SEEMS LIKE EVERYTHING IS FAILING AT THE SAME TIME

Currently in Belton MO (Low 64 Partly Sunny and Nice High 80)

Original subject of the post: IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING - THIS TIME IT'S THE INVERTER. Then we had to add "Hail" then "Battery Charger" then "Transfer Switch" then a "Leaking Roof".

To paraphrase Michael Corleone in Godfather 3, every time we think we have all the bugs worked out, we get pulled down by another one. Or in this instance pulled down again and again.

This time started with the inverter/charger which converts the 12v in our battery bank to 110v when we are not connected to shore power. This is mainly for our residential refrigerator to keep it cool traveling down the road. When connected to shore power the inverter/charger then charges the batteries after our trip and keeps them charged to run all of the 12v lighting and other 12v accessories. 

When we were setting up in Belton Jo realized that the refrigerator wasn't working. The air conditioners and microwave had power so we knew we were connected. We reset the 110v breakers but still no working refrigerator. We then went on a hunt to find out where it was plugged in. We finally found that it was plugged in behind the kitchen drawers but then had to learn how to get the drawer out. This was more difficult since the drawers almost hit the island when fully extended. Bob figured out the secret handshake and got the drawer out and tested the outlet which was dead.

The inverter is wired so that if you spent some time without shore power you could have a cold refrigerator, have coffee in the morning, watch television, charge your electronics, and have a fan in the bedroom. We checked and everything associated with the inverter was dead so Bob went and checked on the inverter in the forward storage area. Here it is with the cover off so Bob can do some troubleshooting.

The first thing he noticed was the cooling fan was not working which normally runs for a while after our traveling. He found and pressed the reset button and went back inside but everything was still dead. The refrigerator then became the first priority so we ran an extension cord from the microwave outlet to the refrigerator plug. With us you have to know that television was the next priority so we ran an extension cord to the TV and another one to the DVR. Eventually we ran an extension cord from the shore power 20a outlet through a window to the microwave and moved the Keurig to a working outlet.  

When Bob was doing the troubleshooting one of the screens on the inverter display showed 14.1 volts so he thought the charging portion was working but after a couple of days the lights were getting dimmer and sure enough the charging side wasn't working. So we added yet another bridge from shore power to inverter/charger and manually hooked up a battery charger to our battery bank. We can't wait until things are back to normal. Here is a photo showing the extension cords for the microwave.

If that wasn't enough we had a bad storm coming in so Bob closed all the exterior doors which unplugged the battery charger and microwave. If that wasn't enough when it rained we had a leak. Thank goodness for sham wows as we used them to control the water inside. If that wasn't enough when Bob reconnected the battery charger he reversed the polarity and fried the battery charger. So off to Walmart for a replacement. 

When Bob had the shore power off to test the inverter we decided it was a good time to exercise our generator. We rarely use our Onan 5500 generator so we follow the manufacturers recommendations and every month or so we run the generator under load for about 20-30 minutes. We quickly noticed we were not getting any power from the generator so added the transfer switch to the list.

As mentioned before the night we got hail and a fair amount of rain we had a small leak in the roof. Bob got on the roof and found a spot that might have caused it and caulked it. The hail storm was on a Saturday. The following Wednesday we had the mother of all storms, rain wise. The small leak in one spot turned into a gusher out of one of the ceiling lights and more leaks on top of that. We had sham wows and bowls and crock pot and anything that could catch water. Bob added caulk in more spots on the roof and with no rain in the forecast for a while we hope he's got all the spots taken care of. After it cures we will use the hose and see if it is still leaking and yet another thing to add to the list.

We have a mobile service tech coming and we have an extended warranty so we shall see how all this plays out.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo