Victron 2000VA Inverter - Will it run my 1300W lawnmower?

Richard10002

Richard10002

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I am about to buy a Victron Phoenix Smart Inverter 12V 2000VA

https://www.onboardenergydirect.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=inverter smart&PN=Victron-Phoenix-Inverter-Smart-12V-2000VA.html#SID=36

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-Phoenix-Inverter-Smart-1600VA-5000VA-EN.pdf


These VA designations always seem a bit dubious/meaningless to me. The inverter datasheet above says that, at 25C it is good for 1600W continuous, with a peak power of 4000W.


I'm merely looking for some reassurance that it will run the Bosch Rotrak 340ER Lawnmower that I use to keep my mooring tidy, (in keeping with club rules). The mower tag says that it is 240V 1300W. I also have a Dyson DC50, which says it's 850W so, if the lawnmower is OK, I'm sure the Dyson will be OK. They both work fine with my existing Sterling 2500W Pro Combi S Inverter Charger*


So it looks like it will work OK, even if the mower were to have a high'ish start up current - but I am no expert on these things.


*The reason I am changing is because the Sterling has a 4A acquiescent current, which means I cant leave it on 24/7, and I occasionally forget to switch it off, which is annoying. In addition, a Victron inverter will work better with the system I have for protecting my Lithium battery bank, and an added bonus will be that the area will be less cluttered.
 
scruff said:
I have been worried my boat might be looking a bit green after leaving it all winter. I had hoped a jet wash and all would be OK.

I hadn't considered I'd have to mow the decks to the get worst of it off!
Click to expand...

You need to get with the programme ..... keep your garden tidy, or you could be evicted :)
 
How bigger battery bank are you going to use.

with the length of time you will use a mover for you may run into dc ripple issues with a modest bank

I have no doubt the inverter will run your mower.
 
PaulRainbow said:
I would expect the Victron will run the mower Richard, all of the figures say it should. In my experience, the Victron inverters usually exceed the ratings, Sterling fall a long way short.
Click to expand...

Fitted the Victron Inverter a couple of weeks ago and all is good. The Bluetooth means I can turn it on and off whilst sat on my fat backside in the lounge, perhaps if i want to print something, or charge my razor. More importantly, it runs the Dyson Vacuum, which says it draws 850W, with the Victron app showing it drawing a bit over 900W.

Haven't tested the lawnmower, (1300W), yet as the grass is always wet. I suppose I could just get it out, connect it up, and start it, without cutting any grass, but so far the weather has been such that I can't be arsed. I'll report back when I can be arsed - although I doubt there are many here waiting with bated breath to see if an inverter will run a lawnmower :)

The only minor niggle, and it's not a big deal, is that, on the Eco setting, at the lowest wake up setting of 10VA, it seems to be awake all the time, and at the next lowest setting of 20VA, this is too high to see the request from either my printer or shaver, or portable Dyson. As I say - it's no big deal because I can turn it on and off remotely.
 
Blue teeth to control my lawn mowr while sit and relax sound a good idea. What do I need to get

BTW its a 50 (or nearly) yearold petrol Flymo . One of the very early ones. It doents start too easily so its going to need somehting farily clever to operate it
 
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Richard10002 said:
Fitted the Victron Inverter a couple of weeks ago and all is good. The Bluetooth means I can turn it on and off whilst sat on my fat backside in the lounge, perhaps if i want to print something, or charge my razor. More importantly, it runs the Dyson Vacuum, which says it draws 850W, with the Victron app showing it drawing a bit over 900W.

Haven't tested the lawnmower, (1300W), yet as the grass is always wet. I suppose I could just get it out, connect it up, and start it, without cutting any grass, but so far the weather has been such that I can't be arsed. I'll report back when I can be arsed - although I doubt there are many here waiting with bated breath to see if an inverter will run a lawnmower :)

The only minor niggle, and it's not a big deal, is that, on the Eco setting, at the lowest wake up setting of 10VA, it seems to be awake all the time, and at the next lowest setting of 20VA, this is too high to see the request from either my printer or shaver, or portable Dyson. As I say - it's no big deal because I can turn it on and off remotely.
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Thanks for the report Richard, glad it's working for you. Out of interest, when it's on the lowest Eco setting, what is it drawing with no loads ?
 
my 3000/24/60 victron is drawing around 25W on "normal" idle. Haven't tried the really low idle as I use the boat automation to turn off the inverter when all presence sensors are inactive for more than 1h (and then on again once I'm back onboard)
Actually was warned not to use it as it then polls in some odd way to see if there's still consumption and that does something which I don't remember, but I was told "its' bad don't do it"...
 
VA only equal watts where the PF (power factor) is 1.0, ie resistive loads like an incandescant bulb or heating element. Motors are inductive loads and so the PF won't be equal to 1.0 because they draw their current out of phase with their voltage. I wonder if the mower has any PF number on it's label/manual so you could see. In any case, it looks close to the limit but the old suck it and see technique might work. Or a petrol mower.
 
wonkywinch said:
VA only equal watts where the PF (power factor) is 1.0, ie resistive loads like an incandescant bulb or heating element. Motors are inductive loads and so the PF won't be equal to 1.0 because they draw their current out of phase with their voltage. I wonder if the mower has any PF number on it's label/manual so you could see. In any case, it looks close to the limit but the old suck it and see technique might work. Or a petrol mower.
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I think the inverter is sold as a 2000VA unit, but continuous power is described as1600W, so I wonder if that takes account of a PF? It also says it can cope with a peak power of 4000W, but presumably not for long enough to mow my lawn. My guess is it will be OK but, as you say, I need to suck it and see.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Thanks for the report Richard, glad it's working for you. Out of interest, when it's on the lowest Eco setting, what is it drawing with no loads ?
Click to expand...

Turned everything on the boat off, both DC an AC, and got the following:

Normal On: 0.91A or 12W, (Li batteries, so 13.2V +/-)
Eco: 0.2A or 2-3W

Seems to match the claims in the documentation :) which is more than can be said for the Sterling that I replaced :(

This with the Eco Setting at: Wake Up power = 20VA Shut Down power = 10VA. It's actually the same, (0.2A), if I increase the wake up and shut down settings

Mostly I have things that wont wake it up at 20VA - Electric razor, printer, Dyson portable vacuum, and so on. They all seem to draw around 12VA on start up, so I have taken to just turning it on and off as needed. I guess if I had a 240V fridge, or something else that was on 24/7, the eco setting would be useful.

Frustratingly, if I set the ECO at wake up power = 10VA, and shut down power = 0VA, it seems to stay on 24/7, using 0.9A, rather than shutting down when the VA shows zero.

Hope that helps
 
Richard10002 said:
Turned everything on the boat off, both DC an AC, and got the following:

Normal On: 0.91A or 12W, (Li batteries, so 13.2V +/-)
Eco: 0.2A or 2-3W

Seems to match the claims in the documentation :) which is more than can be said for the Sterling that I replaced :(

This with the Eco Setting at: Wake Up power = 20VA Shut Down power = 10VA. It's actually the same, (0.2A), if I increase the wake up and shut down settings

Mostly I have things that wont wake it up at 20VA - Electric razor, printer, Dyson portable vacuum, and so on. They all seem to draw around 12VA on start up, so I have taken to just turning it on and off as needed. I guess if I had a 240V fridge, or something else that was on 24/7, the eco setting would be useful.

Frustratingly, if I set the ECO at wake up power = 10VA, and shut down power = 0VA, it seems to stay on 24/7, using 0.9A, rather than shutting down when the VA shows zero.

Hope that helps
Click to expand...

Thanks Richard, was interested to hear how well the Eco settings worked. Looks like there's some useful savings, depending on the loads used. As you say, would be useful for anyone running a fridge from the inverter.
 
Just to finish this off, given that I asked the question in the Title:

Mowed the lawn a few days ago and all good. On start up it drew close to 2000VA for a few seconds, then settled at around 900VA. At this it was drawing around 75A at 13.1V.

Hope this helps anyone thinking of a Victron Smart Phoenix Inverter.
 
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