Originally Posted by
Gil_J
There's no doubt that our inverter/chargers can be technically overwhelming for many. There's some misconceptions that seem to be perpetuated even though they are inaccurate.
I just confirmed that the most common inverter/chargers we have in our coaches handle these functions pretty much the same.
Myth #1, Setting the Shore or Grid Max Amps at or below the shore power connection will prevent the coach from tripping the shore breaker. This setting DOES NOT limit the appliance loads being serviced by the inverter. For example, if you set this to 15A because your coach is plugged into a 30A/120V shore connection, you can still turn on appliances that exceed the 15A. What this setting does and why you should use it is that it limits the amount of shore power current dedicated to the battery charging function. Load shedding is your responsibility if your converter didn't install some sort of intelligent load shedding system.
Myth #2, You should reduce the Maximum battery charging current when you are plugged into something less than the standard 50A/240V connection. This should ALWAYS be set to 50% of the maximum charge current rating established by your battery manufacturer for the size of the bank you have. It's set at 50% because you have 2 battery chargers and together they will not exceed the maximum charge current recommendation for your battery bank. Look at Myth #1 on why you do not need to reduce this setting. Note, depending on your inverter this setting may be stated in AC amps or a percentage of the chargers maximum charging current.
Myth #3, You should set your shore current setting to something less than what it is because shore breakers can trip below their rated current. This is a half truth in that it might be a good idea if you have an inverter that will supplement shore power, like a Trace SW series or Magnum Hybrid series, but as stated in Myth 1, this will not limit the appliance loads being serviced by the inverter.