Inverter / Charger Search

[Tikvah]

Okay guys (and gals) I need advice and direction on purchasing my first true Inverter/Charger

Between 3000 and 4000 watts.  I haven't set anything up yet, so 24V might be best, but for the right price I can do 12V

I'm careful with my dollars on this project, so not to be cheap, but.....

Send me to the best deal

Dave

[luvrbus]

Check with Don Rowe www.donrowe.com he will walk you through it he has the best selection and price IMO no hidden charges with him and he will be there after the sell

[muldoonman]

I went with Magnum per my techs advice. Been in a year and everything has worked so far. I Like the monitor that I bought with it and mounted it in the panel where the other came out. Check all functions and change setting pretty easy.

[bevans6]

By far the best deal on a "real" inverter/charger is here:  ( Link removed at Brian's request )   If you are going to buy one, buy it now - that link comes and goes and it breaks Magnum's rule for selling at under a dictated advertised price.  I was going to buy one, the link went away and I thought it gone forever, so I bought a plain MS4000 up here in Canada for the same price, free shipping.  the MSH4000 was $500 more up here.

Over 3000 watts you really don't see 12V inverters due to the high DC current involved.  If you want 3000 or higher, you really need to be looking at 24V.  I really like mine, finally finished the install earlier this week, and it works like a charm.  Superb charger in my opinion, brought my old start batteries back to life after a soak charge and an equalize charge.  

The benefit of the "hybrid", if you didn't read Brandon's review on the other board, is that it allows you to set the shore power current at say 15 amps, then run equipment that needs more than 15 amps by drawing from the inverter/battery capacity.  The inverter synchronizes to the shore power in some way and adds power as needed.  Lets you run an air conditioner on a lousy 15 amp circuit, or run two AC's plus the other normal loads on a 30 amp circuit, with no fear of popping breakers when the motors start up.  Plus it's just a very good inverter in the first place.

Brian

[Oonrahnjay]

...
The benefit of the "hybrid", if you didn't read Brandon's review on the other board, is that it allows you to set the shore power current at say 15 amps, then run equipment that needs more than 15 amps by drawing from the inverter/battery capacity.  The inverter synchronizes to the shore power in some way and adds power as needed.  Lets you run an air conditioner on a lousy 15 amp circuit, or run two AC's plus the other normal loads on a 30 amp circuit, with no fear of popping breakers when the motors start up.  Plus it's just a very good inverter in the first place.
Brian   

     I agree with this.  I bought an Outback inverter/changer - works well for just about everything but it's NOT "hybrid".  It only disconnects.  If I'm on a 15 amp shore cord and I have "max AC input" set at 12 amps, when it sees a load of 14 amps, it disconnects from the shore and pulls from the batteries all the wattage needed to provide 14 amps at 120V.  That will pull the house batteries down really quickly - even though, in theory, it has nearly enough power available from the shore power to meet the loads.

     I think that the guy who sold me mine didn't understand that I wanted a "hybrid"/load sharing type -- I don't think that he misled me to make a buck -- but I wish that I'd been really clear on the difference between the two systems and insisted on a "hybrid" type.

     Also, mine is a 12V and the power rating is pretty low (as Brian discusses).  I wish that I'd gone with a 24V house system for the reasons that Brian talks about. 

[Seangie]

Dave -  I got a cheapo at www.baymarinesupply.com for 500$.  I just needed something to get us out the door.  Its a 12v 2500 watt inverter with passthrough and works on a 30 amp breaker.  Good for (2) 15 amp circuits although I think a solid 15amp pull would put it to the test.

Still trying to figure out the inverter we will ultimately end up with but I figure the longer I wait the better they will get

He's got a 24v model as well.  My coach is all 12v so I kept it simple....if I had a 24v coach, I'd go all 24v.

-Sean


www.herdofturtles.org
1984 Eagle Model 10S

[bevans6]

I posted a link above where a bus nut got a Magnum MSH4000 inverter for a good price.  Now, Dave5Cs on the BNO board has posted that he ordered one from the same link, got the wrong one, is having issues getting that addressed and Magnum has told him that they are an unauthorized distributor so no support or warranty on the unit.  They are trying to help, but he is basically on his own.

For these reasons I'd like to remove the link from my post above, but the time limit for editing has passed.

Edit - I tried to report my earlier post to a moderator for assistance in the above.  It said "You can't report your own post to a moderator, it doesn't make sense"  Sadly it does make sense so that rule should be changed.  Or let us edit forever again.  Can someone please report my earlier post to a moderator so I don't feel bad about it?

Thanks, Brian

Brian

[Jerry32]

I opted to stay with 24 volt as I wanted to have a 4000 watt unit. With solar panels I can run the necessary equipment in the day time without supplemental power. Jerry