Bad idea

[markopolo]

Ok it seemed like a good idea.

Originally Posted by Forrest Gump

Stupid is as stupid does.

What could possibly go wrong?

I thought I would run my fridge off my inverter while driving instead of running it on propane.
I was going to install an inlet so that I could simply back-feed the RV 120volt system while off grid and driving.



For the test I just used the dead man's plug aka dead man's cord in the first photo. The testing went great. The fridge was drawing 1.3 amps AC and 15 amps DC. Battery voltage remained at 13.8 volts so the alternator was supplying all the power I needed.



Also, it was very easy to just turn the inverter off if I needed to.
My dead man's cord was bright green and yellow - I could never forget to power down and remove it............. Right?

Well, I pulled into a campsite and completely forgot to remove the cord. I plugged in and instantly heard my breakers trip.... Too late for the inverter, it was toast. I basically turned it into a heater for half a second and it didn't like that! The inverter was off but of course that did not matter.

It was a bad idea to back-feed like that. I know better than to fool around like that. The best way run the fridge off the inverter would be to use an inverter with the AC current pass-though feature or plug the fridge directly into the inverter. Keep it completely fool proof.

I'm already shopping for a new inverter with AC current pass-though.

[Mike]

Let me know what you come up with. I'm interested in adding a simple inverter, too.
"Simple is, as simple does" - Mike