Inverter

With all the recent discussion about electrical 'stuff', I have a question.  We have an '06 2551S.  For the life of me, I cannot find the inverter.  I see a converter with breakers and fuses, but no inverter.  There is a vent below this - could the inverter be in there?  I can't find the right bit to pull the vent off to see what's behind it.  I'm so confused . . . 

George

My 2007 2700 had a single converter/inverter located under the refrigerator.  When I bought the 2010 2350, I was told they went away from the single converter/inverter to separate converter & inverter--but I can't remember when.  I do know there were a few problems with the old converter/inverters, and mine actually caught fire.  I'm sure you'll get more detailed information from more knowledgable owners.

lmichael - thanks.  What you had in your 2007 is what I have.  I did a little digging through my manuals last night and found the operating guide for a Parallax 7300 series power supply (converter/inverter).  It was in between two manuals for the refrigerator.  I guess the previous owners must not have been as organized as they could have been.  Now I'm going through every piece of paper in the gray vinyl briefcase to see what else is in an odd place!

So you led me to the answer - thanks again.

Glad you found the manual.  On mine, the screen under the refrigerator had hinges on both sides making it difficult to get to the converter/invertor.  I took the hinges off one side and installed a latch so I could open the screen to manually turn the converter off.  That came in handy when it started smoking while camping one evening.

Geojude,

So you have an inverter in your 2006.  I know it became standard in 2007.  Maybe it was an option in 2006, and you have that option.  Good for you.

Apparently there were a number of different brands used in PCs.  We have a 2000 watt Tripp-Lite inverter, mounted behind the cabinet door with the fancy bronze grille.  It was sealed with hindges on both sides.  We removed one side of hindges and placed a latch & door handle for easy access.  I understand why PC sealed it....for child safety.  You don't want curious kids in there where they could get electricuted.  If we have grand kids one day, I'll have to get a child safety latch for it.

Waiting for our 2551 to be built.  Downloaded the Owner's Guide for Xantrex Inverter after reading all the posts on inverter noise etc.  It seems you can turn it off when dry camping by pushing the power button.  That turns off all the features of the inverter and I would suspect the charging mode too.  But when you want to turn it on, you don't just push power button you have to push and hold the Power button for 5 seconds, go through the modes and then select Inverter Mode setting and select "I". And that is supposed to turn everything on.  They say that when left in Invert mode when dry camping it draws less than l amp.  If that is 1 amp per hour for the full 24 hours a day of dry camping that would be a little less than 24 amps.  So I guess for a one night dry camp you could just leave it on but for extended dry camping turn it off. 

Maybe someone who has the new Xantrex Inverter can make it simpler for me.  I have only read the manual.  Want to be prepared when the new rig gets here.

Also does the new Xantrex make noise at night?

There is a converter (XADC) that coverts from 110v to 12v It contains all the 110v breakers and the 12v fuses. It is always on. It makes a little noise when it is charging the batteries. 

The Xantrax Inverter is only used when you do not have 110v power. It is operated from the remote panel. This should be left off. If you need 110v to the outlets when you are not plugged in to 110v power just touch the switch and it is on. When done, touch and it is off. No reason to have this on unless you are not plugged in.
It makes a littlemore noise when you draw higher power.

I was just dry camping for a week. I used it once to make some waffles with a 700W waffle iron. Worked great, took the batteries down about 10%. 

Anna and Bob

You can always shut-off the inverter at the breaker panel. The noise is from a fan that runs to keep a switch in the inverter cool.
I added an on-off switch for ease.

George