What else besides a converter?

[wlooper89]

David,

Thank you for your comments. Circuit breakers are absolutely necessary to protect an AC circuit from overload. A GFCI will see this only as a load as long as it is balanced between primary and common. A Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt as the name implies will only trip if there is a difference between amp draw of AC primary and common when one or the other is shorted to ground. If a person is completing this path to ground then the GFCI can save a life by detecting the imbalance between primary and common wire amps.

It is just not practical to use an inverter to pull 1000W from a battery. The formula Amp = Watts/Volts shows this clearly. If a microwave uses 8A from 120V AC then it will be 80 Amps from the 12V battery. Even a very large battery will not last long at this rate.

The problem with generators is the noise factor in a campground with close neighbors. Last time I stayed at a U.S. park there were designated areas that permitted generator use during specified hours, a good policy I believe. All the GA state parks have electric hookups so my plan is to just use the propane stove when AC is not available. My battery will keep the reading lights going for a long weekend and recharge from the tow vehicle enroute to the next campsite.

Bill

[hunter535]

Bill,

The running of generators at NYS DEC campgrounds also have designated times that they can be run, a few hours in am and pm. We tend to like state campgrounds because they usually have secluded campsites and are kept up fairly well. Unfortunately they do not provide AC hookup so a battery will be paramount for us. I also plan on getting one of those testers as well. Seems like thesmart and safe thing to do.

[wlooper89]

I asked Jeff, who is an RV service technician, about AC grounding and how it is handled by RV manufacturers. This is his reply. Based on his and David's comments, I plan to add an AC ground connection to my metal tongue box/frame.

Bill, in 120VAC RV wiring the ground is hooked to the frame. The main difference between RV and residential wiring is that the ground and neutral are not bonded in an RV. The 12V systen could be grounded to the frame or totally isolated from it, it wouldn't really make a difference.
Jeff

[chorizon]

Thanks, looper, that answered a question I posted on another thread a few days ago.