2kW to 3kW inverters. Which one and why?

[Tinto]

Hi
Looking to fit a higher power inverter. Which do you find to be good and which unreliable and a waste of money.

On the one hand there is Mastervolt and Victron and on the other lower cost items like Renogy, which I am sceptical of given it’s about 1/4 of the price of a Victron.

What are peoples experiences and recommendations?

Thanks in advance

 

[geem]

Hi
Looking to fit a higher power inverter. Which do you find to be good and which unreliable and a waste of money.

On the one hand there is Mastervolt and Victron and on the other lower cost items like Renogy, which I am sceptical of given it’s about 1/4 of the price of a Victron.

What are peoples experiences and recommendations?

Thanks in advance

We have had a Power Star 3000w low frequency inverter on out boat for a number of years. Its reliable and a good bit of kit at a fraction of the price of Victron. We run 2kw motor loads no problem. Its pure sign wave. Photonic Universe sell them in the UK

 

[Shuggy]

I bought an unbranded Chinese 2000W (4000 peak) pure sine wave inverter off eBay 10 years ago for £262. It has run faultlessly on board and can power a hairdryer (not mine - I have no hair) or a toaster (GC1 - where are you?) with ease. They seem to have come down in price and similar looking ones on eBay seem to be about £140. We coupled it with a 120A alternator on our Beta 50 and run the engine when we've got a big load on.

 

[KompetentKrew]

I believe Renogy just rebadge products from Chinese OEMs. I think the same place I read this they said that Victron have a factory in Thailand or somewhere (not China though). Victron's products are obviously their own design.

I find Victron's support patchy - i.e. they won't answer questions directly, referring you instead to their Community Forums which can be brilliant or ignore you. They supply the MultiPlus inverter-charger with GST-18 connectors which are inadequate for the specified cross-section of cable, have known about the problem for at least a year and have no plans to change. I had amazing support from La Boutique Solaire when my MultiPlus failed this year.

I think people buying into Victron are doing so because of the "ecosystem" - you can connect a Smart Shunt and a Smart Solar by bluetooth so that charging is more efficient. You can network everything and the software that runs the Cerbo GX and GX Touch can instead be run on a RaspberryPi.

I chose a Victron combi inverter-charger because I was replacing a 25-year-old Victron combi inverter-charger - doing so saved me thinking about the wiring needed to connecting two separate units for the two jobs.

 

[Kelpie]

Our first inverter was from Epever, £375 for 3kw with a good number of useful features. It seemed really solid and worked perfectly right up until it died, after less than a year of full time use.
I was probably just unlucky with it, but I replaced it with a Victron at more than double the cost, because I didn't want it to happen again.

 

[geem]

Our first inverter was from Epever, £375 for 3kw with a good number of useful features. It seemed really solid and worked perfectly right up until it died, after less than a year of full time use.
I was probably just unlucky with it, but I replaced it with a Victron at more than double the cost, because I didn't want it to happen again.

One thing to look out for when you buy an inverter. If you want to run inductive loads you want a low frequency inverter. They are robust. They have a dwm big transformer in them and they are heavy. If your intended purchase says 3000w and weighs very little, stay clear. Our 3000w, 6000w peak inverter weighs 26kg. It runs our 1.5kw watermaker with its associated inrush current without a problem.

 

[Kelpie]

One thing to look out for when you buy an inverter. If you want to run inductive loads you want a low frequency inverter. They are robust. They have a dwm big transformer in them and they are heavy. If your intended purchase says 3000w and weighs very little, stay clear. Our 3000w, 6000w peak inverter weighs 26kg. It runs our 1.5kw watermaker with its associated inrush current without a problem.

The Victron weighs about double the weight of the Epever, despite being rated at a lower output. So I hope it's going to last. I don't think it's LF bit they do have a good reputation.

 

[coopec]

Giandel is one of the better known cheap brands and I notice they have been listed on several "Ten best Inverters - Reviews" (Not that I put much weight on those reviews)

A 3000W/6000W Giandel costs around $375 on eBay.
giandel inverter 3000W for sale | eBay

I've been having a look at Tataliken 3000W/8000W which cost $100 less. (If you can believe their hype they sell a lot of them)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005069083198.html

10 Best Pure Sine Wave Inverters: Reviews & Buyer’s Guide​

https://greencitizen.com/blog/pure-sine-wave-inverter/

 

[Pete7]

Hi
Looking to fit a higher power inverter. Which do you find to be good and which unreliable and a waste of money.

Thanks in advance

What sort of things are you going to run off the inverter and do you need a charger as well?

 

[Tinto]

No need for a charger. Need it to run kitchen appliances mostly and maybe a watermaker in future. So that would be a significant inductive load

 

[Tinto]

We have had a Power Star 3000w low frequency inverter on out boat for a number of years. Its reliable and a good bit of kit at a fraction of the price of Victron. We run 2kw motor loads no problem. Its pure sign wave. Photonic Universe sell them in the UK

This looks ideal and is a size which will fit into the area I am looking to fit it.

Many thanks

 

[Pete7]

This looks ideal and is a size which will fit into the area I am looking to fit it.

Many thanks

Very popular on the 12v boating FB group. We did consider the 2kW version but bought a second hand never used Sterling 2kW instead for similar money. Space to mount it near the batteries was another consideration. The LW are quite heavy being low frequency, so you will need good bolts to hold it down or to a bulkhead etc.


Pete

 

[wonkywinch]

Bavaria want £3,348 inc VAT as an option on their boats for a 2.5kw one

 

[Tinto]

Very popular on the 12v boating FB group. We did consider the 2kW version but bought a second hand never used Sterling 2kW instead for similar money. Space to mount it near the batteries was another consideration. The LW are quite heavy being low frequency, so you will need good bolts to hold it down or to a bulkhead etc.


Pete

Sterling kit is good stuff. I have the battery to battery charger. First class tech support too

 

[Tinto]

No doubt that Victron is quality equipment but the wall mounting form factor of the Phoenix charger doesn’t work in my application.

 

[geem]

No doubt that Victron is quality equipment but the wall mounting form factor of the Phoenix charger doesn’t work in my application.

I installed my inverter behind the seat backs. The cupboard has two large vents in the top. Two large vents in the bottom open to the bilge and 3 computer ventilation fans running 24/7. It's quite a big space and houses all my kit very close to the batteries with super easy access. Th inverter is screwed down to the shelf

 

[andrewAB]

I have had a Renogy 3000W for 2 years and are happy. I was going to buy a 2000W but the 3000 was on special for not much more. Specified the 2000W to all for 6X startup power of AC fridge compressor.

AC freezer compressor uses 360W (from 12v DC) at first and then drops to 240W after an hour. The solar is putting in about 200W (from 400W nomial panels) so the batteries aren't too drained. I use Victron smartsolar contollers.

I also use inverter for power drill, kettle and hair dryer for short durations.

If the inverter stops I will just buy another similar. I regard all these modern electrical items as disposable - even though the freezer compressor is over 15 years old!

 

[geem]

I have had a Renogy 3000W for 2 years and are happy. I was going to buy a 2000W but the 3000 was on special for not much more. Specified the 2000W to all for 6X startup power of AC fridge compressor.

AC freezer compressor uses 360W (from 12v DC) at first and then drops to 240W after an hour. The solar is putting in about 200W (from 400W nomial panels) so the batteries aren't too drained. I use Victron smartsolar contollers.

I also use inverter for power drill, kettle and hair dryer for short durations.

If the inverter stops I will just buy another similar. I regard all these modern electrical items as disposable - even though the freezer compressor is over 15 years old!

Wow! That's a lot of fridge power!

 

[Trident]

Sterling kit is good stuff. I have the battery to battery charger. First class tech support too

I'm glad your battery charger has worked but your opinion of Sterling is often not matched in the trade and from my own experience I can tell you their inverter chargers are not great, the staff their know little about how they work and they're just rebranded Chinese made stuff anyway - with a hefty Sterling mark up. I have had significant experience with these professionally and would say be very careful

 

[Trident]

Renogy make two types (not rebranded as someone said above) - they have very reliable HF inverters for most applications at a low price point - my only slight issue being the idea of working as a UPS or "Power Through" inverter from shore power with a plug lead.

They also make an LF version which seem very good but have only been on the market a couple of years and so I can't speak for their longevity and as they re actually more than the Power Star (as recommended by Geem above) that I lived off for 3 years without issue, I've not personally fitted one so can't say further.

The Power Star (Photonic Universe or eBay) is the right form to fit from what you say and will do the job well. It does have a built in charger and power through option but I would advise disabling both in the menu. I've replaced a lot of batteries for people who have the power through option in the last few years. They plug in shore power, run it through the inverter which kicks in if there is a power cut etc and then forget and run out of credit on the shore power and the batteries take over seamlessly until the low battery warning starts blaring!

Opinions vary but by disabling the inverter's built in charger is always my preference