Separate Inverter, Charger, or Combo ?

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Exile

[COLOR="Navy"]
Btw, I assume you turn your inverter off at night because they draw on the batteries even when not being used? I think I read that somewhere. Some come with a remote switch you could mount in an accessible place so one doesn't forget.

We do not turn ours off. Yes, there's an efficiency cost, no it's not enough of an issue for us to worry about.. partly because of the way we manage the boat and our charging regime. YMMV.

-Chris

[travellerw]

Yes we have a remote switch. We turn our inverter off to not only save power, but as a safety. I just feel better with it turned off while we are sleeping (maybe, I paranoid).

[Olddan1943]

Re: Separate Inverter, Charger, or Combo ?

I keep my inverter off because of how ever small the draw on the batteries, it is unnecessary.

I am told, when inverters first came out, they provided "hotel load" which to my understanding was, if you had a 2000 amp inverter, there was 2000 amp flowing out the end anytime the inverter was one. I think Columbus had this type of inverter.
These days, (if you have an amp meter on the inverter) you see how much you are drawing. The "straw"/inverter only draws from the battery based on need. So in theory if you only need 500 amps the battery will last twice as long than if you were drawing 1000 amp.
Rereading that, I think I am either confused or totally wrong. Someone straighten me out please.

[a64pilot]

My 2800 W continuous inverter has a 20 W load just sitting there, doing nothing. That is about an amp and a half. Not a whole lot but my Engle runs on 2.5 I think.
It’s enough that I got a small 200W pure sine to run our TV, cause in all that isn’t more than 20W total.
It’s just the push of a button to turn it on, I used to leave it on all the time.
It does have a search mode, where it senses loads and will turn on only when there is a load. That turn on point is adjustable too, but I just turn it off when we don’t need it.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

My 2800 W continuous inverter has a 20 W load just sitting there, doing nothing. That is about an amp and a half. Not a whole lot but my Engle runs on 2.5 I think.
It’s enough that I got a small 200W pure sine to run our TV, cause in all that isn’t more than 20W total.
It’s just the push of a button to turn it on, I used to leave it on all the time.
It does have a search mode, where it senses loads and will turn on only when there is a load. That turn on point is adjustable too, but I just turn it off when we don’t need it.

a64 -- Curious why you would have the TV running on a small 200W inverter when you have your large Magnum combo wired into your panel?

Also, can the small ones be safely wired in close to the appliance itself? If so, then what's the recommended power cut-off for having to wire in close to the batteries? I guess what I'm asking is whether the usual requirement to wire the 12v side of an inverter close to the batteries is more of a safety issue, or more about efficiency?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Exile

a64 -- Curious why you would have the TV running on a small 200W inverter when you have your large Magnum combo wired into your panel?



Also, can the small ones be safely wired in close to the appliance itself? If so, then what's the recommended power cut-off for having to wire in close to the batteries? I guess what I'm asking is whether the usual requirement to wire the 12v side of an inverter close to the batteries is more of a safety issue, or more about efficiency?

It’s that my Magnum pulls 20 W just being on. The TV pulls surprisingly little power, so it’s akin to running your big propulsion motor to charge your batteries. By having a small inverter, I cut my power to watch TV in half, and we watch too much TV, so it adds up.

Reason to have the inverter close to a battery is for big inverters, my Magnum MS2812 requires huge cables, cause it can pull a huge amount of power and charges the batteries with 125 amps. The further away it is, the bigger the cables have to be, very soon you need bigger cables than there is. Less than 5’ Magnum requires 4/0 gauge. 5 to 10’ and you need double 4/0 Gauge cables for the POS and the Neg.
The little 200 W inverter only draws a small amount, so it doesn’t have to have big cables. It’s 20’ away and is happy with 10 ga wire, but because I also run my Engel off of that circuit, I’ll likely rewire with 8 ga.

I would have liked to find a quality 100W pure sine, but 200W was the smallest I could find.

[a64pilot]

I was wrong, it’s a 120W, smallest I could find.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Exile]

Thanks a64. It looks like there are a few cheaper ones showing up when I looked at the Amazon link. Reviews not quite as favorable perhaps.

[Q Xopa]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Well, I have 4 x 327w Solar panels and a large 24v House Bank (1040Ah)
The 1/2hp invertor Air Con has a soft start and registers very little AC load when running but my smart meter shows its drawing about 28amps on the house bank.

I made sure the air con installation was tight, so only return air came from cooled cabin. I thermally insulated the lazarette side of the bulkhead and with the deck hatch open, venting the hot air from compressor side, the unit cycles on and off at 26°C when its about 36°C outside.
But the real plus is a large enough Solar array that cranks out 25 to max 40A @24v all day long.

We have not moved back on board full time yet as just finishing up on some interior varnishing , so I expect our net loss will increase quite a bit with other loads, but once cruising, we rarely use AirCon.... It is more needed at the Marina

1/2 HP Invertor Air cond. Sounds small. They obviously make them that small. If you dont mind me asking, what flavour is it?

[Troutslayer]

327w? Would that be Sunpower panels? Great choice for a boat. High power density (currently at 370w for same size module), Best high temp performer, Solid copper bus eliminates looses from cracked cells in conventional panels. Level 5 salt mist exposure rating.

Disclaimer: I am a SunPower Master Dealer

[Troutslayer]

Originally Posted by Q Xopa

1/2 HP Invertor Air cond. Sounds small. They obviously make them that small. If you dont mind me asking, what flavour is it?

327w? Would that be Sunpower panels? Great choice for a boat. High power density (currently at 370w for same size module), Best high temp performer, Solid copper bus eliminates looses from cracked cells in conventional panels. Level 5 salt mist exposure rating.

Disclaimer: I am a SunPower Master Dealer

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Troutslayer

327w? Would that be Sunpower panels? Great choice for a boat. High power density (currently at 370w for same size module), Best high temp performer, Solid copper bus eliminates looses from cracked cells in conventional panels. Level 5 salt mist exposure rating.

Disclaimer: I am a SunPower Master Dealer

Yes, exactly, I only knew Sunpower by reputation, nice to know they are quality made.

[Jimmyhenry]

We have been using a Victron 3kw inverter which has a 120A charger. Brilliant. Never had a problem.

[CapnCrunch]

Just my two cents worth on the question - I am running a Xantrex 2500w inverter/charger. It has a "pass through" function that detects the presence of shore or genny power and bypasses the inverter function, so no need for a switch or two breaker panels. The only problems I have with it are that, when away from shore, if I don't shut of the charger it will overload my Honda 2000i genny when I plug it into the boat's AC system. THe other problem is that mine is an older unit and is a modified sine wave unit which does not play well with motors (like fans, microwave turntables, etc). So whatever you end up with, make sure it is the pure sine wave type.

[moseriw]

a good idea is the victron combo - really bad help but excellent products