Charger/Inverter

[mark1882]

I am thinking of replacing my old (24 years I think) 50A battery charger with a new Victron Energy Phoenix Multiplus 1600w/70a battery charger/inverter and would welcome any advice about this in particular the benefits or otherwise of having a combined charger/inverter as I was initially just going to fit a Victron Energy Phoenix Inverter 1600W. I appreciate the potential 'eggs in one basket' scenario but I am thinking of just disconnecting my existing battery chager. and leaving it in situ as a back up should the new charger/inverter stop working.
Also anyone's experience of using Victron Energy equipment
Thanks
Mark

 

[pvb]

I guess it depends on whether you need a more powerful battery charger. Does your existing charger often run at 50A?

 

[Richard10002]

I have an inverter charger, along with a separate charger. Very comforting.

 

[VicS]

I have an unveiled charger, along with a separate charger. Very comforting.

very confusing

 

[Richard10002]

very confusing

Agreed. Predictive Text on a Nexus 7! Now corrected. Thank you

 

[RobbieW]

Your chargers capacity should match the size and type of the batteries you have. If you have wet cell, look for something around 20% of your total bank capacity at the 20hr rate; with AGM you can look for 400% of the 20hr rate. The charger you have will optimally charge a wet cell bank of 250A/hr, its probably not feasible to install a charger to optimally supply a similar AGM bank on a boat

Personally I wouldnt replace something thats not broken without good reason. One good reason might be to buy a mains charger with 'tweakable' charging regimes if the current one doesnt have this feature. That allows you to match the charging cycle to your bank and usage explicitly. The design of the battery system and its charging is one of the vital pieces for a cruising boat, fortunately previous owners of mine did a good job.

 

[ianj99]

If it packs up, you've lost both devices and if out of warranty, potentially very expensive to replace. I much prefer keeping them separate as its unlikely both would fail, at least not at the same time....

 

[macd]

If it packs up, you've lost both devices and if out of warranty, potentially very expensive to replace. I much prefer keeping them separate as its unlikely both would fail, at least not at the same time....

I'm generally inclined to that view, but a few months ago got a Mastervolt device similar to the OP's Victron in exchange for a few hours work. The attractions of it seem to be:
1. ability to run all the boat's 240V sockets whether on shore power, batteries or both;
2. highly customisable charging regime (should be 'future proof' assuming it lasts long enough );
3. ...er, I'll let you know when I've finished the installation.

None of which would have persuaded me to spend the full list price, or anything like. And the old charger will certainly be kept in reserve.

Victron seems to have a good reputation, as does Mastervolt. At a price.

 

[pvb]

Victron seems to have a good reputation, as does Mastervolt. At a price.

Yes, but I wonder, would you pay £150 less and have a Sterling inverter/charger with a 70A charger but a bigger 2500W inverter?

 

[Richard10002]

Yes, but I wonder, would you pay £150 less and have a Sterling inverter/charger with a 70A charger but a bigger 2500W inverter?

I wouldnt buy Sterling again.... too many secrets in the marketing blurb, and poor after sales.

 

[ianj99]

I wouldnt buy Sterling again.... too many secrets in the marketing blurb, and poor after sales.

+1 Their £279 30amp triple output charger failed just out of warranty and it was not repairable so the best they could do was offer £50 off its replacement.
No thanks. I bought another brand but would still not sink £100s into a charger inverter or even an alternator to battery charger regardless of brand.

 

[duncan99210]

We've got 2 inverters: a 1000 watt from Maplin and a 150 watt Ring, both hard wired direct to the battery bank, both outs to their own sockets, no link to the shore power mains sockets. We very rarely use the 1000 watt one, about the only use is when SWMBO suddenly decides she needs to iron something. The 150 watt one is used to recharge power tools and the laptop.

A friend has a Victron all singing inverter charger and it's fine for him but he's found, like us, that he rarely used mains voltage and as such has it switched off most of the time. The OP is aiming to live aboard in the Med; for what it's worth in his place I'd be aiming to cut down as much as possible on mains voltage equipment and go for a 12v economy with the inverter sat off to one side for the odd occasion it's really needed, thus I'd advise a separate smart charger and inverter setup.

 

[[2574]]

We have the Victron EasyPlus combined 70A charger 1600w inverter. It charges 500AH of AGM's. The product has been 100% reliable over eight years so far.

It has a very convenient feature whereby it is possible to limit shore power draw if on a constrained supply (for example a 5A supply where you need to draw 10A) and blend in the balance of the requirement from the 12v battery source via the inverter. Thereby providing 10A @ 240v on the shorepower ring whilst only drawing 5A from shorepower.

I have no complaints and would repurchase. I have fitted a small 10A charger as a stand by in case the big charger dies for whatever reason.

Victron kit is recommended.