Inverter / Chargers - Brand Discussion Pro - Con

[powerscol]

Thanks folks
I appreciate all the thoughts and experience. Still learning.

BTW - sorry for not responding sooner. Not getting notifications for some reason.

[John L]

We currently have the Victron 3000 with 300 ah of battleborn batteries. Had a 2000 watt AIM inverter but after warranty problems and terrible customer service we abandoned for Victron. Have used Battleborn and InvertersRUs customer service with great assistance.


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Kevin is this the inverter you got? Victron Energy MultiPlus 12/3000/120-50 120V VE.Bus PMP123021102

https://invertersrus.com/product/vic...-pmp123021102/

Do you still need a transfer switch? Does it power both legs of the 50amp panel while on running on batteries?

John

[50ST8R]

Kevin is this the inverter you got? Victron Energy MultiPlus 12/3000/120-50 120V VE.Bus PMP123021102

https://invertersrus.com/product/vic...-pmp123021102/

Do you still need a transfer switch? Does it power both legs of the 50amp panel while on running on batteries?

John

Yes that is mine. I wired up a switch based on the documentation from “all about RVs” when Jason described the SPS from AMSolar. He also has the wiring diagram for a manual switch. It stays in 2 unless I am powered with 50 amps then I go to 1. Haven’t had any problems and switch is in my basement near the Nautilus. If you can’t find the documentation on you tube let me know as I have the pdf files still.


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Kevin & Deb. 2021 Reflection 320 MKS
2018 Ford F-350 Diesel SRW Platinum

[rrlowen]

Kevin is this the inverter you got? Victron Energy MultiPlus 12/3000/120-50 120V VE.Bus PMP123021102

https://invertersrus.com/product/vic...-pmp123021102/

Do you still need a transfer switch? Does it power both legs of the 50amp panel while on running on batteries?

John

The Victron inverters have a built in 50A transfer switch. I think this question: "does the inverter power both legs of the 50A service" is important. It means that you won't have to re-configure your AC panel and decide which breakers don't get activated. I think Magnum and GoPower both have the capability to power both sides. I used a 2000w Xantrex inverter with 3 Battle Born batteries in my last 5th wheel (30A service) and it served well. This time I went with a GoPower IC-3000 inverter and 4 of their 100A lithium batteries. The inverter came with a remote panel which has custom programing abilities. So far, the system works well. I have contacted customer support with operational questions and the response has been very good. The one issue I have encountered is that the inverter needs 12V power to operate correctly. I live in a northern climate so I remove the lithium batteries in winter but I still want to power the trailer. My solution is to install the battery that came with the trailer during winter months. I don't know if all inverters have this issue.

[cookinwitdiesel]

I am not a fan of the AMsolar SPS as it is a little too snake oil-y and a black box. I present what I built, which works perfectly without fail and cost about $200 to build. The "patented" SPS cannot be more than a contactor and a breaker honestly. I like my design more as it also allows a manual override and I understand it perfectly and know how to troubleshoot and fix it.

[SolarPoweredRV]

Pfft, GoPower...lol

GoPower, Victron, Magnum are all highly regarded brands. Overall, to me, Victron is hands down the winner. They are all similar cost but with Victron you get a rich ecosystem of pieces that communicate, provide web-based monitoring and management (including configuration if you enable it) and a good customer support experience (for me so far at least).

I literally have a full Victron suite, end-to-end, on my trailer. I cannot say enough good things about them.

I second that sentiment, I went with Victron, End to End.

Having worked in the computer industry, I learned early on the advantage of having a single vendor and equipment that talked to each other with a common language.

I once experienced an entire Main-Frame Computer System down for a week because each vendor was pointing a finger at the other vendor stating that the problem was the "other guy's" problem. Well, the whole system went down and every vendor was called into that computer room to find out what the problem was, turned out that one computer was issuing commands faster than the other computer could respond and every once-in-awhile, the signal would bump into another signal and crash the entire operation. The fix was to slow down the signals from the faster computer.

This was a lesson learned early on in my computing career that stayed with me throughout my career in Computer Systems Management, I always picked one vendor and stayed with it. This saved me a whole lot of downtime and trouble shooting during the Computer Age Growth period in the 80's and 90's.

[powerscol]

Just so folks know.
15% off Code was still active yesterday.
Use code: IRV2VICTRON15 (code is entered when looking at cart)
https://invertersrus.com/product-cat...ictron-energy/

[FT4NOW]

Just so folks know.
15% off Code was still active yesterday.
Use code: IRV2VICTRON15 (code is entered when looking at cart)
https://invertersrus.com/product-cat...ictron-energy/

Seriously....another case of this forum costing me more $$$

Thanks for the code, just ordered a BMV-712 for our 311 we pick up soon. Still no clue on how I want to setup anything, but regardless I know I want a battery monitor since I lost my last one when I sold my 399.

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[powerscol]

Seriously....another case of this forum costing me more $$$

Thanks for the code, just ordered a BMV-712 for our 311 we pick up soon. Still no clue on how I want to setup anything, but regardless I know I want a battery monitor since I lost my last one when I sold my 399.

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Sorry

Unfortunately I am right behind you....but I need MORE

[cookinwitdiesel]

Just so folks know.
15% off Code was still active yesterday.
Use code: IRV2VICTRON15 (code is entered when looking at cart)
https://invertersrus.com/product-cat...ictron-energy/

Many dealers can provide 10-20% off of the listed online retail pricing as well if you work with them. This is what I have done with Continuous Resources for all of my components. My batteries for example retail at $4400 each, but I got them for $3500 each (which makes them price competitive with discounted BattleBorns - for anyone concerned that Victron was overpriced ).