Looking for a pure sine wave inverter

[Wrknrvr]

   Yesterday we were going to leave South Carolina. Finally have the HDT running good again.

 

  All packed up and the inverter keeps going to a fault. It only needs to operate a residential fridge. Will have the ice maker off. 

 

   So I did a load test on the batteries, and they test good. Doing a hard reset on the Xantrex RS3000 inverter Charger over night. Terminals look clean. And no corrosion on the terminals. But will clean everything concerning the connections.

    Then will see if it will reset.

   But if it does not function properly. I am looking to find a inverter to install just for the fridge, so as to leave ASAP.

 

  Our domestic fridge amp draw max is 7.2 when operating. But we do turn the ice maker off when inverter is on. I guess the amp draw should be 1/2 that.

  So looking for some help,if needed to find the correct size pure sine wave inverter. 

 

   Thanks in advance,   Vern

 

[GlennWest]

I put a victron phoenix 1100 watt in mine. Runs a 22 cubic ft residential. Dead quiet and very little idle draw. I did this for traveling so I don't have to run the large system. I just it running all the time.

[oldjohnt]

  Mornin Vern, hey you know your fridge specs/requirements and this sparky stuff better than most and can size your Inverter I'm sure, but FWIW here are my thoughts (you already know this I'm sure). 

  As you know (maybe FYI for any rookies) when a fridge compressor starts it can draw short term maybe 2 to 5 times its normal full load running current. While it depends on the Inverters design and specs and its ACTUAL (not hype) SHORT TERM SURGE RATING if a fridge required say 750 full load running Watts, a 1500 Continuous Watt Inverter would likely (NO warranty they differ in quality and surge ratings) allow it to start. 

THAT BEING SAID I also look at 1) The Sweet Spots in ratings/prices of common available Inverters and 2) Purposely oversize to allow for future expansion. 

To allow for any future expansion and ifffffffffffff it would allow YOUR fridge to start (I cant know from here) I don't envision buying a new inverter ANY LESS THAN a 1500 Watt (IF your fridge is 7.2 Amps, 864 Watts) for safety and expansion EVEN IF a 1000 Watt would get you by..  EVEN BETTER and provided you're NOT trying to power an AC, I would even consider a 2000 Watt PSW.

Another consideration is the no load idle draw of different Inverters !! 

 Finally, I had a Xantrex Inverter and it crapped out the first year grrrrrrrrrr Id look at Victron, Magnum or Renogy, say AT LEAST 1500 OR EVEN 2000 Watt (NO AC of course) to allow for expansion to run that fridge. 

John T  As always its nice sparky chatting with you Vern

 

[GlennWest]

Only thing on mine is refrigerator and it doesn't task it at all. Now mine is residential. Gas units pull right much power.. 

[Randyretired]

The idle draw is a consideration if you boon dock.  Another item is if you might add other loads.  I have an Xantrex. I am not a fan and will look for something else next time.  Inverters are typically most efficient when operating near capacity but the surge and the possibility you might forget to shut off the ice maker could influence the size.  You could measure the amp draw and if your gauge is capable the surge to better estimate the load.  Refrigerators vary a lot.  Our fairly new energy star uses only 1.2 amps but older refrigerators can use a lot more and of course size matters.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Randyretired

[GlennWest]

My 2003 residential unit ran fine with our 1100 watt Victron. Our new one pulls less. 

[Wrknrvr]

   I cleaned the battery terminals. They could be the culprit.   

 

  Anyone know of a good rv tech in my area.   

 

  I hope that that hard reset worked. Or cleaning the terminals. Or both together will fix it.    So I turned the charger on. It is bulk charging now. The microwave light came on when flipped that breaker on. That is on the pass through line, as we are on shore power at the moment.

   Fridge has been off for twenty minutes. I had it plugged it into the pedestal.  Time to go see if the inverter will work.

 

thanks

[Wrknrvr]

     So cleaning the battery terminals and the hard reset has corrected my inverter problem..

  I was scared I was going to be needing to go find one quick.

 

  Thanks for your input everyone 

[Hill_Country]

12 hours ago, oldjohnt said:

 

 Finally, I had a Xantrex Inverter and it crapped out the first year grrrrrrrrrr Id look at Victron, Magnum or Renogy, say AT LEAST 1500 OR EVEN 2000 Watt (NO AC of course) to allow for expansion to run that fridge. 

 

 

I'd take Magnum off the list.  My - less than one year old - Magnum recently gave up.  Can't get parts or factory service on it.  Word is that Magnum's new owners are getting out of the RV/boat business.

I went with Victron.  Excellent reputation and I love the expand-ability.  The replacement is 3000 KVA (about 2000 watts??) and easily runs all the inverted circuits on this big coach.

[Darryl&Rita]

3 hours ago, Wrknrvr said:

Anyone know of a good rv tech in my area.

The cobbler's child is never shod.

[Ray,IN]

On 7/10/2023 at 7:42 PM, Wrknrvr said:

   I cleaned the battery terminals. They could be the culprit.   

 

  Anyone know of a good rv tech in my area.   

 

  I hope that that hard reset worked. Or cleaning the terminals. Or both together will fix it.    So I turned the charger on. It is bulk charging now. The microwave light came on when flipped that breaker on. That is on the pass through line, as we are on shore power at the moment.

   Fridge has been off for twenty minutes. I had it plugged it into the pedestal.  Time to go see if the inverter will work.

 

thanks

Sadly the Xantrex RS models are obsolete and not supported. Even the replacements the 2012 and 2013 is now obsolete. My RS2000 displays a fault warning every time I plug into shore power, and it takes repeating that act then pushing reset on the front panel to get it to begin charging the batteries.

 

Xantrex website and tech support says there are only a few user repairable parts inside, cooling fans, etc. Xantrex has authorized repair shops scattered about the country, most are near large bodies of water as watercraft is their main market. Xantrex website has a page listing all their authorized repair centers.

There were several in California, some in FL, a few around the Great Lakes, and the only other I remember was in TN near their big lake.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Ray,IN

[Wrknrvr]

   Ray,

 

   Thanks for your thoughts on my inverter.   With what I did was to leave the batteries disconnected for 12 hours.  That is how you do a hard reset on those RS style inverters.

    Sometimes 20 minutes will work. Years ago Xantrex said it could take up to 24 hours of the batteries to be disconnected to do a hard reset.

   Also when connecting the battery terminals back on the post. There can be a spark. More that you would like. But that is sorta normal. If it is more thenthings are probably not hooked up correctly.

 

   Ours is now functioning as designed.

[Ray,IN]

14 hours ago, Wrknrvr said:

   Ray,

 

   Thanks for your thoughts on my inverter.   With what I did was to leave the batteries disconnected for 12 hours.  That is how you do a hard reset on those RS style inverters.

    Sometimes 20 minutes will work. Years ago Xantrex said it could take up to 24 hours of the batteries to be disconnected to do a hard reset.

   Also when connecting the battery terminals back on the post. There can be a spark. More that you would like. But that is sorta normal. If it is more thenthings are probably not hooked up correctly.

 

   Ours is now functioning as designed.

Thank you for enlightening me about the hard-reset, I'll try that this weekend. I've been clearing the faults about once a week.

Xantrex inverters are the Rolls-Royce of inverters. Their most common use is in the boating industry. Hart was the best, but sadly the business is gone.

[Wrknrvr]

  I would suggest to clean all the battery terminals, while you are doing the hard reset.

 

   While you have the batteries disconnected, test each one for there voltage while disconnected. Also doing a load test would determine if you have a bad battery.

    If your batteries are below 12.3, and all the same basically. The 12.3 voltage is questionable as for my remembering things.    I would try and charge them with a separate battery charger, while doing the reset.

   Another sign of a battery problem is if any feel warm while being charged. That could indicate a bad battery.

   I really hope this helps you.

   

[Ray,IN]

I installed 3 Renogy AGM batteries last May, cleaned all the battery cable ends then, but didn't clean the ends at the inverter.

I know the internal cooling fan is bad, if I can find a suitable replacement I'll do that too. The  fan is about the only thing user-replacable AFAIK.

[Wrknrvr]

My fan quit for awhile.   Installed a separate fan on top of the inverter.

 

[Ray,IN]

The hard-reset failed.  It's weird, I plug into 120VAC, the fault light on the face of the inverter comes on and the remote also says fault, but there is nothing else; no fault codes, nothing under "clear faults".

Tomorrow I call Xantrex in Elkhart IN tech  support.

It that fails to get it working I'm looking at a new Victron multiplus 3000W instead of a new Xantrex, their model 2012 is listed as obsolete yet they are widely available.   Is this Victron currently supported and is it a quality unit?

Edited August 9, 2023 by Ray,IN

[Chad Heiser]

4 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

It that fails to get it working I'm looking at a new Victron multiplus 3000W instead of a new Xantrex, their model 2012 is listed as obsolete yet they are widely available.   Is this Victron currently supported and is it a quality unit?

There are three different versions of the 12 volt 3kva Multiplus.  There is the original Multiplus, which is a three wire (L, N, G) inverter.  There is the Multiplus II 2x120, which is a four wire inverter (L1, L2, N, G).  Now there is also a three wire version of the Multiplus II.  There are also UL listed versions of these MP’s, but you don’t need a UL listed version unless you are using it in a grid tie situation that requires UL listing (no need to spend the extra money for the UL rating for an RV install).

All of the MP II units look identical from the outside because they use the same case.  The three wire MP II is functionally the same as the original MP.  There are some minor differences in the internal components, but functionally they are the same thing.  The only significant difference between the two is their form factor.  The original MP is basically a short, fat rectangular box while the MP II is a longer, skinnier rectangular box.  Victron continues to produce and support the original MP because it will physically fit in tighter spaces than the new version MP II.  They do this because in boats and RV’s (major markets for them) that can mean the difference between it working in a particular install or not.  The original MP and the new three wire MP II are the same price, so it just comes down to which form factor will work best for your installation when deciding which one to purchase.

If your original inverter was simply powering a sub panel (single leg of power) off the main power panel, then you will want to go with one of the three wire versions (either the original MP or the new form factor MP II).  There is no need to spend the extra money on the MP II 2x120 (four wire inverter) unless you have a 50 amp rig and you want the MP to be installed ahead of the main 50 amp power panel so that it has the ability to (try to) power any AC load in the breaker panel.  I can provide exact part numbers for each MP if you would like.  The original MP is fairly obvious because of its different form factor, but sometimes it can be difficult to determine if you are buying an MP II or an MP II 2x120 when buying on line if you aren’t that familiar with them.

By the way, you should buy all Victron components from an established Victron dealer.  Victron’s business model for support for the end user is to go to a dealer for questions and technical assistance.  This can be an on line or brick and mortar dealer, but make sure it is a dealer that actually has a good contact number and is willing to talk to you.  Victron does not support anonymous sellers on Amazon or similar market places because they typically don’t provide the support that Victron requires.  Victron will actually go after anonymous sellers and get them removed from those market places because they don’t offer the support Victron corporate mandates.

[Wrknrvr]

     How long did you do the hard reset.   I would suggest a 24 hour reset , if you want to.  You could use a 10 amp battery charger to maintain the batteries, while you are doing a rest.

   Or maybe just update your unit.

 

   While you are doing the hard reset, I would load test your batteries. Also feel the case of each battery. If any are warm, that is a indication of a problem battery.

    When I installed my inverter, I let the original converter in place. So if the inverter would quit, I had a simple way to charge the batteries, separately from the inverter. I just unplug the converter when the inverter is charging the batteries. My vintage welder generator I use will not power the inverter to charge the batteries. So I just use the converter to charge the batteries.

     Several years ago I did rebuild the engine on the welder/ generator. But I have not tried it to power the inverter charging circuit, yet.

[ogaddcb]

Late to the game here.  I have had  of these link to 3,000 watt inverter   for about 3 years.  Little to no parasitic draw mostly because it has no constant on USB ports.  I have had no problems with the two.

[Ray,IN]

I left the Xantrex cables off the new (Apr 2023) Renogy batteries for 36 hrs.  This fault issue began in 5 April 2022, but due to body damage the MH hasn't been used since then.

The  3 house batteries failed last year and I replaced them Apr 2023.

This is the Victron inverter I'm considering buying from a business in NJ: https://store.tekrispower.com/victronmultiplu/123000120-50  It has a 5 yr warranty.  Even though it is a 3,000W, where Xantrex is 2,000W I don't think I'll need to replace any wiring/cables to install the Victron, but it will be quite different wiring arrangement.  Thankfully I have the space (22"x15"x20") to install nearly any inverter I want.

The Xantrex 2012 inverter (2 yr warranty) is obsolete per the Xantrex website, but still sold on Amazon and some boating store websites.

I'd buy a Hart inverter in a minute if they were still made. IMO they were the Cadillac of inverters.

I'll make my decision which to buy NLT Monday, based on your advice and my research.

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Ray,IN