hooking up generator
 

I bought a solar generator and would like to know if it would be better to plug it in bypassing the charger and battery or to just plug the shore power plug into it. If the 12volt battery does not need to be charged, can I just bypass the converter and charger?

Thanks, Travis

Travis, I am not at all familiar with "solar generators" but I THINK they contain a 12V battery that is charged by a solar panel, then, they can deliver that stored 12V DC power to devices or, they may have an inverter that converts the stored 12V DC to 120V AC which can power some household devices, is this right?

If I'm correct about this, I think I'd attach the 12V outlet of the generator directly to the trailer battery, which almost always needs a charge if you are boondocking. If the trailer battery is fully charged, then you could power your devices directly from the generator. I don't know that plugging the shore power cord directly into the generator is a particularly good idea, since the generator's inverter has power losses and you will be splitting the generator's output between the trailer's converter battery charger and the rest of the demands.

I don't know what the Wattage rating of your solar generator is - you may find it gets drained rather quickly in use if you're powering devices like a microwave. If you're using it to recharge cell phones, though, it will last a long time.

- Jack

It is a 1000-watt and 110-volt generator (battery) with a converter. But how would I hook it up to my trailer to use everything but not go through the converter, charger, and battery? All my lights or LEDs, and basically only use the pump when needed. I do know that the solar generator (battery) only puts out 10 amps on DC which is not enough to raise or lower the trailer or even work on my electric jack which needs 12 amps.

Travis

Travis, you'd just need a cable with battery post connections that plugs into your 12V DC output on the generator. 10A is sufficient to charge the battery.

But, you could also just plug the shore power cord into the generator. That would give you both 120V AC and 12V DC as well as some battery charging power. I think, though, that even with 1000 Watts, you 'd deplete the generator fairly quickly if it were not being recharged in sunlight.

Yes, 10A is no where near enough to operate the lift - that takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 55A, which is why the output of the converter will not do it with shore power.

- Jack

from a quick search and hope this answers the questions. If not maybe ask google.
Connecting a Solar Generator to an RV Battery:
Unlike a gasoline-powered generator, a solar generator produces zero emissions, so you can simply run the generator inside your RV. You just have to plug your generator into the 12V charging port and let it trickle charge your RV battery.

another link https://thesolaraddict.com/plug-sola...olar_Generator

scroll down to Will the solar generator charge the camper batteries?

another link https://vehq.com/can-you-power-rv-with-solar-generator/

I don't want to use it to charge the main trailer battery as I want to use it instead of it. So my trailer battery could be left to raise and lower the trailer. I want to know if I can bypass the charger/converter and use it inside for 110 and may the 12volt lighting.

Without doing a semi-significant job of rewiring, I don't see how you'd easilaty bypass the the charger/converter and use the solar generator as an "auxiliary battery". If you plug the shore power cord into it, you are using the converter/charger, but you are supplying 120V AC to the trailer and would be using very little, if any or the trailer's battery charge.

The other approach would be to disconnect the trailer's battery cables and connect them directly to the 12V DC output of the generator, but then you'd have to reconnect the battery cables to the battery when you wanted to operate the motor to lift the top.

There IS a switch you could install in the battery compartment that would allow you to select either battery or generator 12V DC. I think one of these: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/..._7?smid=&psc=1 would work, but you'd have to wire it in.

- Jack

Actually, I just unplugged the converter/charger from the 110 outlet and plugged the trailer shore power cord into the solar generator. Everything thing works except the AC and 12 volts stuff. The fan works though. If I plug the converter/charger back in I use about 80watts of power versus 0 in which nothing is running.

Travis, I'm not understanding your last post.

It SOUNDS like you plugged your trailer's shore power cord into the generator. If you did, it should power your AC outlets, but not the Air Conditioner which is a very high Amp device. It should also power your interior lights, the water pump, fans, and, it should deliver charging current to the battery - these are ALL 12V DC devices that would be powered through your converter/charger, which would be receiving power from the generator through that shore power cord.

Now if you did not have the Master Switch set to the "Camping" position, then the 12V DC devices would not get power.

And, I didn't want to be a "Debbie Downer", but your solar generator has a 1000 Watt capacity when its internal battery is fully charged. That battery has to be recharged by a solar panel. I have 3-100 Watt solar panels on my trailer, but under optimum conditions they can only deliver about 150 Watts, or around 11 Amps of charging current. This is typical performance for solar panels. It will take a serious solar array to keep your generator operating at 1000 Watts capacity.

I'm not sure your solar generator is going to do what you want it to do.

- Jack

It will do what I want. I just unplugged the convertor/charger from the 110 outlet. So the LED lights and the pump will still run on the trailer battery which I can do for about 4 to 5 days if necessary. All of the 110 outlets will be hooked up to the solar generator. We will only run an 800-watt microwave for just a few minutes, maybe a fan but mainly a TV and our laptops. I had the TV on and a powered antenna plugged into the solar battery and only used 7% in 3 hours. I actually have 2 of the 1000 solar generators so if necessary, I can use the second one.

OK, great, Travis - I was just trying to let you know what I think you should expect. I've been wrong before, and maybe this is another place where I'll be wrong. If it works for you, we'll both be happy and I'll have learned something.

- Jack

I did hook it up to the converter/charger and it was using about 70 watts and the battery was full and no lights were on and the pump was off. So bypassing the converter/charger I can at least use the 110 outlets when needed. I know I won't be able to run AC. Even the AC fan only draws a lot of amps but could use it for a little bit on low. But mainly for personal 110 stuff. I wonder if there is a low amp/watt fan out there that I can find.

I'm still confused - must be my advanced age! How the heck are you bypassing the converter/charger if you plug the trailer's shore power cord into your generator?

The Fan-Tastic vent fan draws less current than the cheap Mattel toy fan that was OEM in the trailers and, it moves more air. Mine turns off and the vent closes automatically if it rains too, which means I can leave it on all the time, even when we're away from the trailer.

- Jack

My converter/charger plugs into a 110 outlet underneath the front bed/couch. I just open the cabinet and unplug it. Otherwise I a using about 70 watts from the generator even when nothing else is on and my battery is full. So by-passing it made sense. I will still have 12v lighting and I can about 5 days on battery and still have enough to lower the trailer.

Thank you. That makes sense. My converter, and I think most, are hard-wired to the shore power cord, so they cannot be disconnected that way.

- Jack

I looked at my convert/charger and it was plugged in. I was hoping I could put a plug for the 12 volts but the 12 volts are hard-wired and do not understand where the wires are going, so that would be a mess trying to figure it out.

I wonder if by unplugging your converter/charger, you may have also disconnected the trailer battery from the 12V DC circuits in the trailer? If that's the case, it would explain why your interior lights don't work with the generator connected.

Without knowing how your 12V circuitry is designed, I'm at a loss for any other reason.

- Jack

I am not sure on your system but we have solar at our house and also in the camper.
Now I can go online at any time to see what the panels are doing on the house and it shows what each is making at the time.
There is something you may not know. Solar panels fluctuate the amount it is producing. Now with this in mind , if you are trying to go direct from panels to the say lights or TV here is a problem. Because anything using electric needs the ample volts or amps to ruin it. Lets say the TV whatever it uses and the panels produce not enough to run it therefore it will do this maybe burn something up as not enough to run it or whatever. You have to have a storage source from the panel like a battery and then run off it . It looks like the one post said the solar generator does have a battery. So if that is the case to me all you need to do is unhook the battery of the TV and hook up to them cables and then the RV batteries will be ready to use when you want to leave. keep it simple.

That was one of my suggestions in Post #7.

And yes, you're right about needing solar panels connected to a battery. The battery then acts like a buffer, it controls the output voltage and keeps it at battery level.

- Jack

Even when I unplug my converter/charger the 12volt lights still work and the pump. They will just work on the trailer battery. With just using the 12-volt system with LEDs, I usually can go 4 to five days and still have enough power to lower the top. But using the solar battery hooked up to 110. This way I have 110volts on the outlets and can run my microwave and TV and laptops when needed. The 800-watt microwave only used 2% of the power to heat up a cup of coffee for 1½ minutes. The TV used only 7% of the power for three hours and that included the powered antenna I was using.

Finally, I think I've got it! My fading brain cells just don't work as well as they used to. Somehow, I thought you had no 12V DC with the generator hooked up. What you just posted makes perfect sense - you are using the generator to provide 120V AC power and your trailer battery is handling the 12V DC stuff.

It takes very little 12V DC to lower the top. You basically just have to have enough to open the lowering valve. Raising the top, on the other hand, takes a lot of Amps - I seem to remember it being around 55 Amps.

- Jack

Yes, sometimes you have to raise it enough to get it off of the safety bar. I had that happened once. Could not lower it down because it was latched on the bar. Would not go up because the cylinoid on the pump went out.

You have not said what the make, model or ampere-hour capacity of the "Solar Generator" that you have. Most are designed for light loads, not microwave ovens. I will thell you this, if you plug in your shore power cable to it without disabeling your 12VDC converter/charger, it will be drained rather quickly. If you do disconnect the converter/charger, the 120VAC wiring in the trailer will act as a multi-outlet extension cord. The converter/charger in my Hi-Lo is a plug in device, but access is not that easy. Make sure that any undesired loads are turned off. I wish you luck.

Nothing is on the system, when I plug my solar battery in, the only thing is the fan on the solar battery runs. I am not sure what the amp-hours are. I don't usually plug in the AC unit even if I am on shore power unless really need it, a fan is good for me. And yes if I don't unplug the charger/convertor it uses like 70 watts even though the battery is fully charged.

As long as the converter/charger is connected, it will draw power to maintain a floating current to a "fully charged" battery. You might consider putting a switch in the 120 VAC line that feeds the C/C. Also, if you happen to use any of the 12 VDC lights, etc, the C/C will attempt to feed them also. If the C/C is disconnected, the battery will handle that load. What make and model "Solar Generator" do you have? The specifications must have a capacity rating someplace, weather in Ampere-hours or Watt-hours. In any event the "Generator" cannot work wonders.

It is a Geneverse One 1000 watts. I don't mind using the generator just for 110, there were too many wires and some underneath the charger/converter to put a bypass on the 12-volt system.

ok to try finalize this. I was just at Midget RV in Bellville, ohio getting work done on our Hilo and I mentioned to him what you are trying to do to not go thru the converter. He said and I agree that cannot be done. In my opinion you need to do this .
If you have 2 batteries then put a cut off switch on the 2nd one and then hook your solar direct to the other battery and it will supply what you need .
Now I would position the switch inside the compartment but down at the front access so you can reach it at any time. Also on ours I put a battery jumper block I can jump the battery with a charger etc. and I mounted it also at the front access. from Amazon Fastronix Red and Black Premium Battery Charging Posts with Heavy Duty Mounting Plate

Sorry - he CAN do what he says he's doing. You, Midget, (and me for a while) were operating under the assumption that the converter was connected the way HiLo did it when they made the trailer. However, it seems that (maybe) a prior owner replaced that pile of junk converter with a new one that is NOT hardwired into the trailer's electrical system and it is not connected to the Shore Power cord.

Instead, the converter is simply plugged into an AC electrical outlet in the trailer and it receives Shore Power that way. If he unplugs the converter, then it can no longer power anything, but he can plug his shore power cord into the generator and it will send AC 120V power to the remaining electrical outlets and any AC powered appliances, because the wiring in the trailer was changed to do this. His 12V DC powered stuff will continue to work directly off the battery because the wiring was again changed to do this.

Nothing is really being powered by the converter when it's plugged in. Its only purpose is to charge the trailer's battery. For all I know, his "converter" is actually just a battery charger.

Yes, you are correct that your trailer (and mine) would not work this way, but his will.

- Jack

You are correct, I am not sure if the charger is a converter also. It might just charge the battery when I use the 12-volt power. Not sure about that. It does not look like a afterthought with the plug, but maybe it was. The outlet plug is on the floor inside the cabinet next to the charger. Mine is a 1994 22FL FunLite.

Clarification?
 

The Hi-Lo manual refers to this unit as a "converter". It converts 120 VAC into 12 VDC. As such, when connected to "shore power" (120 VAC), it carries the 12 VDC load (up to it's rated capacity), in the trailer as, well as charges the battery. That is why some refer to it as a "Converter/Charger" or "Charger/Converter". Take your pick. A rose by any other name smells as sweet.

DunhamsDen, I agree - the factory unit IS a "Converter", and it "passes" 120V AC current into the trailer as well as transforming it into 12V DC current that can power 12V devices and it can charge the trailer's battery.

But, I'm pretty sure tcongdon does not have the factory Converter in his HiLo. It is NOT passing any 120V AC power from the shore power cord. The shore power cord in his trailer appears to be connected directly to the 120V circuitry in his trailer. He then plugs his battery charger into one of the 120V AC outlets in the trailer and it transforms and sends 12V DC charging power directly to his battery. His device does not seem to power any 12V DC items in the trailer, it just charges his battery. As such, it is NOT acting as a Converter, but only as a battery charger.

What he has does not seem to be the unit you and I think of that is referenced in the manual. The wiring in his trailer appears to have been modified to not use a Converter/Charger.

- Jack

All the 12-volt systems do work. If I am plugged into shore power everything works. But if I am not plugged in I can still use 12 volts. But no 110, so my solar generator will supply just about what I need, but if I use the converter/charger it pulls about 76 watts, so that is why I unplug it from the plug and then my solar generator only supplies 110 volts.

I hope this helps.
 

This is going round and round. The point that I am trying to make is that a 76 Watt continuous load will suck up nearly 8% of the "Solar Generators" capacity that is for naught, as long as it is connected. I would think that you would want it to last as long as possible, . If the battery is not fully charged the active C/C will take more power due to recharging the battery.

In my Hi-Lo 2401TD, guess what? The device is wired with a plug and is connetected to an outlet in the compartment. That is the stock configuration. I recently converted to a LifePO4 battery and new C/C for the proper charge voltage. That C/C too came with a short cable equipped with a plug. If the battery is being charged, by any means, as long as you have the 12 VDC active in the trailer, the charging source will be giving power to the 12 VDC devices as long as the master switch is on. If the refer is in the DC mode, that will also want power. Disconnecting the AC to the input of the C/C puts all 12 VDC on the battery and allows the solar generator handle only the AC outlets.

With my current setup I have 2 ea. 315 Watt STC PV solar panels on the roof and a 300 AH LifePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery. As the lithium battery does not like to be at full capacity for an extended period of time, and requires no "float" current, I have installed disconnect switch for both the C/C as well as the solar controller in order to stop all charging if I wish. The battery manufacturer recommends that if the battery is unused for any extended period of time, that the battery be stored at 50% of its capacity. With that much solar the battery would about ALWAYS be at 100%. This is unlike lead acid batteries which must be kept at full charge to increase their lifespan. Hense the use of "trickle" chargers.

I hope that I have made my logic in reference to this use of the solar "generator" clear and apologize for being so wordy.

73, N7FAD

I think I understand your point and I believe tcondon is using his solar generator in a manner that doesn't waste any of its power. I wonder if there was a model year group that used plugin Converter/Chargers rather than the hardwired ones like mine?

It sounds like the 120V AC shorepower does not go "through" the C/C like it does in mine, but bypasses it to deliver power to AC devices. However, it DOES go into the C/C to power the charger and possibly to deliver power to the 12V DC devices? Or does it simply replenish the charge in the battery that is being used to power those things?

Mine delivers power to the DC devices and, on a separate circuit, delivers charging power to the battery.

I know we've beaten this thing to death, and I'm sorry for any confusion I've contributed.

- Jack

Well, the C/C just simply converts 120 VAC to a proper DC voltage output profile to charge and maintain a lead acid battery. In essence, it is just a battery charger. Why it is referred to a converter is beyond me. I believe that it is an effort to simplify things for some folks, but to me it just complicates things. However, if there is NO battery and shore power is connected, it's converted to 12 VDC!

The Converter portion of mine has separate circuits to power all the 12V DC equipment. These run through the 15 and 1 Amp fuses in the converter's fuse panel. These circuits are hardwired to the devices that are powered this way. Those devices draw whatever Amperage they need to function, and the Converter does not control this Amperage. It delivers this power at a fixed DC voltage.

Then, it has a completely separate battery charging portion, that delivers its power through two 30 Amp fuses that are not part of the DC equipment panel. This portion is hardwired to the battery. It has special circuitry that controls battery charging voltage and Amperage to properly maintain the charge state without boiling the battery, in three different charge states.

AND, 120V AC power comes into the converter box through the shore power cord that is hardwired to an AC buss in the box. The buss then feeds a 30 Amp main Circuit Breaker as well as four other AC circuit breakers that deliver power to the devices that need 120 V AC. The output of that main 30 Amp CB powers the Converter and Battery Charger.

Now, if your plugin Converter/Charger has internal circuitry like this and its output is hardwired to the devices that I've described, then our two units are functionally identical. Is the AC receptacle that your Converter plugs into isolated from the rest of the AC circuitry in the trailer? It would have to be to be like mine.

- Jack

I don't think it is. It might have a separate breaker but it all hooks to the shore power cord.