What's the best inverter to buy?

[GOUSC]

Originally Posted by aliner

I have a 2005 25 ft. AS with solar. Would like to install an inverter to run the microwave, coffee pot, etc. when not connected to electrical. Can anyone suggest a good inverter to buy and install?

thanks

Lynn

If all you want it for are the above suggested uses you could consider the Yeti Goal Zero 1000 lithium battery. For $750 (sale price) or $1,000 retail you will have a source to do what you say you want to use it for. I've never used my inverter once I got one for my Globetrotter. You can make it as simple or complicated as you want. Right now I use the simple route.

When I need power boondocking for TV / Coffee grinder / hair dryer I 1) switch the breaker off for my converter (so it doesn't use power to charge my batteries). 2) Plug my RV power cord into the Yeti's 110V input in the back of my truck. I then have AC power in my RV for those purposes. Or, I could just have the Yeti on the floor of my RV and draw power straight from it when needed.

The Yeti is portable so you can use it for AC power in any location, at home or on the road.

Below is a link that discusses all the possibilities.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f37...um-196422.html

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by waninae39

i use the victron converter/inverter. it was a wise decision.

Hi waninae,

We just picked up a 2019 Sport 22FB and are considering an inverter, etc... We have 2 portable solar panels that can be plugged into the Zamp jack on the tongue of the trailer. I was planning to get 2 6V interstate deep cycle batteries and a pure sine inverter.

I don't use my tow vehicles charging port in my 7 way plug. I would charge the batteries with a charger when plugged into shore power and then use the solar panels when running the inverter.

I would also look at having all the outlets active in shore or inverter situations.

I am looking for some help in terms of navigating the wiring with the trailer and good locations to mount the various devices in the system.

How did you set up your system if you don't mind sharing?

[jmickow]

PB_NB:
The first questions here are what do you want to do with your power, how much do you want to spend, and can you do this yourself or do you need to have someone install it for you?

We have a 2016 22FB that fits our needs very well and we use it exclusively for off-grid camping (boondocking), and wanted to be fully self-sufficient without the need for a generator. I also wanted my wife to be happy, and that meant the ability to use a hair dryer and microwave when needed, run the furnace for extended periods, watch a movie at night if desired, etc, without concern for running the batteries down.

To achieve that very successfully, I have three 100W solar panels permanently mounted on the roof plus a 100W portable panel, a Renogy 40A charge controller, a bank of 2 Battleborn batteries, and a Xantrex 2000W inverter/charger, plus extensive new wiring, a Victron battery monitor, and few other odds and ends. The only things I might do differently is to go with a Victron instead of the Renogy charge controller due to the better user interface and reporting, and a Magnum instead of the Xantrex, but only because of reputation, I have not had any problems so far with the Xantrex.

I did look extensively at the idea of using the 6V golf cart batteries, but in the end decided not to use them in favor of the Lithium due to the many little advantages, especially the fact that they just work with no worries and no maintenance. YMMV

The installation of a system like mine is not for the faint of heart. I had the trailer interior completely torn apart at the bed and closet/bathroom for at least a month figuring everything out and installing it, working full weekends. Happy to share details of my install, if desired, and good luck with your quest.

[mkcurtiss]

Originally Posted by jmickow

PB_NB:
The first questions here are what do you want to do with your power, how much do you want to spend, and can you do this yourself or do you need to have someone install it for you?

We have a 2016 22FB that fits our needs very well and we use it exclusively for off-grid camping (boondocking), and wanted to be fully self-sufficient without the need for a generator. I also wanted my wife to be happy, and that meant the ability to use a hair dryer and microwave when needed, run the furnace for extended periods, watch a movie at night if desired, etc, without concern for running the batteries down.

To achieve that very successfully, I have three 100W solar panels permanently mounted on the roof plus a 100W portable panel, a Renogy 40A charge controller, a bank of 2 Battleborn batteries, and a Xantrex 2000W inverter/charger, plus extensive new wiring, a Victron battery monitor, and few other odds and ends. The only things I might do differently is to go with a Victron instead of the Renogy charge controller due to the better user interface and reporting, and a Magnum instead of the Xantrex, but only because of reputation, I have not had any problems so far with the Xantrex.

I did look extensively at the idea of using the 6V golf cart batteries, but in the end decided not to use them in favor of the Lithium due to the many little advantages, especially the fact that they just work with no worries and no maintenance. YMMV

The installation of a system like mine is not for the faint of heart. I had the trailer interior completely torn apart at the bed and closet/bathroom for at least a month figuring everything out and installing it, working full weekends. Happy to share details of my install, if desired, and good luck with your quest.

Holy cow that is a major involved setup.....very cool.
Now that it is done, if you had to do it over, would you reconsider just using one of the super quiet 2000 watt generators, and not have to do all that other prep, for boondocking?
How well do the solar panels hold up under traveling? do they eventually crack? break apart? need replacing?

[jmickow]

Actually, I would not change a thing, other than perhaps a few substitutions as noted. In between boondocking stints were at Yellowstone at the end of last summer and ended up in a zone with a bunch of other RV's and some tents, and there were generators running from start hours in the morning until after quiet time at night, which totally ruined the experience for us. With a decent solar system, it is silent and it just works. The batteries are always full by noon no matter what we do, and I don't have to do a thing. I am a huge fan of solar over generators, and don't see a need to ever have one except perhaps if you have to have AC.

I have rigid panels and they are holding up fine so far, and are held in place with 3M VHB tape and Sikaflex, no screws. That seems to be working fine as well.

[Calisurfer]

We have a 2020 Airstream 20’ Trailer. We have outfitted it for boondocking, and that is pretty much the only type of camping we do. We have taken 8 trips in the last 6 months and loving it.

Here are the electrical upgrades we have already installed:

1. 4x100ah BattleBorn LiPo battery bank (400ah total)
2. 360watts of Zamp solar on rooftop, connected to Victron 50a Solar Controller
3. 200watts of portable HQST solar panels connected to Victron 30a Controller
4. Victron 712 Battery Monitor with Bluetooth

This system works great and we have plenty of off grid DC power. We have never had to use the Honda 2100w generator we have. Our solar usually tops off our Lithium batteries within just a few hours is sun is shining.

We have no need for off grid AC power except for our 900w microwave. We would like to add a Pure Sine inverter to our power system to power ONLY the microwave for short interval use on occasion. We do not need to connect all the shore power AC outlets to this inverter. Those AC outlets will stay connected to Shore Power only.

I have been looking at inverters such as this one:

https://www.renogy.com/2000w-12v-pur...wave-inverter/

Here is what I am thinking of doing:

1. Install the inverter specified above (or equal)
2. Include installation of the included wired “On/Off” switch for the inverter. Switch to be located in the galley. (We only want to turn the inverter on to use the Microwave, then turn it off after micro use)
3. Connection of our existing 120v 900w Microwave to the inverter

SEE ATTACHED DIAGRAM FOR LAYOUT

The Renogy 200w Pure Sine Inverter includes a wired on/off remote switch and the 4AWG cables to connect to the battery bank.

I am pretty handy and am hopeful I can do this install myself. What advice would you AS veterans give me for this install? Is there anything I am missing? Important points? What about required ventilation for the inverter?

Your help is much appreciated. Thank you.

[jmickow]

@calisurfer, your layout diagram looks fine although your summary is short on some important details. As noted in my post 63 above, we installed a 2000W Xantrex inverter with a remote monitoring station that incorporates an on-off switch so that we could run the microwave, hair dryer and TV as needed.

You will want your inverter to be located as close as possible to your battery bank to minimize wire length and associated voltage loss. You will also want to use as large a wire size as possible. I used 2/0 welding wire with crimped lugs using a hydraulic crimper. I was told that the lengths of the positive and negative leads should be approximately the same length, to avoid any voltage differential due to voltage drop from the wire resistance. My wires ended up somewhere around 24" long. The monitor & switch can be anywhere, so I located mine next to the Victron battery monitor.

The wiring to and from the inverter is somewhat complicated. My Xantrex unit is actually an inverter-charger, since I needed a new lithium battery compatible charger anyway, and also includes an automatic transfer switch (ATS) to isolate the shore power and inverter feeds to avoid backfeeding AC power when using inverter power. If you did not do this, as I understand it someone outside could get electrocuted if they touched the lead of the shore power plug.

I also choose to feed the entire 120VAC trailer system from the inverter, so I can run the microwave, TV, or any outlet with the inverter if desired. That approach simplified the wiring, and allowed me to run the AC power from the shore power plug on the side of the trailer directly to the inverter with standard Romex wire, and then back to the trailer breaker panel, again using standard Romex wire. All AC power runs through the inverter, and is simply passed through when connected to shore power and the inverter is off. When not connected to shore power and the inverter is on, then all AC power is fed from the batteries through the inverter to any outlet, and the shore power feed is isolated by the ATS. Many people have created much more complex systems with isolated power feeds and separate breaker panels and outlets for shore power versus inverter power, but I did not want to get that complex for my relatively small, simple trailer. You could also install a separate stand-alone ATS, or create separate inverter-only outlets feeding the desired plugs or appliances, but that also gets complex if you want the option of using either shore power or inverter power. If none of this is making any sense to you, then you either need to do a lot more reading, or hire an RV or marine electrical specialist to help install your system.

I should also note that I incorporated two battery disconnect switches into my system to totally isolate the batteries from both incoming and outgoing power when stored. I use this when storing the trailer so that there is nothing to deplete the battery power. I get the batteries to the level of charge that I want, usually around 80%, and then turn the switches and let it sit. To make that work, one switch interrupts the positive feed from the battery and turns off ALL electrical power to the trailer, including things like the propane detector and emergency brake. I used a second dual pole switch to totally isolate the solar system at the charge controller, both the incoming solar panel power to the charge controller, and the controller output to the batteries, since my solar controller said never to disconnect the output to the battery when the solar panels are producing power due to risk of burning out the controller.

I should note that one added benefit of the way that I wired my trailer is that the air conditioner is connected to inverter power. I installed an Easy Start over the summer and have found that I can now run the AC from the battery system using the inverter. While the run time for me with two BattleBorn batteries is relatively short (around 45 mins), that allows me to cool down at a lunch stop or cool the trailer at night before going to bed.

Good luck with your install, and let me know if you have any more questions.

[Calisurfer]

Thanks jmickow for the very detailed explanation.

I believe I do want to install the ATS with the system I am setting up. I am just undecided on whether to connect the 2000w Renogy pure sine wave inverter to only the Microwave circuit or all the AC circuits. I do not want all the AC outlets drawing from the inverter when the shore power is connected, so having the ATS is the way to go. I am still trying to figure out if my AC/DC refrigerator will know which way to automatically switch (between AC & DC) if it is on the same circuit as the other AC receptacles that are connected to the inverter. I want the Refr to run on AC when connected to shore power, and DC when boondocking. I would like that switch to be automatic. Any thoughts here? Thanks again.

[jmickow]

@ Calisurfer, sorry for the delay in responding, as I have been traveling the past few weeks. This gets kind of messy, but I will try to keep this simple. The main principle is that you can’t have two power sources feeding a circuit or outlet, as that would lead to bad things like the risk of electrocution, or trying to backfeed the power grid from your batteries and inverter.

One option would be to have completely separate systems for the regular “shore power” system built into your trailer, and a separate set of wires, circuit breakers and outlets fed by your inverter, which you sort of alluded to in your post. The problem with this approach is that you then would have to plug your microwave into a separate outlet if you wanted to use it while on inverter power, not to mention the hassle of installing that separate wiring system with wires, circuit breakers, outlets, etc.

The second, and easier option is to use an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) which serves to separate two possible sources of AC power (shore power and inverter power) and prevents them from being either directly or indirectly connected together. That is simpler since it does not require a separate wiring system. If you are connected to shore power, then the ATS uses that to feed the trailer. If you are boondocking with no shore power available, and you turn your inverter on (I normally keep mine off) to provide AC power from your batteries, then the ATS senses that power source and disconnects the shore power connection. That is important, since otherwise, you could get electrocuted if you touched the prongs on your shore power plug when the inverter is on.

Now to your specific questions:
1. With your 2000W inverter, you can safely feed power to everything in your Bambi; however, you can’t for example run two high power draws like the microwave and a hair dryer at the same time. That would exceed the capacity of the inverter.
2. Your 2020 Bambi has a compressor refrigerator that runs very efficiently using a 12V DC powered compressor. If I understand these refrigerators correctly, to make them run on AC power, they actually use an add-on converter to transform the 120V AC to 12V DC, which is a less efficient means of powering the refrigerator. With your battery bank, you have plenty of capacity to run the refrigerator from straight DC, and there is no need for AC power at all. You may be able to select a preferred power source on the refrigerator control panel, or you could simply unplug the refrigerator from the AC outlet at the back of the refrigerator to disable that input, and run from straight DC. With that approach, even if you were plugged into shore power the power would be coming from the batteries, but the batteries would be getting charged by your AC powered battery charger.
3. One final note, if you take this approach of powering the full AC power system from your inverter, it is important that you have a separate, isolated circuit not connected to the inverter for the battery charger, since you don’t want your inverter trying to charge your batteries while you are using your batteries to power the inverter. In my case, the Xantrex inverter-charger with ATS that I installed does all this in one unit.

Hope that helps. You can take a look at this thread and the link to the video by Will Prowse in post #4 on installing an ATS, which may also help.
https://www.airforums.com/forums/f37...ll-196098.html