet and has an outlet for whatever you are checking such as a TV, refrigerator, etc.  It doesn't really reduce electrical consumption, but records kilo-watts used like the meter on the side of your house.  It can also display volts, amps, frequency, power factor, and time in use.  I thought the modified sine wave might destroy it but it didn't.  Of course it works okay with the generator and shore power.  It was a gift, but I don't believe it cost a lot.  Another experience I had with the Heart 2000 was that the motorhome was plugged into an improperly wired outlet.  What looked like a 120v 20 amp outlet was wired for 240v to supply an air compressor.  Needless to say this caused some problems, but not as much as one would expect.  The inverter/charger and built in vacuum needed some repair.  After 2 tries I found a blown 1/4 amp fuse on a circuit board in the Heart 2000.  A new fuse and the reboot procedure for the inverter/charger fixed that.  The vacuum was a bit harder.  It has a small circuit board that changes 120vac to 28vdc for the on/off switch and to control a relay to power the 120vac motor.  I replaced all the parts on the circuit board.  Finding them was the difficult part.  Haven't had any problems with the surge protectors, but if I ever have to replace the Heart 2000, I will probably get a pure sine-wave inverter. 

Jerry Whiteaker
96 U270 36'

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Reply #5 – July 18, 2010, 08:29:09 pm

Jon - No, I haven't installed another inverter yet.  The fridge right now is usable as is and I have a lot of other irons in the fire, such as a generator that won't run, so I've put it on the back burner.  Another thing I need to do is get my batteries load tested.  I'd gone off and left a fan running the other night, for some reason the shore power circuit blew, and by morning the batteries were down to 10 volts.  Didn't think that seemed right.  I finally had to shut of the converter because it was drawing 90 amps to charge the batteries and kept blowing the shore power.  It's only a 15 amp circuit, but running nothing but the charger and the fan it hadn't been a problem till now.

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Reply #6 – July 18, 2010, 08:44:59 pm

You can set the inverter charger (in the back of the monitor panel as I remember) so that the unit is not looking for a 50amp service.

If the batteries are flat, use propane for the reefer and let the I/C have all 15 amps to charge the batteries. If you purchase a good electronic desulfator you can probably put some life back into the batteries.

Regards,
JON TWORK KB8RSA

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