The electrical guts of the House system

Recently my inverter, a 1100 watt Energizer, crapped out. It shorted out somewhere and went into a full drain on the house batteries. The Ctek system shut down and went into protection mode.

I had been planning on replacing the inverter anyway as the 1100 watt was a bit small and it would heat up when running the microwave and shut down. I had planned on getting a 3000 watt inverter. However, in researching the issue, I decided to go with a sine wave instead of the square wave inverter and 3000 watt sine wave inverters were very pricy. I ended up with this one and found it at Home Depot web site for a good price (I note that it has increased in price about $30) http://www.homedepot.com/p/KISAE-2-000-Watt-Sine-Wave-Inverter-SW1220/203511000

I've got it all back together and the system is purring again. We'll see if the sine wave makes a difference and if the 2000 watts is sufficient. It should be as I never expect to pull that much and wanted a bigger inverter so that it loped instead of being on the edge.

Sawyer

Some updates.

I smoked the cheapo 1100 watt inverter. I tried to get a 3000 amp sine wave but that level is expensive. I ended up with a 2000 watt sine wave for under 300.

The new inverter wouldn't fit in the box I built for the system and soon I was thinking outside the box. My rear sleeping platform is supported by a frame that attaches to the seat rails. So I boxed off one whole side, completely dismantled the wiring and moved.

One benefit was that I was able to move the batteries to where it is easier to check the water levels and sg.

I added a bunch in the move and I'll try to explain. I added a 150 watt solar panel, a rear power panel (I'll add photos in a bit.) I put a thermostat controled circulating fan, another set of house switches, on the front panel I added dimmers for the led corner rack lights, interiror reading lights, an inline power meter for the solar panel, and a Xantrex Link Pro power monitor. I added a central charging station, with a smart blueray, and a 23" monitor, (I also added a new smoke/carbon monoxide detector and a fire extinguisher)

After more work that I had imagined, it all works. But to tell the truth, I'm disappointed in the solar panel and all the work that went into it. I only allowed, what I thought was generous, 1 bay for a solar panel in my rack system. It's not enough and I don't know for sure if it's enough to even justify it. I can't add more without changing the design purpose of the whole shebang.

The solar panel puts out around 12 to 15 amphours a day. On a 200 ah bank, it sorta pays for itself. It's not enough to run the ineffienct (but cheap) 120v dorm fridge. Running it is about 4.5 to 6 amps.

I'm taking a break from working on the dang thing and getting it out in the wild for a long weekend.