67cj5
Man On a Mission
What is that for, Is it an off grid setup or for camping ??
I just bought one of their charge controllers,
1000 Watt Inverter Recommendations / Picked one and installed
- Thread starter SameGuy
- Start date
I just bought one of their charge controllers,
dreadlocks
Well-known member
extended boon docking, working remotely from camp.. its got a lithium battery, generator backing it up and next up I'm doing ~650w of solar with two of their charge controllers.
67cj5
Man On a Mission
Cool, They make some nice charge controllers, they make a 100v / 50A model and a 150v / 35A, right up to a 250v / 100A an more.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
yeah they do, I'm doing a portable array and a fixed array (325w ea) and since they will be in different light conditions they each getting own controller.. gonna get best of both worlds..
I also have the Victron BMV for monitoring voltage/consumption.. I like their gear, Ive hodge podged alot of crap together over the years but thats only because quality like this used to be outrageously priced.. this stuff is worth the cost over the Chinese junk Ive got piles of laying around.
I've been waiting for the 1200 to come out with VE Direct and 120v, its big enough to run my coffee maker and lil dorm microwave.. plus a crockpot and icemaker, and whatever the wife and kids wants to be happy.
I also have the Victron BMV for monitoring voltage/consumption.. I like their gear, Ive hodge podged alot of crap together over the years but thats only because quality like this used to be outrageously priced.. this stuff is worth the cost over the Chinese junk Ive got piles of laying around.
I've been waiting for the 1200 to come out with VE Direct and 120v, its big enough to run my coffee maker and lil dorm microwave.. plus a crockpot and icemaker, and whatever the wife and kids wants to be happy.
Last edited:
67cj5
Man On a Mission
Yeah ya right there, I was checking them out on the intergoogley thing today and I wanted an MPPT because I wanted to add more panels trouble they stopped making the 100w panels in the size I bought from them a while back, So I bought their 100v / 20a Controller and I might buy a smaller one so I can make this new (OLD) 100w panel a portable unit and then I will get either 4 X 100w or 4 X 120w or 3 X160w panel and I just bought some 115A Batteries so I might get another 4 of them and make 2 banks of 4 and charge one lot with the panels and the second bank with a Turbine and if one lot needs to charge up I can switch over to the over bank,
One thing I like about their charge controllers is that the newer ones have Bluetooth and they have an App that's free so you can check out what your system is doing, If you want that feature I think they are the ones with 3 LED's on the right hand lower corner and the Non BT version only has Two LED's, I am going to order their 75 / 10 for that single 100w panel that should work ok for now.
One thing I like about their charge controllers is that the newer ones have Bluetooth and they have an App that's free so you can check out what your system is doing, If you want that feature I think they are the ones with 3 LED's on the right hand lower corner and the Non BT version only has Two LED's, I am going to order their 75 / 10 for that single 100w panel that should work ok for now.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
Ive got some roof space thankfully, so a single Panasonic HIT 325W 60V house panel fixed on roof and second hanging off ramp door (its a 20ft toy hauler) that I can remove with some pins and move to the sun.. I'm taking advantage of the fact I can charge the lithium @ 50A in a few hours and not all day like a lead bank.. now that I've got a phone that fast charges (over 1% a min) I've found I no longer really need a battery that can go days on end, and I'm seeing that with lithium boon docking.. I dont mind running the generator for an hour or so, just not all day like lead takes... camping in woods an hour or two of direct sunlight is usually the best I can get, so I'm shooting for an energy surplus even in poor solar conditions and no need for the generator except for air conditioning a few times a year and a backup charger for like PNW where I might be in too dense of trees for ANY light.
Bluetooth is really nice, thats why I wanted VE Direct was so I could get it on it inverter as well.. I'm kinda geeking out and thinking of wiring everything to a lil Pi and getting data logging/stats just cuz I can.
Bluetooth is really nice, thats why I wanted VE Direct was so I could get it on it inverter as well.. I'm kinda geeking out and thinking of wiring everything to a lil Pi and getting data logging/stats just cuz I can.
67cj5
Man On a Mission
Sounds like a good setup, I was check out lithium batteries today but here they want $1400 for a 125A battery which is crazy prices, For the same money I can buy 14 115amp deep cycle batteries for that amount, but I guess it's like all new tech that comes out they always charge a premium for them at first.
I did the maths and I worked out that a small 800w generator would run my 26A Noco charger for about 8 to 10 hours on 2.1L of gas which is cheap when you work out the return to the batteries, I don't want a big generator because of the extra weight and running costs But to run my big 35A charger I would need a generator around 1500/2000 watts, and I would rather put the extra cash in to the solar or wind setup, at the moment I have a 1000w inverter but I will be changing that to a 2000w model as soon as because of running a microwave other than that all my other gear is either 12v or low wattage.
I did the maths and I worked out that a small 800w generator would run my 26A Noco charger for about 8 to 10 hours on 2.1L of gas which is cheap when you work out the return to the batteries, I don't want a big generator because of the extra weight and running costs But to run my big 35A charger I would need a generator around 1500/2000 watts, and I would rather put the extra cash in to the solar or wind setup, at the moment I have a 1000w inverter but I will be changing that to a 2000w model as soon as because of running a microwave other than that all my other gear is either 12v or low wattage.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
look at dorm microwaves, I found a 600W rated one that pulls under 1000W actual.. its little, but I just use it for either boiling water fast or making kids something quick and hot (they live off mac and cheese).. does the job and has all mechanical controls.. double duty as a bread box.. was cheap.
Key benefits of lithium:
The price right now is still a bit absurd, but given the benefits gained they dont need to come down much further before they start making a whole lot of sense to some people.
Key benefits of lithium:
- Can be discharged to 90% SOC many times more than lead can be discharged to 50% SOC
- Does not loose capacity with high discharge rates like lead does.
- Quick Charge time, 100AH battery takes 50A charge current until full and does not waste hours in absorb wasting solar/gas.
- Quick Charge time means if your charging when driving you dont need to drive 7-8h or more to recharge batteries fully.
- High Discharge Rate, 200A off a single 100AH battery allows for big inverters on smaller banks.
- Holds voltage higher for longer with less losses due to cabling
- Charge/Discharge efficiency is near 100%, you take 50AH out of a 100AH battery.. you put 50AH back in and your at 100%.. lead you need to put 60AH+ back in.
- Weighs 35lbs for each 100AH
- Prefers to dwell at partial charge, can spend days/weeks/months at partial charge without damage.
- Supposedly Last longer Cycle more w/out capacity loss.
- more im forgetting
The price right now is still a bit absurd, but given the benefits gained they dont need to come down much further before they start making a whole lot of sense to some people.
67cj5
Man On a Mission
I bought a so called 1000w microwave but in the manual it says 1100w and when I put it on a killawatt meter it was drawing 1288watts, I double checked it with another meter and it said the same, I hate being mis-sold things because now I have to replace my inverter so my next option is a 1500w or a 2000w inverter, having thought about it a lot and heaps of searching I just don't have the need for a true sine wave model because it will only be running the microwave and my small TV and the laptop., Every thing else is 12v, I have a 12v Jug to boil water for the coffee which is rated at 13.5 Amps and both of my Fridges are ARB's and the smaller of the two uses 225w per 24 hours, My TV uses 29w via a small inverter although it is 12v it has some fancy 9 pin socket on the back so I can't just hook it up to the battery and my laptop only uses 21w and it has a wall wart, So although my power uses a quite small the TV and the Laptop and the microwave have to go via the inverter, I had it all worked out until the microwave appeared.
I think they are Awesome when it comes down to the raw facts, But I was quoted $1400 for a 125A/h and that smarts a bit, The possibilities are endless, One major down side to Deep Cycle batteries is the weight, I have a type 27 as a starter and 3 type 31's that are 115Amps each that's close to 260Lbs in batteries, So the Lithium does sound the better way to go, Deep cycle batteries are best kept off grid dwelling and not for mobile use.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
yeah you learned the hard way that microwave wattage is cooking output, not power input.. you can add about 20% to whatever its cooking power is for its input consumption.
67cj5
Man On a Mission
I even went as far as to check out camping stores and their 6/700w microwaves were up over a 1000w, The 300w inverter was the first one I bought then I got an 800w but I let my brother have that one and he gave me his 600w when I bought the 1000w/2500 surge and now I need a bigger one again., Even the microwaves listed on some camping internet sites posted about their wattage and they turned out to way off the mark with them quoting manufacturers figures, With all this trial and error the OP needs to be well aware of the pit falls of buying inverters, I have come to the conclusion that a person should pick the inverter size they want and then add 50% to allow for the over enthusiastic figures sales Reps dish out, On the Box it says microwave power 681w - 740w so I thought that should be perfect and the manual says 1100w and I tested it 4 nights ago and 1288w is the correct amount, So what ever figures they quote Add 500w+ to the highest number,
Here's the crazy thing I got a small electric Travel Iron for pressing my Shirts and it says 250w and a Travel Hair dryer for the kids which is 1200w and both of them are bang yet the one thing I need is miles off, Lol.
Over this coming week or two I will be testing a type 31 LA Deep Cycle 115A battery using My fridge Via 12v and then I am going to test it Via the 1000w inverter so it will be interesting to see how much power a 1000w inverter chews adding to the overall current draw,, I just bought a box already wired up with all the fixings so that will be a good one to watch.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
This is the one I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BGTO1WC/
according to the reviews it uses 950W max and ppl run it off 1k inverters, guess I'll find out if I can run it off battery tomorrow when my 2awg marine cables arrive.. wont be end of the world if it dont, it'll run my lil 700w travel coffee maker and thats whats important.. dun wanna fire up genset to make coffee early in morning.
according to the reviews it uses 950W max and ppl run it off 1k inverters, guess I'll find out if I can run it off battery tomorrow when my 2awg marine cables arrive.. wont be end of the world if it dont, it'll run my lil 700w travel coffee maker and thats whats important.. dun wanna fire up genset to make coffee early in morning.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
Its 1200VA, ~1kw.. to go any bigger should really just do 24v and cut those amps in half.. especially with lead
67cj5
Man On a Mission
That's a nice setup, I spoke to the people who I bought the same brand controller from and came away feeling like I was in a minefield.
Trying to sort out which inverter and dealing with solar companies is not a good combination, They can't seem to grasp that 4x4 fridge use a lot less power than a normal fridge, So much so that they insisted that I needed 400w of panels to run the bigger of the two fridges So I never ordered the Inverter like yours.