Question for inverter experts, another? added.

[Sean]

... will start genny and charge right before quiet hours ...

Umm, I don't think so.  If it did, I would use this capability.

You can, however, make it come on daily right after quiet hours, by setting Exercise to 1.  But it will only run for the exercise period unless one of the voltage start parameters has been met during the quiet period.

One of the very annoying things about the quiet hour settings is that it will only avoid starting during that period -- it won't stop the generator just because quiet hours have begun.  So, for example, if you set quiet hours to begin at 9:30pm, but the battery voltage drops below the start settings at 9:00, the generator could run until 1:00am.  Since it generally takes four hours to charge my batteries, if I am going to be away from the bus, I have to set the start of quiet hours to four hours before whatever time quiet hours "really" start.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[scanzel]

Ok guys there is a Xantrex SW 4024MC2 on ebay for sale. I have contacted the person and he says it is brand new in the box dated 2002. He states that after 2004 they are being made in China. Is this true and should I go for it. What about neutral/ground switching. How do you approach that. My understanding is that this inverter doesn't do it and that you need an additional relay.

[Sean]

Steve,

I just checked eBay and did not see any SW4024-MC2 units for sale -- only plain SW4024.

You did not mention a price, so it is hard to say whether or not it is a good deal.

You should know that any SW4024 product, other than the -MC2 models, is old stock, as this model was discontinued several years ago.  So, before you buy, you might run the serial number past Xantrex and make sure they will honor the warranty on it as a "new" product.

Fair market on SW4024, NOS, is around $1,800.  Fair market on SW4024-MC2, NIB, is over $3,000.

It will be impossible to tell where the unit was assembled or where the parts were made without looking at the specific unit (and opening it up).  But Xantrex is not a US company anyway, so why does it matter to you if the unit was assembled in China?  Xantrex has been sourcing parts from China for a very long time now.  And you'd be hard-pressed to find a single piece of consumer electronics in this country without Chinese content, FWIW.

As for the ground-neutral bonding issue, that is old news.  The manual for this unit is available in .PDF format on Xantrex's web site, and you can read up on it.  Doing a search here on the boards will turn up pages and pages of information on this subject.  My own write-up on the SW4024 and differences with the MC2 model is here: http://ourodyssey.us/bus-e-trace.html  Elsewhere on my site is a discussion of the bonding issue and the lack of a two-pole transfer switch.

HTH.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[ol713]

Hi;
   My vote would be for the Xantrax.  They bought out Trace some
   years ago and I am sure they use the same circuitry.  I have an old
   Trace 2425.  I have never had a problem with it in the last 12 years.
                              Good luck.