240v to 110v advice Forums

Yorkscouple

Hi all us again, after having enjoyed a break in Cornwall in our Fleetwood Tioga and having burnt out 2 invertors whilst watching TV, then having received silly quotes to convert our RV to 240v (£1000.00 plus) we thought maybe we could do this ourselves?
My idea is thus:
As I work in the building industry getting hold of 240v to 110v transformers is no problem, so our idea is that the mains hook up lead coming into the van splits into 2, one side going into the transformer thus giving us a 110v supply to power the fridge/microvave/lights etc, the other side goes by way of a fuse box to a couple of 240v sockets so that we can enjoy our TV and hairdriers etc (her not me!!!)
Can anyone see any potential problems with this? I assume that the battery charging would not be affected as the transformed 110v side would only be the same as being plugged into the onboard 110v Generator (my one worry is that the battery would be being constantly charged and consequently cooked,but as I said it's the same as using the gennie for prolonged periods so I assume the charger cuts out when the battery is full)
Any advice and tips would be gratefuly appreciated.
Thanks a lot

Ian & Kay

johnsandywhite

Hi Yorkscouple. I have done this myself on several occasions when on a campsite. The only problem with using a Transformer is that the Microwave will run slower as will the Fridge. You won't really notice it. It's because the US electric runs at 60 cycles AC ours runs at 50 cycles AC. You could do a proper conversion by using a step-up/stepdown transformer to allow 110 to 240 and 240 to 110. :-

ScotJimland

Hi Ian

The high cost of conversion is due to the cost of the transformer. I concur with JSW about the 50hz / 60hz but that's normal for all conversions.

Check the wattage of the transformer, you will need at least a 3kva or bigger.
Go for it Wink

Jim

johnsandywhite

A certain company quoted me £1500 for a conversion with 4 x 240 sockets. I can do it myself for around £200. Wink

ScotJimland

johnsandywhite

That's the one Jim. Wink

Yorkscouple

Thanks for the advice so far guys, at least my idea is not as daft as the wife first thought, I must admit that a step up/step down transformer confuses me, how does it work, does it do both and how does one wire it?, any advice please JSW as obviously you have done it before (or even better can we come and pitch next to you for a couple of days whilst you do ours), only kidding we realy appreciate your help
Thanks a lot

johnsandywhite

Hi Yorkscouple. I could of course do it but I am afraid not for nothing. The step-up/Down transformer has a strip connector for the 2 different tappings. One pair for the 110 volt and the other pair for the 240. It's fairly straightforward to wire the incoming 240 volt shore power through the transformer to the 110 Internal supply and visa-versa the generator 110 volt supply through the Transformer to the 240 volt sockets you would fit wherever you wanted. Wink

ScotJimland