Xantrex RV 3012 M Inverter Installation, Reinventing the wheel!

[Pete Masterson]

Kurt,

I'm puzzled -- you refer to the inverters as being in the engine compartment, but mine are in a metal box at the top of the house battery compartment, just in front of the engine compartment (curb side). (Two of the house batteries are nearby in the engine compartment, however.) The metal box has some vent holes in it (but no fan) -- and it does gather some dirt, but it's moderately insulated from the engine itself, so it's not quite as hot as if it were actually in the engine compartment proper.

Are your inverters in a different location? (I note that each WL seems to have it's own unique features, even those of the same year...)

Pete Masterson

'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42

El Sobrante CA

"aeonix1@mac.com"

On Jun 9, 2008, at 7:48 PM, bumpersbird wrote:

Gregg,

Your probably right. 

I spoke with several people today, Xantrex support, Solar power techs 

etc. after I posted my little progress report. It seems as it does 

not matter how heavy the cable is after a certain lenght the DC side 

decreases efficance for every foot past 7' and after about 12' it may 

not function at all. I've learned there are three enemies of an 

invertrer: 1- Moisture,2- Heat,3- Dirt

I have been told that it can be done but the majority opinion is it's 

better to keep the inverters as close to the batteries as possible, 

even if they run hot and are in a dirty enviroment. By the way those 

who think it's doable have not elaborated on how to do it.

So I'm going to put the new units in the inverter box in the engine 

compartment. It will be a tight fit. Moisture is not really a 

problem, perhaps condensation on the rare occasion. I will vent it in 

some fashion, probably a couple of 130 cfm computer fans. The fans 

that I'm installing to cool the engine compartment should also help a 

lot. I'm mounting 2 - 1650 CFM radiator fans on the right side grill. 

The inverters are just a 10" or 12" away. I might place some sort of 

air filter on the door in an attemp to keep the box interior somewhat 

clean. <snip>