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Old 08-24-2019, 04:30 PM   #21
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That looks good and is certanly affordable.

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Old 08-24-2019, 04:42 PM   #22
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My $0.02.....

I really like my Xantrex. They were reasonably priced, reliable, serviceable and perform as advertised.

I have a 1000 watt/12volt PSW in my 5er and two 1800watt/24volt PSW inverters and would not hesitate to buy another.

I have worked with Samlex/Cotek and had good results but the service and support from Xantrex blows them away.

Good luck.
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Old 08-24-2019, 06:46 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by rffffffff View Post
I think I’m running into an issue with too small of a load for the size of the inverter. Give it some real load and it seems just fine
I thought one of the main selling points of inverters was that they're best for highly variable loads.
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Old 08-25-2019, 09:58 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
Would this happen with a modified wave inverter?
No clue. I think from an electrical perspective it’s easier to maintain a squared off waveform under different loads, where the pure sine inverter likely has a harder time with variability because the waveform shape changes with load and it’s not just a ‘turn it up’ solution, it probably requires a bit more complicated stuff. Just a slightly educated guess.
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Old 08-25-2019, 10:06 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by joeblack5 View Post
So I tried mine with a 60 watt lightbulb and no flickering whatsoever.
Great to know! I think I may send this one back and see if it’s just a bad batch... it could be that the 3500 12v with double the amperage capacity is more subject to that as well... I realized that your 3500 is probably closer to the 1750 12v version in a lot of respects, and the 12v versions have a tougher job.

All things considered I would DEFINTIELY recommend a 24v bus over 12v. I was given an old 12v inverter when I started, xantrex, so I bought all of the stuff around that... it failed the first time I wired it up but I’m already committed to the 12v stuff with tthe pump, diesel heater, charger and lighting so I don’t want to switch back, but 24v is clearly the way to go, if not 48v.
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Old 08-27-2019, 09:36 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW_Steve View Post
My $0.02.....

I really like my Xantrex. They were reasonably priced, reliable, serviceable and perform as advertised.

I have a 1000 watt/12volt PSW in my 5er and two 1800watt/24volt PSW inverters and would not hesitate to buy another.

I have worked with Samlex/Cotek and had good results but the service and support from Xantrex blows them away.

Good luck.
PNWSteve.....Good to hear Xantrex support has improved. Support was our main gripe years ago when I was installing.
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Old 08-27-2019, 09:45 AM   #27
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Well in the aftermath of all of this I decided to take my old (2003) broken xantrex apart and see if I could use it for testing or to just flat out replace this new one that bothers me. I found a corroded board from water damage I would guess (certainly not xantrex’s fault) and cleaned it up, replaced the rusted switch and it fired right up. If nothing else xantrex inverters last!
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Old 08-27-2019, 09:51 AM   #28
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I have one high frequency inverter in service. It’s a big old Heart Interface 5000 watt inverter I bought from a friend for $60. A couple times I’ve needed to slide the on/off switch twice to get it to turn on but otherwise it works consistently. It’s in my cargo van. The old Motorhome has a 7 year old low frequency outback FX2524 which has worked perfectly so far.
I’m curious to read more about what’s working for folks?? And that they can fix them sometimes. That Reliable unit looks interesting.
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Old 08-27-2019, 09:52 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rffffffff View Post
Well in the aftermath of all of this I decided to take my old (2003) broken xantrex apart and see if I could use it for testing or to just flat out replace this new one that bothers me. I found a corroded board from water damage I would guess (certainly not xantrex’s fault) and cleaned it up, replaced the rusted switch and it fired right up. If nothing else xantrex inverters last!
Good on you, man. Way to get after it!
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Old 08-27-2019, 10:40 AM   #30
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I also have a Whistler inverter a trucker recommended. I've been using that for a while too no problem. This weekend I was using it to power my circular saw and angle grinder no problems whatsoever. Pretty inexpensive on Walmart.com

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Whistler-...Power/40626655
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Old 08-29-2019, 12:20 AM   #31
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We went with a Go!Power 3000W/6000W pure sine inverter/charger. It works well.


We run our Coleman Roughneck 13.5K BTU air conditioner off of it with lots of available power to spare. With the refrigerator running, the combination of loads draws around 130 amps (slightly more than half of max) from the battery bank or actually the alternators since we only run the air conditioner if the engine is running or we are hooked up to shore power.
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Old 08-31-2019, 05:09 PM   #32
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So far I’ve had good luck with second hand low frequency inverter/chargers. Ive used Outback, Victron, Xantrex, and Trace Engineering unit’s with none failing except when the Xantrex got rain in it and smoked. My bad!
I have had a couple high frequency inverters quit on me. I was not knowledgeable to fix them.
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Old 09-01-2019, 12:50 AM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doktari View Post
I have one high frequency inverter in service. It’s a big old Heart Interface 5000 watt inverter I bought from a friend for $60. A couple times I’ve needed to slide the on/off switch twice to get it to turn on but otherwise it works consistently. It’s in my cargo van. The old Motorhome has a 7 year old low frequency outback FX2524 which has worked perfectly so far.
I’m curious to read more about what’s working for folks?? And that they can fix them sometimes. That Reliable unit looks interesting.



What is the difference between a high frequency inverter & low frequency inverter? Scratch that, I have too many questions. What site would you recommend for getting an inverter education? No need for you to spend hours educating me.
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Old 09-01-2019, 06:41 AM   #34
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I have a 1000 watt zantrex, older one that has served me well on a boat for many years and is now in the bus.

Johan mentions takeing his apart and changing stuff in it, I have no clue what anything in the inverter is, so he is speaking greek to me. I think in time it would be nice to learn though.

Soft start for the fridge would be nice....
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Old 09-01-2019, 09:24 AM   #35
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For anyone else looking for "cheap" inverters... I have an 8000W PowerJack in my conversion. Unlike the HF cheapo inverters, these LF inverters (I think many of the AIMS inverters are LF) have gigantic transformers in them, and often come in split phase (110V and 220V in the same unit, allowing you to use household US breaker panels and two-pole breakers).


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Because of their weight, I think its nearly impossible to ship these with 100% confidence. If it arrives undamaged, they're likely to work well. I had a 1500W I ordered that was DOA (for my van conversion), had to send it back for a replacement. I paid $434 for my 8kw, which arrived undamaged, and tested ~2000W on a single leg. It since has been buzzing away in my bus, mostly idle, but powering anything I've thrown at it thus far.


I do want to test backfeeding into my house. I'm going to try to test my newly acquired washer/dryer combo unit on it in the next week or so.



There's a single guy US distributor that will thoroughly test these PowerJack units before he ships them out to you:

https://www.genetrysolar.com/



He's also go a YouTube channel where he discusses the new models as they come out and their designs.
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