Inverters wired connection

I’m looking at inverters for my RV setup. I keep finding inverters with the typical 110v plugs on them. I will be wiring this into the RV and not removing it. The technical side of me tends to think I would rather have connections on the back side for permanent type. Does it really matter? I have seen some that do have the "lug" type connection for the house wiring to connect to. Seems the choices for the plug in is so much more common.

jvbutter01 said:

I have seen some that do have the "lug" type connection for the house wiring to connect to. Seems the choices for the plug in is so much more common.

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At the small (low Wattage) end of the spectrum, and/or the lower end of the spectrum it can be hard to find inverters designed to be hardwired. Above 2kw or so, it gets a lot easier. What wattage were you looking for?

jvbutter01 said:

Does it really matter?

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Possibly, I'm not sure. You can jury rig one of the outlets so it can be used for your hardwired connection, but this may effect insurance/legality if there were ever an issue. And there may or may not be safety issues that I'm unaware of.

All these little inverters are not intended for permanent installations, it's why they have general pupose sockets. You are supposed to plug your appliances into them directly. If you use a plug-in style inverter in a mobile application you face the real possibility of the plug wiggling half out or, potentially a better situation, falling all the way out when you are driving. Half out leads to the risk of arcing when you finally turn something on. Having to crawl into under vehicle storage to push the plug back in isn't what I'd call a lot of fun.

If you have a '4000 watt' inverter and you have 15A sockets, you can only draw about 1.7kW from that socket so that's a fail too if your RV circuits draw more than 1.7kW.

If you keep within the amp rating of the individual outlet and can make a proper clamping system to keep the plug firmly seated (no, this does not mean securing the flex from the plug and hoping that keeps the plug in, it means securing the plug) it would work.

DZL, without the AC in the RV, it runs off 20a service... At this time, I don't plan to run the AC off the batteries. So given that, 2k watts is about max. I have been looking 2200w units.

Gnubie, never thought of that side of it. I see most of the advertising on some ads show single power tool connected, a lady using hair dryer while tent camping... such like that. So I hear you. I really didn't want to go to the Victron model just yet. That seems a little over kill for my needs now. I do NOT have solar. Thinking of adding. But for now, its just LifePo batteries, 2 - 12v banks in parallel for powering up the 110 side of the trailer. When the batteries drop, then i have generator out side.

jvbutter01 said:

DZL, without the AC in the RV, it runs off 20a service... At this time, I don't plan to run the AC off the batteries. So given that, 2k watts is about max. I have been looking 2200w units...[snipped]...I really didn't want to go to the Victron model just yet. That seems a little over kill for my needs now.

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Aims has 1500 and 2000 watt inverter/chargers that can be hardwired, Samlex Evo has a 1200 watt inverter/charger that can be hardwired (and larger models but if a Victron would be too expensive, so would larger models of Evo. Sigineer and Sungoldpower would be two other brands to look into if you don't care about UL listing (may be required by insurance). If you hunt around there are options, most are mid to upper tier brands though.

I do NOT have solar. Thinking of adding. But for now, its just LifePo batteries, 2 - 12v banks in parallel for powering up the 110 side of the trailer. When the batteries drop, then i have generator out side.

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What is your primary means of charging the batteries?

No the Vicron is not out of my pocket book, but why spend $1100 if I dont really need it? Yes If i do add solar later on, its ready to go.

charging batteries, that is my generator. If i am in a RV park, no need for batteries, but when out in the primitive' campgrounds, i will use the generator to recharge them when the get low, my goal of upping from 2 lead acid batteries is with the 2 banks of 12v 280ah i get more mileage and more usable range of the battery. Hopping i only have to kick in the generator ever 2 days, instead of every day.

jvbutter01 said:

I’m looking at inverters for my RV setup. I keep finding inverters with the typical 110v plugs on them. I will be wiring this into the RV and not removing it. The technical side of me tends to think I would rather have connections on the back side for permanent type. Does it really matter? I have seen some that do have the "lug" type connection for the house wiring to connect to. Seems the choices for the plug in is so much more common.

View attachment 23373

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Here is an inverter that will probably work fine for you- It has 20 amp hard wire connections. It is a high frequency inverter which is lighter in weight but part of the high frequency design is they do not have any real surge capacity beyond the 2400 watts it is rated at (so it won’t power your roof top air conditioner or large power saws). But it will run everything else just fine and the stand by (power on current) of this model we consistently measured was a super low .4 amps (in our system testing) which should help your batteries last longer between charge times. Giandel 2400 watt inverter (the black version as it has a much better 3 year warranty and better components). Here is the Amazon link:


If you want to be able to power your rooftop air conditioner then look at the 3000watt or the 4000 watt model (thats what I have been using since my Xantrex Prosine inverter (17 years old) died running the RV air conditioner this last summer.

jvbutter01 said:

No the Vicron is not out of my pocket book, but why spend $1100 if I dont really need it? Yes If i do add solar later on, its ready to go.

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You may be right that it is more feature rich than you need or higher quality/more robust than you can justify based on your needs.

I'm not sure a Victron multiplus inverter/charger does what you think it does though. It is not an all-in-one, it will not make adding solar later on easier or harder, unless you live outside North America and have the Easysolar available to you.

charging batteries, that is my generator. If i am in a RV park, no need for batteries, but when out in the primitive' campgrounds, i will use the generator to recharge them when the get low, my goal of upping from 2 lead acid batteries is with the 2 banks of 12v 280ah i get more mileage and more usable range of the battery. Hopping i only have to kick in the generator ever 2 days, instead of every day.

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Gotcha, so generator or shorepower --> transfer switch --> AC to DC charger w/ lifepo4 profile (or something along those lines)

@Scott Helmann thanks for the link. No i dont need to power the AC.. .thats not in the plan, we live in PNW, its not really that hot up here, not for that long. so not my worry, I have Generator if that happens. Thanks for the link, maybe i didn't mention it, but I also want a converter to charge the batteries back up when connected to shore power. I don't see that in the product details.

@Dzl yes I see on the data sheet, shows a MPPT attached in the circuit for solar addition. I thought i read somewhere it was all in one. ok, so wont help for future solar. that helps.
Yes basically inverter/ converter and transfer switch.

@jvbutter01-
I just started a thread on how to use a $30 changeover switch to allow you to power your entire RV from your inverter. It would probably work as a great and inexpensive solution to your budget setup.

jvbutter01 said:

@Dzl yes I see on the data sheet, shows a MPPT attached in the circuit for solar addition

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Which datasheet are you referring to?

jvbutter01 said:

@Scott Helmann thanks for the link. No i dont need to power the AC.. .thats not in the plan, we live in PNW, its not really that hot up here, not for that long. so not my worry, I have Generator if that happens. Thanks for the link, maybe i didn't mention it, but I also want a converter to charge the batteries back up when connected to shore power. I don't see that in the product details.

@Dzl yes I see on the data sheet, shows a MPPT attached in the circuit for solar addition. I thought i read somewhere it was all in one. ok, so wont help for future solar. that helps.
Yes basically inverter/ converter and transfer switch.

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A charger converter is a seperate item from an inverter. You can get them all in 1 like the Victron which is super easy if you have space to accommodate an all in 1 unit. Other wise I just replaced my factory charger converter with one from progressive dynamics (80 amp charger converter) for LiFePo4 on my 28’ RV

gnubie said:

If you keep within the amp rating of the individual outlet and can make a proper clamping system to keep the plug firmly seated (no, this does not mean securing the flex from the plug and hoping that keeps the plug in, it means securing the plug) it would work.

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My inverter looks exactly like the one pictured. I'm toying with the idea of gluing the plug to the receptacle. With the truck camper I have a list of safety items to check every time we break or setup camp. Checking that plug is on the list as is making sure the inverter is off. It only takes a few seconds to check and it's not moving until the next time we drive.

Scott Helmann said:

A charger converter is a separate item from an inverter. You can get them all in 1 like the Victron which is super easy if you have space to accommodate an all in 1 unit. Other wise I just replaced my factory charger converter with one from progressive dynamics (80 amp charger converter) for LiFePo4 on my 28’ RV

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Yes I know there is a big difference. for a quality and recommended unit, I'm leaning towards the Victron line of boxes. Space, well I need to check the dimensions, however I think it should fit nicely into the forward storage compartment, battery run should only be 3-4ft. Good and close.
thanks for your input.

Dzl said:

Which datasheet are you referring to?

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I dont think this came out correctly... I see a MPPT is attached as external device. NOT part of the box.

jvbutter01 said:

Yes I know there is a big difference. for a quality and recommended unit, I'm leaning towards the Victron line of boxes. Space, well I need to check the dimensions, however I think it should fit nicely into the forward storage compartment, battery run should only be 3-4ft. Good and close.
thanks for your input.

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Be sure to allow for plenty of cooling air as they do generate some serious heat when inverting or charging. With our earlier design we ran into issues running the air conditioner for more than an hour before the inverter would temp out and shut down (due to not enough cooling air available)