Small or large Inverter or both? ;)

[jimindenver]

I use a Tripp-lite PV1250fc. It can hold 2500w for a extended time. It can start my AC no sweat. It has load sense and will shut off if not needed. It is MSW but is very clean, none of my gear has any issues with it. It is industrial and is made for handling heavy starting loads. Not too long ago I had my water heater, two refrigerators (one propane on electric) The various TV, chargers, etc and even a friends RV plugged in as shore power charging with a 30a charger. Without thinking I nuked a few burritos in the microwave pulling a additional 1375w and it never had a issue. I ordered one for a friend recently and it was $288 shipped with a extended warranty. I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[John61CT]

Wow great bargain!

a friends RV plugged in as shore power charging with a 30a charger.

Wait wut?

Charging his bank from yours? Why?

Through an inverter DC to AC then charger AC to DC?

Why not just use a jumper cable?

 

[akrvbob]

I also am in the small MSW and large PSW inverter camp.

My large inverter is a Xantrex 2000 watt ProWatt and it has been an excellent buy. Been running a microwave off it for years and performs flawlessly. But, it does have a high no-load draw.

However, having seen Jim's system and being very impressed with his Tripp-Litt PV1250 fc, it might very well be my next inverter when the Xantrex eventually fails.

The fact it turns itself off if inactive is huge to my mind and solves the main drawback of a high no-load draw on the big pure sine inverters.

 

[jimindenver]

I wanted to add watch out for the less expensive PSW inverters. I had one that cost $200 and was thrilled with it for a year. Then I started the little A/C rated at 450w once on a inverter rated with a peak of 6000w. It did it once and was shot. It wasn't worth the shipping cost to send it back under warranty.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Way back in the 70's, Tripp-Lite was making good solid, American made inverters for the trucking and trades industry, and anyone else, but they were pricey back then..

If I recall they were $500 or so for a 250 watt inverter...which was a LOT of money back then....for some of us, that was two week's pay!

Like everyone else they have moved the manufacturing to offshore, but they have high standards and make good stuff.

That unit may be on my wish list, sooner than later!

 

[highdesertranger]

while not a 40 inch, I have a 32 inch Majestic 12v marine TV plugs right into the lap top with a HDMI cable. 4.5ah which is very low for a 12v TV of that size. highdesertranger

 

[jimindenver]

Wow great bargain!
Wait wut?

Charging his bank from yours? Why?

Through an inverter DC to AC then charger AC to DC?

Why not just use a jumper cable?

He wasn't being charged from my bank John. He was being charged off of the output of my solar systems. With over 80 amps coming down the only time my bank took notice was when I ran the microwave for 4 minutes. We started out the first day by using his 45a dumb converter to bring his battery up to 13.6v The second day we did the same except after reaching 13.6v we used the Meanwell for 3 hours at 14.4v. Then I equalized it at 15v. He had a resting voltage of 11.2v before we started and 12.6v the morning after the battery had been equalized. Since then he bought the 160w portable from Solarblvd which made his battery very happy. Yesterday he convinced me to sell him the one I had for demonstrations and is running 320w tracking the sun all day. He went from killing his battery with short runs of his generator to not seeing the voltage drop when he had everything in his RV turned on including a home stereo running off of a inverter.

 

[C-Cat]

while not a 40 inch,  I have a 32 inch Majestic 12v  marine TV plugs right into the lap top with a HDMI cable.  4.5ah which is very low for a 12v TV of that size.  highdesertranger

I know 32inch 12 volt TVs exist, but I'm talking about a 4k monitor for computer use (that's 4 times the resolution of a 1080p TV or monitor). I don't need it all the time, but when I can it sure is fantastic to work on...

 

[John61CT]

80 amps coming down

Whoa, what's that 2+Kw of panels? Whaddya drive has space for all that?

Have a build thread or pics to link to?

 

[jimindenver]

I have 750 watts on the trailer and a tilting 435w panel on the truck. that's 50 amps off the trailer and 32 amps from the truck. I have shown them in different post including the portable on steroids thread about the truck.

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Portable-Solar-on-steriods

here is the trailers system before it was mounted testing the air conditioner.

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Torture-test-of-the-Solar-A-C

 

[SternWake]

I don't know specifics about your vehicle...is it a fiberglass top of some kind or a metal roof like a van?

Before I lined the interior of my fiberglass roof with foil backed foam insulation, I got good tv reception with an antenna inside, after insulation I got nothing.

usually my RFI is not an issue, only when hot and dry and I want channel 8 or 10(actual).

My external antennas are just tiny Omni antennas.  I have had the huge pick up everything antenna that I can clamp to my spare tire rack and extend it 12 feet above my van to aim at towers.  I bought the tiny antennas more as a traveltenna and was surprised how well it did and kind of stopped using the  monster antenna.

now I have two of these,

https://www.amazon.com/August-DTA24...rd_wg=fSEi2&psc=1&refRID=15FPS7CD34WCTEDTG5NC

I am watching a station from los angeles right now on this antenna, it is ~92 miles away, but granted it is broadcasting at 5000+ foot elevation

 one of them is on a F connector coupler that goes through van metal body in back just below roof gutter, the other goes through solar panel frame.  An A-B switch near my TV swing arm pivot chooses either, but in general the one through van body works better even though it is lower and partially obstructed by van body but it is nice to be able to switch and see if the other antenna is doing better on any particular station.


I recommend avoiding universal laptop car adapters. most i have seen are good for only 60 watts, and the universal tips are problem prone too.  I use a PWR+ 90 watt for my 2010 Dell, was 22$. I have some shielding over it, but the full faraday cage will at some point be installed.  Apparently a capacitor inbetween the output leads can also filter out the rfi and might be the most effective method for doing so, but I am not sure the value to try.  it really is not that big of a deal, especially when my laptop battery has recently been replaced and i can simply unplug the adapter from the laptop and have channel 8 or 10 instantly return.
The snap on ferrites I've used on the cords and rg-6 quad shield coaxial cable, well their effect has been minimal in my experimentation when on the cusp of reception. However on some LEDS they were very effective. 

My Dell has a third conductor and if this conductor is not present then the battery will not charge but it will power the laptop.

The voltage boost converters could be used for many things, they go upto 600 watts, one just needs the right connector and know the correct voltage the device requires and set it properly.

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Convert...14460&sr=1-3&keywords=voltage+boost+converter

I have a 150 watt version but it would not charge the battery in my dell for lack ot that third conductor.  I;ve not really used it but for turning 12v fans into hovercraft at ~26 volts, but mine was a 2$ slow boat from china order I could not resist.  These boost converters can also be employed as a battery equalizer to get the battery to 16.2v.  Mine would require it being hooked to a battery and that battery charging the battery to be EQ'd and the shumacher charger hooked to the supply battery.  the boost converter will not work when directly on output of schumacher, well more accurate is the schumacher will not turn on.

My other charging source I can choose any voltage i want anyway so no need for a boost converter

But I agree the inverter is easier than setting up multiple voltage boost converters.  If one has more than enough battery and or recharge capcity then saving ~12% is not really an issue.

My MSW inverter's fan is so  loud that using it is simply annoying, and the DC to DC laptop converter is silent and more efficient for the win.

The power cord to my dell from PWR+ dc to dc brick, well the third conductor failed, and for a while I went back to using the Wagan elite 400 watt PSW inverter powering the ACDC brick, but would always forget to turn inverter off and would waste at least 0.24ah each hour I forgot.  not a huge deal, but I was glad when I repaired the third conductor to barrell connector and reemployed the PWR+ dc to dc car adapter.

The inverter powering the ACDC brick wreaked more havoc with my Tv with rfi than the DC to DC brick.

I am happy with the performance and small size of my Wagan elite 400watt PSW inverter. I have not put an oscilliscope on it to see how 'pure' the sine wave is nor tested it actual voltage at max load.  i paid 168$ several years ago but see thay have dropped substantially since.

https://www.amazon.com/Wagan-EL2601-Elite-400W-Inverter/dp/B007Y4BL1C

My MSW inverter is an 800 watt coleman likely 14 or 15 years old now.  Its fan is always loud, and I almost never turn it on.  Kragen autoparts had them on special for under 50$ somewhere in the mid 2000's

 

[C-Cat]

Thanks everyone for your input! After 4 month I think it's time for an update on my system. I ultimately did spend a little more money and got 4 Fullriver AGMs mit 250 amp hours each (on 6 volt, so that gives me about 250 amp hours at 50% max discharge 12 volt capacity). The inverter I ultimately chose is a Renogy 2000w pure sine wave:

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-2000W...01MUCN1WJ/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Besides the price, I liked the fact that it has a build in transfer switch and overall this setup works very well. In the beginning I had some issues with the microwave tripping the transfer switch when my generator was on, but it's gotten better and I can easily run the microwave on the inverter and even the roof air (on low, have not tried high yet). Overall I'm very satisfied with this setup. The money I saved on the inverter I invested in the battery bank...

-Chris (C-Cat)