Hello all,
Just did a new install of 2 Quattro II 2x120s in a motorhome. One part I am trying to understand is why we would want the onboard generator to be on input 1 (priority) vs. input 2. In an RV, I would think we would want shore power to be the priority, and in the event shore power fails, and my SoC get’s low, then fire up generator. What am I missing as to why we would not want to do it this way? I know that the manual says to do it with generator on input 1, however, with a cerbo in play, isn’t think a non-issue now?
Appreciate the insight!
In reality it’s completely up to you, of course.
In concept, many many users prefer generator on the priority input so that when at dock or pedestal but preparing to leave, they can fire up the generator and the unit will switch to generator input, then they can disconnect from shore power and motor away without ever losing AC input, charging, etc.
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Justin,
Makes sense. And understand that reasoning as well, thank you!. I wasn’t sure if there was any issues with auto gen start, current / voltage sensing etc. that I would then be limited to by not having it on input 1.
Another thing to consider is I think I remember reading somewhere that if you are using lifepo4 batteries and the bms shuts down due to low voltage, only input 1 is capable of starting the inverter/charger with no voltage on the battery terminals. If you’re boondocking and your batteries go offline, and generator is connected to input 2, then you remain dead in the water.
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Derrick,
Yes! this was one of the concerns I had and was looking to validate. I was actually thinking about this another way (but your point on boondocking is a good consideration).
“Note: The inverter/charger may not start when AC is present only on AC-in-2, and DC battery voltage is 10% or more below nominal (less than 22 Volt in case of a 24 Volt battery).
Solution: connect AC power to AC-in-1, or recharge the battery.”
The problem with the way the RV is setup is the generator start is tied to the house batteries, so if they are dead, I’m in trouble anyway. I was thinking I wouldn’t want the shore power on AC 2 because then I couldn’t charge the batteries either without an external charger. I can, however, merge the chassis and coach batteries, and start the generator. How I get the batteries charged would still be a problem, but I would have AC power… This is the trade off I was considering with this question.
Am I thinking about this incorrectly?