Inverter guidance

[ostream]

Looking to get some help regarding inverters. A couple of year ago, I upgraded the converter in my '06 CCD to the Xantrex XADC-80 to charge my (4) Lifeline GPL-4CT's. I also have a "starter" AM Solar AM-100/HPV-22B solar setup which I'm adding an additional 200w to bring my to 300w of solar charging.

I'd like to also add an inverter for complete off-the-grid flexibility. The question is, is it better to add the same make (i.e. Xantrex) inverter, can I go with another brand (i.e. Magnum), or is it best to dump the XADC-80 and get an integrated converter/inverter (i.e. Magnum MS2000-U)?

Thanks

[Jammer]

No real reason to match brands.

The integrated converter-chargers reuse a bunch of components so they are somewhat lighter and cheaper than two separate pieces of hardware. They can't charge and invert at the same time, which is a problem if you have really dirty incoming power and want to run off the inverter while charging -- though few people do this. On the other hand the switching logic prevents you from doing that by accident and draining your batteries without realizing it.

I have concluded that large inverters aren't worth it because the only large load I really use is the air conditioning and it isn't practical to have that large a battery string. Your situation may be different I guess. I have a 175 watt inverter I use rarely.

[68 Overlander]

I would recommend a separate inverter simply because the are so much less money and if either the charger or inverter section should ever fail, you're not out both units.
If I didn't have a converter already, I might consider a combo but they are very expensive and heavy. We move a lot of Xantrex Freedom 458s to the field and to dealers for large motorhomes but haven't seen very many in Airstreams. I like the Xantrex Prowatt SW a lot but like mentioned, there is no reason to stay with Xantrex, they just make pretty good stuff.