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

[andrewAB]

Wow! That's a lot of fridge power!

It only needs a few hours a day to bring the eutectic plate down to =35C and keep everything cold and freeze things near the plate. Overall it isn't much worse than a modern 12V system and so I replaced the original inverter that went pop rather than install a new DC system.

 

[PaulRainbow]

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

I'd agree with all of that.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Renogy make two types (not rebranded as someone said above) …

My apologies if I was mistaken - I have to admit that I was just going off received wisdom. It is stated very frequently in threads like this one on Reddit's /r/SolarDIY forum that Renogy just buy and rebrand Chinese kit.

I don't care either way, and if I'm mistaken I do apologise to you.

But it's very understandable why so many people think that Renogy is just rebranded Chinese kit.

From the first thing I found on their site and reverse image searched:

It only took me a few minutes to find these pics.

 

[Tinto]

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

I chat with Ben so maybe that helps?

 

[Tinto]

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

I was planning on not using the charger. I have. Plenty of charge power elsewhere and it’s a simpler install. My first thought was to put the Powerstar under the saloon seat beside the lithium batteries but having thought about it a bit more that’s a bit of a fire risk.

What are peoples thoughts on fibreglass matting between the two to segregate them? There would need to be holes for cables though

 

[PaulRainbow]

I was planning on not using the charger. I have. Plenty of charge power elsewhere and it’s a simpler install. My first thought was to put the Powerstar under the saloon seat beside the lithium batteries but having thought about it a bit more that’s a bit of a fire risk.

What are peoples thoughts on fibreglass matting between the two to segregate them? There would need to be holes for cables though

Why ?

 

[geem]

I was planning on not using the charger. I have. Plenty of charge power elsewhere and it’s a simpler install. My first thought was to put the Powerstar under the saloon seat beside the lithium batteries but having thought about it a bit more that’s a bit of a fire risk.

What are peoples thoughts on fibreglass matting between the two to segregate them? There would need to be holes for cables though

I prefer the lithium in a separate space, dedicated to the lithium. I seem to recall that the ABYC standard recommended this.
The other thing to remember is the inverter can generate a lot of heat so needs good ventilation

 

[Tinto]

Why ?

It is in the manual for my current Renogy charger to keep them in separate compartments

 

[Pete7]

I chat with Ben so maybe that helps?

Me too, he has been very helpful in the past. He certainly gets the need for good customer service.

Pete

 

[PaulRainbow]

It is in the manual for my current Renogy charger to keep them in separate compartments

Not sure why there would be a fire risk having the inverter and Lithium batteries near each other.

Could be risk of explosion having lead acid in the same space, due to gassing.

 

[Tinto]

I prefer the lithium in a separate space, dedicated to the lithium. I seem to recall that the ABYC standard recommended this.
The other thing to remember is the inverter can generate a lot of heat so needs good ventilation

I could cut away some of the woodwork behind the bench seat and build a shelf for it. It would sit under a cupboard and Above the lithium batteries.

 

[Trident]

I could cut away some of the woodwork behind the bench seat and build a shelf for it. It would sit under a cupboard and Above the lithium batteries.

I had mine on a shelf above the Lithium when I used the Power Star - its absolutely fine and no fire risk that I can imagine with LiFePo4 . The larger Victron I have now meant siting it outside the cupboard which meant it was 2m away which meant 120mm cable which is ridiculously costly now so basically I'd go as close to the battery bus bar as you can for the shortest cable runs. If you're using it for cooking loads you can draw 200-250 amps quite easily so the cable can get warm and close and short reduces that. I would say at least 75mm and preferably 95mm cable even for a short run on a 3kw inverter.

As Geem said - lots of airflow to keep it cooler and of course as I'm sure you know a high amp rated cut off switch to disconnect inverter from battery and a suitable fuse - don't skimp on this; go BlueSea or BEP and check the amp rating for the fuse holder

 

[Trident]

My apologies if I was mistaken - I have to admit that I was just going off received wisdom. It is stated very frequently in threads like this one on Reddit's /r/SolarDIY forum that Renogy just buy and rebrand Chinese kit.

I don't care either way, and if I'm mistaken I do apologise to you.

But it's very understandable why so many people think that Renogy is just rebranded Chinese kit.

From the first thing I found on their site and reverse image searched:

It only took me a few minutes to find these pics.

I would think the casings are all generic but the AC input is on the opposite side on the Renogy so the internals are clearly not identical. To be fair I may be wrong ; I know their batteries are entirely proprietary as they are one of the few to use pouch cells and they have had them UL Listed (an industry testing standard) and I believed them when they said everything else they make was too but the UK tech staff may not know or may not be "off message " . We should bear in mind the idea of Chinese stuff being "poor quality" is unfair as EVERY lithium battery cell in the world is Chinese made and both the best and worst BMS are too.

 

[Tinto]

I had mine on a shelf above the Lithium when I used the Power Star - its absolutely fine and no fire risk that I can imagine with LiFePo4 . The larger Victron I have now meant siting it outside the cupboard which meant it was 2m away which meant 120mm cable which is ridiculously costly now so basically I'd go as close to the battery bus bar as you can for the shortest cable runs. If you're using it for cooking loads you can draw 200-250 amps quite easily so the cable can get warm and close and short reduces that. I would say at least 75mm and preferably 95mm cable even for a short run on a 3kw inverter.

As Geem said - lots of airflow to keep it cooler and of course as I'm sure you know a high amp rated cut off switch to disconnect inverter from battery and a suitable fuse - don't skimp on this; go BlueSea or BEP and check the amp rating for the fuse holder

I have a 400A switch and a mega fuse holder/power distribution block carrying a 200A mega fuse and 4 lower rated midi fuses at the moment. Easy enough to update the fuse when the time comes.

 

[Trident]

I chat with Ben so maybe that helps?

Certainly better than Charles but I had a long conversation a couple of years ago with him about their Inverter Charger and their new AMPS LiFePO4 batteries (also a rebranded and price doubled cheap chinese battery back then - they may have changed but I stoped dealing with them at this point)

My customer had just been sold 12 batteries by them and told to charge them with his existing Inverter Charger from Sterling. I was employed to fit them. I asked about a lithium or customisable charge profile (which they don't have ) and was told to use the Gel profile to charge at14.4v I pointed out that whilst the charge voltage was ok, this profile had a long absorb period (not needed) and worse a float function which is very bad for longevity with Lithium. He seemed not to know this and stuck to his guns despite what I told him. He finally agreed - and watch the wording here - that if the charge profile did reduce the life of the batteries they ould be replaced under warranty. When asked to clarify he said "if in 5 years they've lost a lot of capacity we'll replace them but if they are down just a "normal" (my emphasis) 15 or 20% then that would be expected" . My own daily use batteries in several years of cooking and live aboard use are down 0.2% in about 4 years as a reference

I would not now supply any Sterling product by choice

 

[geem]

I had mine on a shelf above the Lithium when I used the Power Star - its absolutely fine and no fire risk that I can imagine with LiFePo4 . The larger Victron I have now meant siting it outside the cupboard which meant it was 2m away which meant 120mm cable which is ridiculously costly now so basically I'd go as close to the battery bus bar as you can for the shortest cable runs. If you're using it for cooking loads you can draw 200-250 amps quite easily so the cable can get warm and close and short reduces that. I would say at least 75mm and preferably 95mm cable even for a short run on a 3kw inverter.

As Geem said - lots of airflow to keep it cooler and of course as I'm sure you know a high amp rated cut off switch to disconnect inverter from battery and a suitable fuse - don't skimp on this; go BlueSea or BEP and check the amp rating for the fuse holder

The advantage of a 24v boat. Considerable drop in cable sizes. Mine look quite tiny but rated for 200A. The rating of the BMS and above the rating of the inverter, Super short cable runs as well. We don't pull more than about 80A in normal use.