Shore power hookup help

[Kentucky Dreaming]

Tanker, a few questions and then you need to do some visual work and take more photos.

The inverter should have nothing to do with running a 12 volt direct current air conditioner, In your pics, there is nothing plugged into the cord on the output side. It's hard to tell from the angle but I can't see any wires attached to the input lugs on the end of the inverter against the passenger side wall of your bus. And if you have no house battery, where would the 12 volts be coming from? only answer is your starting batteries. Can you verify this by eyeball and photo?

That being said, you don't need an inverter to run your unit. You say you think the doofus hooked the unit to the alternator. What makes you think that? You really need to trace the wires from the unit to the other end and document with photos.

We want to help, but you need to do some simple investigation and provide a few answers. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

 

[marinetanker504]

Reply

Thank you for replying. He told me the power is coming from the alternator, but perhaps he just meant that the alternator was powering it while driving and it is hooked up to the battery
Again, I have no idea about any of this and I’m at a loss
It looks like the wire from the inverter going into the bus so he must’ve run it up to the battery or alternator
I have attached a closer picture. The wires disappear Into the bus frame

I guess I will just use the inverter to plug-in laptops and phones, right?

Very frustrating.

 

[DeMac]

Show This Photo to Any 2 year apprentice

4th

I looked through all of the responses and am even more confused by all of the responses.
Again, full disclosure...I have less than zero skills and understanding of any of this, which is why I am trying to hire someone to do it.

To be clear:'
I do not have shore power (i want it)
I got the ac unit that the install mechanics recommended to me
I got an inverter based off of their recommendations as well
I thought I was hiring guys who understood this type of work but was mistaken
I have since stopped using them for all things on my bus
I believe they hooked up the ac to the alternator. I have no idea

I do not have a battery box (trying to figure that one out but simply do not understand)
Do not have a generator, although will buy one if needed

DeMac:
Ultimately, I wish to have cool air while driving (other than front vehicle ac which works)
I want to run the ac when parked off of generator and/shore power

At this point I cannot return the ac unit, although I am confused as to why the one i have is bad?

--------------------

If you swap to a standard RV 120v rooftop unit, you only need this.

(photo borrowed from a current sale ad)
4hrs $220 labor/ $50 material

I had ice cold AC within minutes of lifting the unit onto my rooftop. While I was still sweating from climbing through the hatch. I wired a 15ft SO cable to my AC unit and plugged it in. Cool. I used a nearby gfci for added safety.
#1- its much safer
No inverter $$
No Batteries $$$$
No Gererator $$$
No DC Cables $$$
80 hrs labor saved

You can easily add all of the aforementioned energy production & storage devices, WHILE working in an air conditioned space.

Any smart electrician, would do it in this order, just to stay cool for the next several weeks of working in side of an uninsulated steel tube.
South Florida. August. You're Hiring.


If the already installed rooftop unit were a 120v.....
The hired electrician's very first 10 minutes would be spent wiring an SO cable directly to the unit and attaching an extension cord to the gfci next to your front/back door. THEN, he'd start working in your hot steel tube. OSHA 101 safe workspace.

Once the panel (shown above) is installed, the electrician could install a protected branch circuit like this to permanently supply the AC. (disconnect within sight)

One additional hour of labor, $25 parts


Attic Work Trade Secret:
Thermostat wires run through the attic. We all cut open an air duct or two, to supply fresh cool air to ourselves & oir workers, to work safely in the attic, then we foil tape it all back up, when we leave.
(roofers, insulators, plumbers, electricians, hvac.....)

 

[marinetanker504]

It seems I way over paid two guys to do shotty work to put In the ac. I will have to stick with what I have. What you posted is very interesting though although I’m lost with the technical talk. You are in Florida? Can I hire you ?!!

 

[DeMac]

Disabled Vet Offers Free Electrical Work

It seems I way over paid two guys to do shotty work to put In the ac. I will have to stick with what I have. What you posted is very interesting though although I’m lost with the technical talk. You are in Florida? Can I hire you ?!!

---------------

Take your time before you decide. Moving forward is not always cheaper. Labor is a bear.

Just show my posts to a local electrician. (Not a "handy man") Weigh the price of new AC, plus losses, see if you can take the hit. The solar option is very time consuming. With solar, we have to do it ourselves or be rich.

No responses to your employment ads?
You might invite a licensed residential electrician to your home to install an 30A RV Power Pedestal (see photo below). Hire them, ask about more work.

Show the estimator/electricians your bus & Post #23, ask for a "Time & Materials" quote based on the two photos.

------------------

Veteran Special Offer:
I will complete the labor that I suggested For Free (you play helper). We can swap the rooftop units together. I'll even help you pick out the material, I already have some of it.... It is not too far to drive.

Stay at our shaded, fenced in campsite with lighted pavillion, 30A power & water. Picnic tables, fire ring & charcoal grill included. Bring the Familia. Pets, too.


-PM me for my address/cell.

Marinetanker504:
Your User Profile Setting do not allow your account to recieve PMs, I tried to send you my address & Veteran-special-offer, privately.
Ergo, no member here can answer your Work-For-Hire ad in our Classifieds section.

 

[La Camioneta]

Best way to salvage this is to return the a/c units.

While you can get a 12V DC generator and somewhat make it happen, you were steered down the wrong road and it will just get worse. There are also alternators that claim big amp/watt outputs, but they're snake oil - check youtube testing.

The standard system for rvs is 120V AC. They can be as basic as shore power/generator only to giant battery systems with solar etc that use a charger/inverter to handle power transfer.

Sorry.

 

[marinetanker504]

Ok. Wow! I am trying to figure out how to allow PM’s on my profile

 

[marinetanker504]

Ok. Sounds like you are right. The crazy thing is is that we had the right unit unit initially, but the guys who installed it for us told us it was the wrong unit and that we needed the 12 V so we sent that back paid them for labor based off a recommendation they gave us and then paid them for more labor to install the new 12 V which now is the incorrect one Over $2000 and wasted money in labor on a teacher salary with 4 kids ��
I mean, this is devastating for us and all we want is a weekend warrior vehicle for our family of six to do some light traveling in moderate comfort

Sucks

 

[nikitis]

Lesson learned. Trust the experts here first more than a local mechanic so you can tell the mechanic what you want done. If they can't or refuse or suggest something else move to the next mechanic. Or tell them you'll think on it and get back to them, and tell us here what they say and we can guide you a bit

You'll avoid most pitfalls this way. We won't be able to answer everything but we can do a lot of things

 

[marinetanker504]

Yes. Lesson learned. This is a wonderful community that seems to authentically care. Thank you.

 

[turf]

ok, ok
for someone following along in the shadows..... can y'all explain a few things?

why not battery up?

the cost of a new ac, plus labor looks like its equal to $2k of battery.

is the 12v ac that bad? or just different?

 

[DeMac]

Dollars per BTU

ok, ok
for someone following along in the shadows..... can y'all explain a few things?

why not battery up?

the cost of a new ac, plus labor looks like its equal to $2k of battery.

is the 12v ac that bad? or just different?

---------------
Only if it's done DIY.
Your parts cost more than my parts plus labor.

How many man hours already spent on two guys achieving nothing? My guess is 40hrs or about $2000 IN LABOR already. Repeating failures can take a lifetime
The mistakes of yesterday are not calculated into the problem solving prognosis of today.

Whether it's batteries, gene, alternator, solar or cord connected..... add labor.

The OP intends to hire all the labor. The manhours must be factored into the cost comparison. The installation labor for batteries, inverter, gene .... takes more hours AND cannot be done by a cheap second year apprentice.

An experienced DC technician will charge a larger hourly rate and bill exponentially more hours. OP will still be required to install a 120v panel to charge the batteries.

Quality DC technicians won't take the tiny job, as you won't pay equal wages they earn from thier employer (nights & weekend pay time-&-a-half.) An unemployed 'handy-man' WILL respond, so you'll get more of the same work you have there.

Apple to apple man-hours:
Battery, inverter, charge controller install (still no supply voltage)
80hrs × $60 = $4800

Cord connected 120v panel
5hrs × $60 = $300

Save enough labor expense to buy the units. OP earns a teacher's salary. Cash is finite.

--------------

OP's Rig, note the grill on the skirt.

This bus HAD broken factory air. The cheapest way to have road AC is to put the factory air handler back inside and fix it.

This labor expense for repairs yields about 50k btu (or more). How many btu does the DC unit supply, in exchange for the same money? I feel this is our only real cost comparison, thus the title of my post.

 

[turf]

thanks Demac! i know he's in good hands, im just wondering the rub on the AC. i snorted a bit when you said hooking up the 110 ac would be the first thing an electrician would do.

 

[DeMac]

Wires All Around Us

thanks Demac! i know he's in good hands, im just wondering the rub on the AC. i snorted a bit when you said hooking up the 110 ac would be the first thing an electrician would do.

------------------

Yeah. It's just the way we see the world. Electricity is odorless, tasteless & silent, but it's not invisible, to me.

Electricians kind of steal electricity from wherever it's available.
When I was a kid, the telephone man had his own alligator clip telephone, to use up the pole. I thought that sh!t was cool. No call record, no bill.

Battery chargers could be attached anywhere there are power-lines, on every pole. Which are up and down every street in the country. I wish the gasoline companies had tubes of fuel flowing next to the roads & into every building in America. Would have made switching from horseback to gas car easier.

I laugh when people worry about battery charging infrastructure. I don't take my phone to the fuel station.

 

[Unpluggedone]

Your AC unit is way too small is the biggest problem. It’s like a small window unit in comparison. Running down the road is best handled by adding another “rear unit” to the engine driven system just like any large SUV or modest bus would have. That can be done at a custom AC shop. Then for camping a generator and a pretty standard but larger 120 volt unit that can be run from shore power easily when the time comes. Other than the AC what other loads do you have?, TV, water pumps, radios? Toaster, fridge?

 

[nikitis]

If I buy the unit Demac stated to use, the Haughton or whatever it was. And it uses 120v AC I'm just simply plugging that into my 3000 watt pure sinewave inverter correct?

 

[Unpluggedone]

Nope, you need a generator, ACs are power hungry and your inverter will trip on starting current. And of course you would need an incredible battery bank as well. Shore power when camped or generator if off-grid. Your vehicle would need to be running and I doubt your alternator would keep up.

 

[nikitis]

Nope, you need a generator, ACs are power hungry and your inverter will trip on starting current. And of course you would need an incredible battery bank as well. Shore power when camped or generator if off-grid. Your vehicle would need to be running and I doubt your alternator would keep up.

I don't believe they are that demanding. A 2T Seer home unit that cools a whole floor only requires 3000 watts to get started. I can't imagine a smaller unit requiring quite that much.

I know cause I've tested and run mine on a 3k watt generator. 3.7k surge generator. As long as the surge doesn't go past 3k my inverter should be able to handle it correct?

 

[Omnibot2000]

Wrong thread

 

[turf]

If I buy the unit Demac stated to use, the Haughton or whatever it was. And it uses 120v AC I'm just simply plugging that into my 3000 watt pure sinewave inverter correct?

Nope, you need a generator, ACs are power hungry and your inverter will trip on starting current. And of course you would need an incredible battery bank as well. Shore power when camped or generator if off-grid. Your vehicle would need to be running and I doubt your alternator would keep up.

how about soft starts?

im waiting to install a new rooftop 120v AC and i got a soft start unit to install with it. i was under the assumption that the soft start would make it possible to run on an inverter/battery setup.

https://www.campingworld.com/softstartrv-high-performance-115-240v-soft-start-kit-for-rv-acs-140294.html?srsltid=AfmBOop0YYniKRRcu6BKg9ssrDJmKyBXi64ZOiFTAWaqaUrvhnN1odHG