Hi I’m collecting an Autosleeper Warwick XL mid December & am wondering what is the most reliable inverter to get installed as want to be off grid a few days at a time & need to run wifes hairdryer etc ,I think the solar panel is an 80watt will that need to be replaced with a larger one ? & also fit two leisure Batteries as only has one at the moment. Anyone can recommend an installer in the area of Dorset ?.
Best inverters ?
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funflair
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I think the most important thing is a clean pure sine wave, for sure Victron gear is good but we use a Buttner simply as that was in the van when we got it, you will need a decent amount of battery capacity and solar if you are going to use the inverter much, don't forget that whatever the amps are on the 240v equipment you want to run the inverter will need at least 20 times that from your batteries, so a 1000watt hair dryer on 240v will take 4 amps but will need 80amps from the batteries, plus a little bit for inefficiency etc.
What wattage appliances, hair dryer etc, do you intend to run as that will determine inverter size and what battery power you will need.
Lenny HB
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I would fit a Victron, what size are you looking at?
Bare in mind with Lead batteries every 1000 watts of inverter power you will need 400ah of batteries.
Bare in mind with Lead batteries every 1000 watts of inverter power you will need 400ah of batteries.
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Studer are the best, I've got the litte 275w version because I wanted lightweight and low quiescent drain. I'll warn you first though... The best cost, if you do a search for one of the bigger ones, make sure you're sitting down 
Best from quality point of view - Studer- Mastervolt - Victron - Cristec - Buttner, but from the point of view being easy to integrate with other kit, good app for control etc, and a decent pure sine output I think the Victrons are a great product for vans.
I would have a chat with Offgrid, since if the inverter is going to be used a fair bit, and has a high output you may want to up your battery capacity, and add a bit more solar. You may also find that a charger inverter combination is a good alternative, to give more capacity from your main charger, to compensate for the battery bank being larger. Good to aim at around 15% of battery capacity for the charger. As for solar, also good to have enough to replace what power you have used, at least in the summer. If the Controller needs to be changed to handle more power, then Victron is also a good make, and will use the same app for controlling it as the combi or inverter. I think to have the charging system to keep up with use, ie a balanced system is best.
The key to that is get the right sized inverter, powered by sufficient batteries - the rest follows
P.S. If there is a specific device that requires an inverter, it maybe worth seeing if someone you know could test it - I've come across some makes (eg Dyson) that for some reason don't play well with some inverters but are happy with others. This is not because of the sine wave form which will be good with all of the above, but because of how they regulate their power output.
I would have a chat with Offgrid, since if the inverter is going to be used a fair bit, and has a high output you may want to up your battery capacity, and add a bit more solar. You may also find that a charger inverter combination is a good alternative, to give more capacity from your main charger, to compensate for the battery bank being larger. Good to aim at around 15% of battery capacity for the charger. As for solar, also good to have enough to replace what power you have used, at least in the summer. If the Controller needs to be changed to handle more power, then Victron is also a good make, and will use the same app for controlling it as the combi or inverter. I think to have the charging system to keep up with use, ie a balanced system is best.
The key to that is get the right sized inverter, powered by sufficient batteries - the rest follows
P.S. If there is a specific device that requires an inverter, it maybe worth seeing if someone you know could test it - I've come across some makes (eg Dyson) that for some reason don't play well with some inverters but are happy with others. This is not because of the sine wave form which will be good with all of the above, but because of how they regulate their power output.
funflair
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We have a friend who's Dyson hairdryer wouldn't work on Mastervolt but OK on our Buttner, it worked on their Mastervolt with a surge protector
My hair clippers wouldn't work on my older victron 450w inverter but work on the cheap 1000w Chinese inverter I got for Ann's hair straighteners. Put me off Victron, that's when I found Studer.We have a friend who's Dyson hairdryer wouldn't work on Mastervolt but OK on our Buttner, it worked on their Mastervolt with a surge protector
I think you need to come up with a list of all the mains power appliances you are likely to use and look at the total battery capacity required. Then look at the requirements to keep them charged to decide on the amount of solar the solar regulator required and whether you need a b2b to charge while driving. When you come up with the total cost it out and decide if it's worth it for the things you are likely to use!
Everyone is different in our case we decided to do without mains appliances when off grid.
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+1 for Victron. If it's the one chosen routinely for round the world yachts .....
Dave
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Sunshine Solar, supplied with twin cables and remote on/off switch. Faultless performance for us over two years.
Please don't put mastervolt before Victron, that's sacrilege.
it's victron before the mastervolt.And you can add OutBack sealed units built for deserts, in front of the Studer. They are built in USA, used in disaster scenarios and military equipment in some places.
Sorry
Haha - I wasn't trying to rank them, or somebody would surely take offencePlease don't put mastervolt before Victron, that's sacrilege.
And you can add OutBack sealed units built for deserts, in front of the Studer. They are built in USA, used in disaster scenarios and military equipment in some places.
Sorry
.Actually in the "round the world" yachts, the company I had some dealings with, did use Victron, then there were some issues so went to Mastervolt without any failures/problems (except for programming the CZone elements). My last two both were MV, neither had any issues, but MV could supply the 2nd alternator and regulator that integrated with the rest of the system, rather than going out to a 3rd party system.
For the boat builder the choice was driven as much by the desire to have a complete system in which the components played well together, and didn't break as it was to have "best of breed".
Actually in the last smaller design 42ft I was involved in the original thought was to return to Victron, because it was cheaper, but that may have changed since the fitters were by then Mastervolt/Czone devotees.
MisterB
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- enough to know i shouldnt touch things i know nothing about ....
We've used a Renogy 3000w pure sine wave inverter for over 18 months with no issues ...
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Another vote for Sunshine Solar inverters. They are now configured to be able to power via an RCD (neutral and earth bonding) when connected to the van sockets.
These guys always had a good reputation, but I've never tried them:Please don't put mastervolt before Victron, that's sacrilege.
And you can add OutBack sealed units built for deserts, in front of the Studer. They are built in USA, used in disaster scenarios and military equipment in some places.
Sorry
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PeterCarole29
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Hi dont know if its been mentioned but Victron technical details state KVA not KW so as an example their 3000Kva is aprox 2500kw dont be put off by this just remember when doing your calculations
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Good point - but I wonder how many other suppliers that use watts in the blurb are assuming resistive loads or a power factor of one? Anybody know?
I have never tested them to find out!
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