Questions about Magnum Inverter and Parasitic current draw?

[63Hotrod]

I have a new Magnum inverter , new remote, new batteries. When fully charged the remote indicates 1 amp. Turning the salesmans switch on works as planned but no change from 1 amp. Is normal parasitic from things like microwave clock, CO2 and propane alarms    

[jacwjames]

Not sure on how much parasitic draw I have but it is enough to pull down.  The combined draw of all the minor stuff will pull it down.  My salesman switch only isolates the 12 volt house panel and the mini breakers in my rear passenger side electrical compartment.  It does not isolate the inverter which has a hefty draw.

Plus the batteries will deplete over time even with the main disconnects off.  My batteries will deplete ~3-4% over the course of a week. 

Last year I decided to plug my rig into a 120 volt outlet with a timer.  Had it set to charge one time per week for 4 hours.  This would recharge the batteries back to 100%.

[Rikadoo]

I would do some investigation, i use a inline amp meter thats part of my multi meter an verify that is correct, though its true that the clock on the microwave will keep the inverter “awake” you inverter manual should say what the draw will generally be. And on the 12 volt side being the propane / Co2 there will be generly a 1/4 amp draw for them. When tracking parasitic draws i like to find just to what amount im dealing with AND most important that when the battery switch is in the off position that ALL draw is turned off. I have some coaches new an not so new where good intentions be what they may have had devices connected to the wrong side of the battery switch that have had constant current drain while vehice is in storage mode. When boonedocking being aware of your amp draw is very important, and with 1 amp constant draw can be a issue unless you had solar or use the genny to recharge. Most of my off shore power battery mangement is determined by use of the genny at night when using microwave / convection oven then in the morning coffee and let it run to replace what i used during the night. 

[Tom Cherry]

1 hour ago, 63Hotrod said:

I have a new Magnum inverter , new remote, new batteries. When fully charged the remote indicates 1 amp. Turning the salesmans switch on works as planned but no change from 1 amp. Is normal parasitic from things like microwave clock, CO2 and propane alarms    

AS an attorney would SAY....THAT DEPENDS.  You need to look at your prints.  Monaco was inconsistent...or perhaps, they "learned".  There are TWO different Inverter circuits.  ONE, the older style, that has the Inverter running through the Main House Disconnect Switch.  The other, and it was used on the 2008 Camelots....NOT SURE about the Endeavors, has the Inverter HARD WIRED directly via a 300 Amp fuse.

We don't have the 2008 Endeavor/Diplomat prints.  The EASY WAY...  Use your VOM.  TURN OFF the House.  Then measure the Voltage on the Pos and Neg terminals of the Inverter.  12 VDC, then your Inverter runs through a FUSE.  It is a funky looking canister style fuse.  I carry a spare.

THUS, if you get 12 VDC when the House bank is OFF, you are ALWAYS gonna have a load...  The Inverter need's juice.  AS long as there is 12 VDC, then the Inverter is "READY FOR ACTION".  And it has it OWN Parasitic drain.  Magnum told me (memory) that the PCB eats about 5% of the amp hour capacity.  That spec is in the manul for the inverter....

YES, folks think that you can "TURN IT OFF" at the remote.  NOPE.  It remains in Standby...pushing the INV button just kills the LED.  The ONLY WAY to eliminate or turn OFF the Inverter is to do the SOFT RESET - BUT stop and do NOT turn it back on.......Google it. There will be a parasitic draw or drain THROUGH the Inverter's Standby Circuit.

NOW, when you turn OFF the House Bank...and do the Soft Reset (Obviously NOT TURNING BACK ON THE INVERTER). THEN, the load you see on the Batteries will be the HOUSE Parasitic load.  That will, memory, include the Smoke and LP alarms....maybe the front Radio Presets Memory as well.  Monaco fed the Preset memory lead from the HOUSE...  NOT the chassis (at least on mine).

As to the Microwave and such.  YES, BUT..  The Inverter has to be ON (or seemingly asleep...despite what the lights on the remote says). SO, if your Inverter is cabled directly via the High Amp Fuse, the Inverter is "draining stuff".  IF you have a phone charger or a TV in "STANDBY" or the Microwave Clock is ON...then there will be milliamps of load....unless you UNPLUG the TV and the Microwave and phone chargers.  Many of us do that and know our "standard".

The ONLY way to determine is to TEST.  Now, the testing can be easy if you have a really accurate clampon milliamp meter.  IF NOT, it gets tricky.  You can use a VOM with an "AMP SCALE", but be aware that you can get spikes...MOST of the upper end VOM's have two scales...  MEMORY.  One is for LOW amps...maybe 5 and the other is for maybe 15 (Max).  You have to disconnect the Positive from the Inverter....then install the meter leads so that you use the correct scale. On my VOM if I GOOF and the load is too high, there is an internal fuse and I have to get out my precision screwdrivers and disassemble and replace.  YES, I GOOF and have spare fuses.

Hopes this explains it...

Good Luck.

[Michael Powell]

2 hours ago, 63Hotrod said:

I have a new Magnum inverter , new remote, new batteries. When fully charged the remote indicates 1 amp. Turning the salesmans switch on works as planned but no change from 1 amp. Is normal parasitic from things like microwave clock, CO2 and propane alarms    

 

[63Hotrod]

Tom great information yes it is hard wired on this model. After reading your note it confirms what I thought it might be in that the inverter has a slight draw plus the other small things

I figure if we park it off power for a few days the thing to do is turn the battery master off

Thanks for the quick help. No on to chasing other small issues

[Tom Cherry]

3 minutes ago, 63Hotrod said:

Tom great information yes it is hard wired on this model. After reading your note it confirms what I thought it might be in that the inverter has a slight draw plus the other small things

I figure if we park it off power for a few days the thing to do is turn the battery master off

Thanks for the quick help. No on to chasing other small issues

ER??  IF the Magnum is "Hard Wired" as in NOT through the Battery Disconnect Switch, then turning off the "Master" will NOT reduce the parasitic load.  Only Disconnecting (or putting a switch near the Inverter...a Blue Seas 300 AMP0 OR ding the SOFT RESET...without turning back ON the power will kill the Magnum.  You WILL STILL have voltage on the Magnum...but since it was RESET...as in powered down...then you have to push the Power button ON to turn it back on.

NOW, you CAN do the SOFT reset...and that turns OFF the Inverter.  You DO, I think, have to then PUSH and HOLD the Power Button to restart it.  Otherwise...it stays OFF and is NOT in a Standby Mode.

Just wanted to make sure that we are seeing this the same way...  Turning OFF your Battery Disconnect switch will also NOT remove the parasitic from the EMERGENCY stuff.  The MAIN draw you are seeing...is the standby MODE of the Inverter...and you now know how to KILL that....

Or...that's that way I understood your comment....

[63Hotrod]

Tom I need to chase this a bit. I thought turning off the battery switch put everything to sleep  But I may be wrong I will check it out

[Tom Cherry]

30 minutes ago, 63Hotrod said:

Tom I need to chase this a bit. I thought turning off the battery switch put everything to sleep  But I may be wrong I will check it out

Simplify.  One, look at your prints.  Two, chase the positive to the battery buss (lots of copper). Three, chase the Inverter positive to the BUSS.  There will be a small, presumably, canister style Fuse.  My Camelot has large ANL fuses for all feeds from the Buss.   Then follow the battery and look how the disconnect is hooked up.  IF the fuse is wired directly to the incoming Buss and NOT on the Distributed side….with all the fuses…then it is hard wired or NOT switched.

OK….IF, you turn OFF the House Disconnect….and still measure 12 VDC on the Inverter leads….then, your inverter is a “straight or hard wired”….and not switched.

BUT, if there is no DC on the inverter leads….after you kill the House Disconnect, then it is SWITCHED.  Yes, turning off the House disconnect will stop the drain, but, I THOUGHT there was a sneak circuit that kept power, even with the disconnect OFF, to the two alarms.

NOW….if the disconnect doesn’t power down the Inverter, then you do the SOFT RESET.  Hold ON the power button for about 20 seconds.  That then shuts down, totally, the inverter.  You have to then PUSH the power button ONCE to start it.  Then it stays in Standby….regardless of what folks think about turning the Inverter OFF from the remote.  In Standby….it draws a parasitic load.

That’s it….