Inverter Question

[Jeff Watt]

The more I read, it is painfully obvious that there is more to learn  

I am planning on leaving on a trip South in about a week and so I want to plug in the heat tape for the travel to help ensure the water lines don't freeze. As it doesn't take a lot of power I assume I can use the inverter to power the heat tape?

Secondly, when the inverter is on I believe the engine alternator charges the house batteries so as to keep them charged. Correct?

Third, the manual is not specific other than stating that the inverter will power TVs, Microwaves etc. Are there specific things it will operate and some it won't or is everything powered, except for the fridge and ?

As you can tell, I haven't hardly used the inverter - to date either the MH has been plugged in, able to run the genset or just quick overnight so the batteries ran the lights, heating fans.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Joel Weiss]

I assume your MH has a heated basement area in which case you don't need to use any heat tape to keep the water lines warm.    I realize yours is "Monaco Beaver" but it's hard to image that the basement wouldn't be heated.  All we do is run the Hurricane system (yours is probably an Aquahot) since one of the heating zones is the basement.   Presumably, you are also able to use engine heat to warm the heater liquid while you are driving, thereby reducing the need to run the burner.

[Gil_Johnson]

On my Contessa 42 the basement is heated, but the heater is in the enclosed area where the black and gray water tanks and most of the plumbing are.  If your coach is like mine, then the only lines I would be concerned with are the line from the fresh water tank and the ice make line.  I would drain the fresh water tank and empty the line from the tank to the pump and isolate the and drain the ice maker line.  Assuming you have the refrigerator on gas, there may be enough radiant heat on the back to the refrigerator that even the ice make line is okay.

Back to your question.  If you don't have an inverter powered outlet in your bays, then you may just want to add one directly (through a circuit breaker) off your inverter seeing it's in the bay.  That would be a lot easier than finding a way to get power from an inverter outlet down into the basement for the heat tape.

[Jeff Watt]

Yes the Aquahot heats the basement in my MH, and the fresh water tank sits beside the Aquahot, so that tank won't be a problem. The lines are all within the basement which is heated and the only line that may be susceptible is the one going to the ice maker. I have drained that line.

Regardless, in my MH there is a heat tape supplied and it goes along some of the water lines. It also goes around the ice maker solenoid and some of the lines in and out of that solenoid. In this area the heat tape is a cable/wire similar to what is installed on Ritchie Water fountains to prevent freeze-up. There is an outlet specifically identified in the basement for the heat tape. I assume this heat tape is like heat tapes I have used in the past on livestock waterers and will turn on at a specific temperature.

The manual states:

The heat tape system requires 120 Volts AC to operate. The heat unit must be plugged into the designated receptacle. The heat tape system is self-regulating and can be left plugged in. Current draw is 3 watts per foot.

To Use the Heat Tape:
1. Plug the three-prong plug into the designated outlet (located in curbside storage compartment).
2. Ensure 120 Volt AC is available through shore power, generator or inverter.
3. The indicator on the head unit shows heat tape circuit is energized.

the average length is 15 feet.

I believe the water system will be ok with it on and with the AquaHot, my main question is to do with knowing the batteries are charged by the alternator when driving. I read that the Bi-directional Isolator Relay Delay (BIRD) is designed  for alternator charging of the house batteries. As the heat tape will likely be the only AC device on while driving, I can't imagine it will tax the alternator to greatly.

Jeff

[Gil_Johnson]

Yes, your engine's alternator should be charging your house batteries through a large solenoid.  To verify this is the case, check the voltage going to the charger/inverter with the engine running.  Whether the heat strip outlet goes to an inverter supplied outlet, I would guess it does not.  Again, easy to check.  Although the heat strip tape has a low current draw, I might be a bit concerned with other inverter loads.  It's possible that the total DC load on the alternator may be too high over a prolonged period.  So, just make sure you are limiting your inverter load while the engine is supplying charge voltage/current to the house bank.

[Gerald Farris]

Jeff,
If your manual is correct and the heat tape only draws 3 watts per foot with the average length at 15 feet, that is only 45 watts, so the engine alternator will have absolutely no trouble maintaining that small load.

The heat tape plug is probably powered by the inverter, however I would check it to make sure that the inverter does power it. The only problem that I see for you is that if you dry camp overnight (Wal-Mart), The load of the inverter and heat tape running all night will probably kill your house batteries without being plugged into shore power. Other than that, it looks like you have no problem.

I hope to see you in the south soon.
Gerald

[Jeff Watt]

Thanks guys.

The outlets in the bay are powered by the inverter, so I can plug the heat tape in if needed.

If the long range temperature forecasts are correct for the route I am taking, then the Aquahot should be sufficient to heat the lines as temperature lows are barely below freezing - I guess there is an upside to global warming

Jeff