List of “good” inverters please

[Sea Word]

I’ve a,ways used xantrex inverters because they are true sine wave, quality units with low parasitic draw. But, I’m sure they aren’t the only ones. What are some other trusted brands or models? I’m looking to pick up a used 2500 watt unit. dont care if it has charging ability because we won’t often see shore power and I’m installing a large solar setup.

 

[Larry M]

A good, used 2500 watt inverter maybe hard to find. If I had to recommend an inverter, it would be an OutBack. They're field serviceable, OutBack also has a MPTT controller that integrates well and they are a local company for you. We have one of their inverter/chargers for 12 years and it's still supported.

Inverter / Chargers - OutBack Power Inc

 

[DavidM]

Some other good brands: Victron, Mastervolt, Magnum.


David

 

[Ken E.]

Another Magnum vote.

 

[DDW]

If you are looking for low idle current draw, Mastervolt and Victron are about the only choices. I hate the Magnum I put in my RV: it has very high idle current draw, hums like a Las Vegas call girl, and the battery monitor does not monitor the battery.

 

[sunchaser]

The best inverter is one that is installed correctly. A search on the Internet will find really good new unit deals. The charger portion may prove important, and a quite cheap addition.

Ben Ellison, Panbo, has a good site to check out for the minutiae on brand differentiation. We use a Magnum 2800. Great PNW support, only needed it once.

 

[psneeld]

Promariner

 

[Seevee]

Did a lot of research before I bough a Magnum 2800, and am very happy with it. It works very well, no issues and Magnum support is excellent for setting up, tweaking etc.

While it wasn't impossible for me to install, I hired an ABYC guy to do it. I did some of the grunt work.

Victron was also high on the list. Xantrex was clearly on the bottom with way too many complaints and failures.

 

[Ken E.]

....hums like a Las Vegas call girl....

Years ago I had a girlfriend from Las Vegas, and she was something of an inverter as I recall.

 

[diver dave]

Are radio emissions tolerable on these noted good? HF/SSB and VHF would be good to know.

 

[Ventana]

Xantrex, especially back when they used to be Statpower, used to have good equipment, but I have noticed more and more failures. Heart Interface and/or Freedom are all under that same Xantrex name now.
Mastervolt is high quality, with a price tag to match.
Magnum had some issues but did well on taking care of customers. Better pricing than Mastervolt.
Outback has good quality and is the only one I know that offers a sealed, semi-watertight unit.
Victron is good quality, decent pricing, and they are finally expanding their distribution so they are getting easier to find. We are replacing an old Heart/Freedom unit with a Victron.
If you just need an inverter with no charger, I would be tempted to buy something off Amazon with a recognizable name, I've seen Duracell and Tripplite to name a couple. You could probably get two and have a spare for the price of any of the names I mentioned.

 

[OldDan1943]

The new Xantrex2 charger has the ability to be 'stacked'. If you buy a 40amp and need more, just add another 40 amp charger. I do not know if stack them at different output, ie a 40 and an 80amp charger.
I have a Xantrex charger and a separate Xantrex 1800 watt inverter.
With the Xantrex inverter, you can shut off the parasitic drain. Dont ask me how. I did it and promptly forgot how. I turn the inverter on and off manually.

 

[Larry M]

Are radio emissions tolerable on these noted good? HF/SSB and VHF would be good to know.

VHF is no problem but we had to shut off the inverters (OutBack and Freedom) to listen/use the HF radio. We would also have to shut off the refrigeration. Lena and I have both been net controllers on HF radio nets. You could always tell when someone was broadcasting when the inverter or refer was on. When people complained they couldn’t hear us, reception always improved when they shut their inverter off. Halogen lights also caused interference.

 

[Drake]

Did a lot of research before I bough a Magnum 2800, and am very happy with it. It works very well, no issues and Magnum support is excellent for setting up, tweaking etc.

While it wasn't impossible for me to install, I hired an ABYC guy to do it. I did some of the grunt work.

Victron was also high on the list. Xantrex was clearly on the bottom with way too many complaints and failures.

X2. Exactly our experience on all counts.

 

[DavidM]

If you just need an inverter with no charger, I would be tempted to buy something off Amazon with a recognizable name, I've seen Duracell and Tripplite to name a couple. You could probably get two and have a spare for the price of any of the names I mentioned.

Tripplite used to be a good brand but I think that a Chinese company bought the name and now maybe just so so.

A good friend bought a Tripplite inverter/charger for 1/3 of what a Victron costs. It worked fine for a couple of years (except for high idle current) and then failed.

So you can't necessarily trust the old names.

David

 

[diver dave]

VHF is no problem but we had to shut off the inverters (OutBack and Freedom) to listen/use the HF radio. We would also have to shut off the refrigeration. Lena and I have both been net controllers on HF radio nets. You could always tell when someone was broadcasting when the inverter or refer was on. When people complained they couldn’t hear us, reception always improved when they shut their inverter off. Halogen lights also caused interference.

Good input, thanks. 12V halogens were trouble? Must have had dimmers?

 

[ranger58sb]

Promariner

And presumably ProMariner's Sterling cousins; same products.

-Chris

 

[Wil]

I have a (PO) Xantrex FSW2012 (full sine wave, 2Kw AC output, 100A charge) that's sort of ok, has issues (that's another thread), considering an upgrade. Good thread.

 

[caltexflanc]

If you are looking for low idle current draw, Mastervolt and Victron are about the only choices. I hate the Magnum I put in my RV: it has very high idle current draw, hums like a Las Vegas call girl, and the battery monitor does not monitor the battery.

This is completely counter to my own years of very intensive experience with a Magnum MS4024 inverter, BMK battery monitor kit and auto generator start. I wonder what specific models are being discussed? I would specify Magnum in a heartbeat next time around. Liked the made and supported in USA, plus field serviceable aspect too, like Outback which would be my second choice. Not that I'd float test a Victron or Mastervolt if a boat already had them.

 

[foggysail]

Been the Xantrex route, worked very well until it did not. I use a 3.5KW true sine wave purchased on Ebay for about$250 or so. I let it run 24/7 primarily to ensure my fridge will always be powered. One thing buyers of inexpensive inverters sold on Ebay should be aware of is they are listed for vehicle use........at least those I have seen. This subtlety means that the grounding conductor (green wire) and the grounded conductor cannot be connected together at the boat’s electrical load center while the boat is connected to shore power. The shore power load center bonds those connectors together by code.

OK, so I have isolated the normal grounded connector on the inverter which works just fine. Yeah I know, not recommended. This year I am going to see if I can find a 1:1 isolation transformer to isolate the inverter/electrical system from this condition. More on that later in a different thread.

 

[tiltrider1]

I like Magnum, Mastervolt, Outback, Victron. Which one I like best has a lot to due with what features you want. I used to be a fan of Heart and Trace until they were bought by Xantrex and the quality was sacrificed for cost. I also find that the xantrex support is lacking. I have nothing bad to say about Promariner but they are not on my preferred list, there again my opinion might change based on what features you are looking fore.

I tend to prefer units like the Magnum Inverter/charger Hybrid which can be set up to work in parallel with the power grid. These units are the top of each manufactures line.

 

[O C Diver]

Another vote for Magnum. Mine stays on 24 / 7 doesn't miss a beat. While they have a supposedly high idle draw, it can be reduce through the settings to "spool up" when it senses a load. Switching to a high efficiency apartment refrigerator saved far more electricity than the idle consumption of the inverter consumed. While idle consumption may be a factor for some, if you're planning on needing a 2,800 watt inverter, you probably have a big enough battery bank to make idle consumption a moot point.

Ted

 

[PaulGel]

The MSH can only take one 120vac input so if you have a 240VAC generator you are always trying to find loads for the other leg to balance it. Also you can’t link it to another Inverter to boost your output. That said if 3000/125 is enough for your setup and you can spend the time going through the manual and setting up the remote they can be pretty bullet proof. Technical support is pretty responsive during working hours as well.

 

[Westiculo]

If you are looking for low idle current draw, Mastervolt and Victron are about the only choices. I hate the Magnum I put in my RV: it has very high idle current draw, hums like a Las Vegas call girl, and the battery monitor does not monitor the battery.

My opinion is also opposite of this. Big fan of the Magnum. I have a puresine 2812. I should mention that we also had problems with our battery meter, but it's because the shunt wires were hooked up backwards! Try switching them and you might find it works the way it's supposed to.

The only problem (besides user error) that we've found is that the internal relays on the 2812 are limited to 30 amps. This means that even if you're on shore power (we have a 50-amp hookup), you can only pull 30 amps though the relays before tripping the internal circuit breaker. This actually turned out to be fine, because you get two legs at 30-amps (so 60 amps total), but it does prevent us from pulling the full 50 amps. So it's basically the same as having two 30-amp cables hooked up.

We have to be slightly more careful with running the hair dryer at the same time as the microwave and toaster oven. If it trips, you just pop down into the engine room and press the fuse reset button which isn't a big deal. The only benefit here is that limiting our 50-amp shore power to 30-amps probably reduces the chance of fire at the plugs from bad contact.

 

[sunchaser]

Westiculo
Our 2812 does not behave the way you describe yours. We too have a 50 amp setup and no problem pulling near 50 amps on both legs with inverter charging batteries at maximum rate. If on 30 amp cord we keep loads below 30, with trips that do occur tripping the pedestal breaker.

This is the case whether on US 220, Canadian 208 or on genset. We've never had the inverter trip during the 6 years we've had it. We do monitor and adjust loads to keep each leg's loads in the safe zone.

When not on shore power or genset running, we've never pushed the inverter to its max. We save heavy electrical uses for shore or genset times. Maybe that is why we've not tripped it.

 

[Sea Word]

Wow great info here! I should elaborate a bit more on the needs of this unit. I’ll be using it with a solar charged house bank exclusively, maybe not in the future but for now no shore power will be needed, especially since our solar system will be big enough to handle everything in theory. But, I want to leave the fridge on all the time, so a low idle current is desirable. It will see almost no load between fridge cycles for a lot of the time we are off board.

 

[sunchaser]

Sea Word

Do you have a hydraulic or electric windlass? We customarily run our genset when hoisting anchor, finding a very large draw down on batteries if the genset off. Not saying you need a genset but anchor retrieval is an area to plan for as you go forward.

All chain, deep PNW anchorages, sometimes a reset required and oversized anchor all conspire to drag down an electric windlass.

 

[Ventana]

Wow great info here! I should elaborate a bit more on the needs of this unit. I’ll be using it with a solar charged house bank exclusively, maybe not in the future but for now no shore power will be needed, especially since our solar system will be big enough to handle everything in theory. But, I want to leave the fridge on all the time, so a low idle current is desirable. It will see almost no load between fridge cycles for a lot of the time we are off board.

For an inverter only, no charger, you would be very well served with a Victron Phoenix unit. Good quality, good support, decent pricing, and lots of sizing options to match your needs. IF you are still in the PNW, Fisheries now carries their products.

 

[Sea Word]

Sea Word

Do you have a hydraulic or electric windlass? We customarily run our genset when hoisting anchor, finding a very large draw down on batteries if the genset off. Not saying you need a genset but anchor retrieval is an area to plan for as you go forward.

All chain, deep PNW anchorages, sometimes a reset required and oversized anchor all conspire to drag down an electric windlass.

That’s a great point, we don’t have any windlass now but it’s on the list of installations planned. We also don’t have a generator and I was debating wether I would install one at all. But your note on that draw makes me wonder if that is a bad idea, or if I should just rely on main engine for extra juice during anchoring sessions, which would be reasonable too since I’d only be dropping or pulling it with mains running I suspect. But I’ll plan on a little bigger house bank for that reason as well.

 

[Sea Word]

For an inverter only, no charger, you would be very well served with a Victron Phoenix unit. Good quality, good support, decent pricing, and lots of sizing options to match your needs. IF you are still in the PNW, Fisheries now carries their products.

Thanks I’ll look it up. Looking at the mastervolts too and they seem very well suited. I’m also seeing some of these are rated for 24v inputs which might be a good idea since I’m setting up the system from scratch, I may go ahead and use 24v solar to an MPPT controller to a 4 battery series/parallel bank. Then with my main engines I’m thinking about wiring one starter battery to both engines, charged off one engine, and then have the other engines alternator dedicated to the house bank if needed. If I felt like I could get away without having AC (air cond, not alt current) , then I wouldn’t need a genie, but is that stupid? I can’t tell. I’d hate to be running genie and ac for months on end but maybe that’s what people do? I’m new to this type of boating so it’s a bit of a foreign concept having AC on a boat.