[A/S] Converters and inverters

["Frank Rowe" <rbus4107@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings,   I'm a new guy to the list.  I feel compelled to share a 
little info about electrical.  I'm an old electrician of 30+ years.  
There are 2 commonly used electrical devices that are used by RV of 
all sizes and shapes.  These are the converter, as is the Univolt, and 
a inverter.  A converter is an electrical device that is comparitive 
to a battery charger.  The old units are called the battery killers.  
They put out a fixed voltage, that over a short period of a few 
months, will boil all the water from a battery, and render it junk.  
The task of monitoring battery voltages has become very easy and 
contributes to great longivity.  When a RV is parked or stored for a 
few months, the converter should be disconnected from battery.  
Batteries historically loose about 6%  of their capacity per month 
just sitting disconnected.  Some clever folks use a timer as to charge 
the battery periodically.  A fully charged battery will indicate 12.5 
or 12.6 volts on a digital voltmeter.  A battery that indicates 12.0 
is   75% discharged.
An Inverter is an electrical device that converts DC [batteries] to AC 
[house power].  These are wonderful devices but consume batteries  
without planning.  For every 1  amp of  AC power produced, the battery 
gives up 10 amps.
                 Frank Rowe               Idaho