Inverters

[Oil Gypsy]

Ive been looking through recent posts looking for information about Inverter/Chargers but cant find anything up to date and as the technology seems to advance so rapidly I thought I would ask for advice.

We are going to change our non sine wave 2Kw inverter charger to a new unit capable of running an induction cook top, 110v fridge, microwave and battery charger. The inverter we have at the moment can operate the fridge and microwave but when it comes to the induction cook top it wont even turn on.

Im looking for a 3Kw low frequency, low idle current draw, low voltage protection and low noise. Im really looking for recommendations other than Victron and Xantrex... more for the budget boater.......

If anyone has any recommendations please let me know

Thanks

 

[ksanders]

Ive been looking through recent posts looking for information about Inverter/Chargers but cant find anything up to date and as the technology seems to advance so rapidly I thought I would ask for advice.

We are going to change our non sine wave 2Kw inverter charger to a new unit capable of running an induction cook top, 110v fridge, microwave and battery charger. The inverter we have at the moment can operate the fridge and microwave but when it comes to the induction cook top it wont even turn on.

Im looking for a 3Kw low frequency, low idle current draw, low voltage protection and low noise. Im really looking for recommendations other than Victron and Xantrex... more for the budget boater.......

If anyone has any recommendations please let me know

Thanks

You already mentioned that you do not want to spend the money on Victron, the other brands are really all in a similar price range.

My bet is that you are not going to be able to undercut the name brands by very much and get the performance you are after.

 

[Taras]

I have a Schnieder Electric inverter/charger that I am using. Purchased 5 years ago and still going strong. Note it is NOT in the engine room but instead bolted to a bulkhead in a stateroom where temps are much lower. I have been pleased with the performance and it was significantly cheaper.

 

[O C Diver]

I've been very happy with my Magnum Energy (now called Magnum Dimensions). 2,800 watts is around $2K plus display. One of the considerations if you're trying to save a few dollars is to leave your existing inverter charger in place, and just add an inverter that will handle the cook top. Then you could turn it off to save the idle current. You won't get the quality of a top of the line, continuous duty unit, but you can save some money.

Ted

 

[sunchaser]

I see you can purchase a Victron 3000 multiplus on Amazon for around $1400. Then add on proper wiring, switchgear and a monitor- all of this would’ve the same for any brand of inverter charger.

The overall setup is as important as the brand. There are some great tips as to setup on the “marine how to” site or Nigel Calder books.

 

[long-cours.62]

On our former boat we had a Studer for 16 year (and the new onwer for 5 year more still working) connect it in 2001 and do nothing more






https://www.studer-innotec.com/en/products/inverter--chargers/

 

[tiltrider1]

3000 kw is a serious inverter. I don’t know of anything I would trust outside of Victron, Magnum and Master volt. Xantrex is not on my trust list. So, no. I don’t know of anything in this range for a budget boater.

 

[AdmiralS]

3000 kw is a serious inverter. I don’t know of anything I would trust outside of Victron, Magnum and Master volt. Xantrex is not on my trust list. So, no. I don’t know of anything in this range for a budget boater.

Second all of the above. Victron Multiplus 3k is the way to go and can be had for less than $1,500

 

[Simi 60]

Ours had a cheap " military grade" 3000w inverter on it when we got her
It was dead

Replaced with a 5000 victron multiplus, never regretted the decision for a second.
Small money in the scheme of things.

 

[GoneDiving]

I can't speak for Canada but in Australia, residential inverters are much cheaper than anything with a marine label and come in larger sizes. However, they do need to be assessed for compatibility with shore power, RCDs etc due to some having their Earth & Neural permanently bonded.

Maybe something worth investigating??

 

[SteveK]

I can't speak for Canada but in Australia, residential inverters are much cheaper than anything with a marine label and come in larger sizes. However, they do need to be assessed for compatibility with shore power, RCDs etc due to some having their Earth & Neural permanently bonded.

Maybe something worth investigating??

Inverter prices and brands are all over the place. What brand marine and house are you comparing?

 

[GoneDiving]

Inverter prices and brands are all over the place. What brand marine and house are you comparing?

Not sure if this was directed at me or Old Gypsy.

Personally, I went with two MPP Solar 5048's for a little over AUD 1000 ea. Here a Victron Multiplus 5000 is about AUD 2500.

My inverters were bought a few years ago and now it's not hard to find larger units or cheaper per kW.

 

[sunchaser]

Not sure if this was directed at me or Old Gypsy.

Personally, I went with two MPP Solar 5048's for a little over AUD 1000 ea. Here a Victron Multiplus 5000 is about AUD 2500.

My inverters were bought a few years ago and now it's not hard to find larger units or cheaper per kW.

Per the website, the MPP inverter is an interesting unit with an intended use for solar applications. The price in the US is listed at $700, working voltage is 48 in and 240 out and made in Taiwan (good). For lower out put voltage the website says a step down transformer is needed.

However the website says it is not suitable for the North American Market.

 

[SteveK]

Not sure if this was directed at me or Old Gypsy.

Personally, I went with two MPP Solar 5048's for a little over AUD 1000 ea. Here a Victron Multiplus 5000 is about AUD 2500.

My inverters were bought a few years ago and now it's not hard to find larger units or cheaper per kW.

Yes I quoted you, as you suggested the same inverter branded marine cost more so buy the house branded. It would have to be same make and model to compare cost.

 

[WarrenT]

A pure sine wave inverter is what yo need as the one you have is a modified sine wave.instead of kilowatts you should look at each appliance to see their wattage. If your highest wattage (powered) appliance is 1200 w buy over that power ie 3000 watt inverter. It doesn’t mean it’s 3000 watts all the time it means ‘peak’ or max.
I am running a 1200 w coffee maker and a smaller 600 watt microwave one at a time on a 3000w pure sine wave inverter being charged with a 100w Solar Panel to a small motorcycle lithium battery on my boat. Stand alone nothing to do with boat electrics.
Alixpress direct to China is where mine was purchased. Free shipping 3000w pure sine wave inverter $40 Canadian. It took a month to arrive but it was worth the wait.
Hope this helps!
WarrenT

 

[GoneDiving]

Per the website, the MPP inverter is an interesting unit with an intended use for solar applications. The price in the US is listed at $700, working voltage is 48 in and 240 out and made in Taiwan (good). For lower out put voltage the website says a step down transformer is needed.

However the website says it is not suitable for the North American Market.

Strange as MPP do have 110v models and can be paralleled to 220 split phase. I'm sure that there are equivalent brands that do service the North American market.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2747114...s4fEo4UTim&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

It should be noted that I'm not spruking MPP specifically but pointing out that units typically used for residential or industrial uses often come with lower costs and higher power options compared to units marketed to the marine community.

As WarrenT points out, if solar inputs are not required then that really opens up the options as pure sine wave inverters come in a vast number of sizes, features and cost.

Apologies to Steve. I should have been clearer. I'm not aware of any brands that list marine only and residential only models. I was nearly pointing out that brands that we more often see on land may also be suitable to the OP if he is chasing larger capacity.

 

[AnnapolisJoy]

Inverter

Outback

 

[mickand]

Have a look at an AIMS 3000watt inverter/charger - currently $1090 on Amazon. I installed mine about 3 years ago and it's been in daily use since without issue.

 

[Oil Gypsy]

Thanks for the responses,

I’m pleased to hear that someone has the Aims unit, its on the top of my list, the other unit I’m looking at is the Sungold.

Regarding Victron units, here in Canada the price before taxes is approaching $2,000 for a 3kw unit. Im inclined to get a simple inverter such as the Aims and have a stand alone battery bank solely for the galley cooktop, fridge, microwave, coffee maker etc leaving the Heart interface to power the rest of the 120v load.

I’m also considering a couple of flexible solar panels on the bimini to help keeping the galley bank charged.

 

[tiltrider1]

I took this right out of the Aims manual.

*We don't recommend connecting AC input to a GFCI circuit as it will cause the supply GCFI to pop intermittently and fail to supply power to the charger and bypass power through inverter.

This dose not sound compatible with new electrical regulations in the US. I do not know if Canada is following the US down the ELCI path or not.

 

[jkxtreme]

We use AIMS. Pure Sine Wave and easy to work with. It does not have all the bells and whistles of the Victron but they get the job done. We've installed them on several larger yachts (50-70 ft) with no issues.
https://www.aimscorp.net/

 

[twistedtree]

Outback

I have had good luck with the older FX line of Outback inverter, but they have been replaced by the FXR line. One of the key features added is so-called Power Assist which allows the inverter to augment shore power or generator power when your loads would otherwise overload the power source. It's a very handy feature for handling short peak loads.


But I discovered that the feature, even though prominently advertised in their brochure, simply doesn't work. It might work with a single inverter, but if they are stacked in any way, whether to create 120/240V service, or to get more than 3500VA, the power assist feature doesn't work, In fact, the inverter won't even stay connected to generator power, let along boost it. Outback finally admitted to me that it doesn't work and I recently returned all my Outback equipment to them for a refund. There are other issues too. Charger output falls significantly short of specification. Mine would never charge at more than about 65A vs the 85A spec. And charger voltage regulation is VERY sloppy, in fact too sloppy to successfully charge LFP batteries.


It's been 60 days and I still don't have the refund that was promised in 7-10 days.

 

[Circumnavigator]

We had 240/24 Magnums on Fintry and replaced them with Victron, thinking it was a better unit. Struggled with the manuals for longer than I should have and put the Magnums back (and I studied Electrical Engineering at Cornell).


A 3kW 12V Magnum came with Morning Light and it's fine, but this past summer we had 90+F weather in the canals and wanted all four aircons going, so had to run the generator. Over the winter I'm going to go to 24VDC for the heavy loads and a 5kW inverter, probably Magnum again.


We took a Xantrex around the world 25 years ago without any problems at all, but I haven't looked at the brand recently.


Jim



Jim

 

[bgillroy]

Oil Gypsy, I would suggest to you that you focus 100% of your effort first on lining out the performance specs you need. Ask for help. Get a tek expert, but do that first.
Next step evaluate equipment offerings and cost to reach best choice.
If you 'buy on a budget' you focus on price.
You have the process backward!
Specs, warranty, reliability. replacement parts, etc always come first.

 

[Mobcat]

There’s a short answer to this and it’s one word ….. Victron Quattro there simply is nothing that comes close to it absolutely seamless in its simplicity and reliability.

 

[Neil Ramsey]

The Samlex NTX-3000-12 inverter will take a 6000 watt surge and run at 3000 happily for less than a Canuck boat buck. (Designed here in BC.)
Their PST-3000-12 has more bells and whistles, can be hard wired and, I believe, is heavier duty.
I've been using 2 of their inverters for 5 or 6 years and the dealer I bought them from says he's never had a warranty claim.

 

[OldDan1943]

You have to achieve a balance.
A. batteries are the heart and soul

 

[Mako]

The OP said he's looking for a budget inverter, but since I have a short attention span...

Any Europeans here familiar with Cristec inverters and electrical gear? When I was communicating with a French shipyard they 100% utilized them, stating "professional grade." Seeing that a 3500kW unit costs over 3000 euro, price is getting up there.

 

[OldDan1943]

I have yet to see a suggested, realistic, projected balance of batteries verses watts output of the inverter and the ability to perform meaningful work by the inverter.

 

[SteveK]

I have yet to see a suggested, realistic, projected balance of batteries verses watts output of the inverter and the ability to perform meaningful work by the inverter.

But why should you. The inverter output is the limitation. You can have thousands of Ah feeding it. Infinite max output if you had infinite input.

The issue is in recharging the depleted battery bank in the same period of time or less than the inverter took to drain them. Fusion power.