Inverter for Motorhome

[MisterB]

Thanks - that's interesting. I thought the 200A output would limit me to only a 2000Watt Inverter but I might as well get the renogy 3000watt if it will work OK.

I've got the 300AH fogstar but no inverter as yet.

shame your not nearer, you could have a play and see what it can do. i must add that the Renogy, having the 'auto pass through' really is useful, though ive not tried it in anger yet.
the reason it works for us, is that i added 2 more sockets, re routed one existing (microwave) and will prob add an external outlet for cooking outside for 'free'.
that means i (will) have four sockets supplied by the inverter (inc the microwave permanently plugged in) and three supplied by the EHU.

When we are on EHU now, because of the auto pass through, it gives us 7 useable sockets, inc microwave (though of course limited by incoming supply) BUT importantly for us it involves no swapping over plugs etc, it just works !! if we are off EHU, then i simply turn on the remote switch to the inverter and we get 240 through the other (soon to be) four sockets, again inc the permanently wired microwave

i know that other more experienced motorhomers have much bigger and better setups than mine and could probably offer a lot more advice/suggestions than me ....

 

[Jev88]

Sunshine Solar supplier in UK and very happy with my 2000watt. 330ah battery bank (wet). Runs microwave (500 watt) without stressing battery too much.

 

[MisterB]

Thanks - that's interesting. I thought the 200A output would limit me to only a 2000Watt Inverter but I might as well get the renogy 3000watt if it will work OK.

I've got the 300AH fogstar but no inverter as yet.

Ive just heard that Fogstar will possibly be shipping their new range of batteries soon, with a 300A JBD BMS which will deliver 300A continuous discharge - massive improvement on my 200A, which should be perfect for the 3000w Renogy inverter !!


i have no commercial interest etc with Fogstar !!!!!

 

[urban_biker]

Ive just heard that Fogstar will possibly be shipping their new range of batteries soon, with a 300A JBD BMS which will deliver 300A continuous discharge - massive improvement on my 200A, which should be perfect for the 3000w Renogy inverter !!


i have no commercial interest etc with Fogstar !!!!!

I'm not sure thats good news given I've just bught one with the 200A BMS. But to be honest 200A is plenty for me.

 

[MisterB]

I'm not sure thats good news given I've just bught one with the 200A BMS. But to be honest 200A is plenty for me.

always the way, i bought mine less than 12 months ago and feel the same - i havent had a problem with mine either and not really sure i would need 300Ah continuous, but then again i never thought i would ever need 2 gigabytes of hard drive memory ......

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MisterB]

Latest update, just rewired the water heater so it can run off the battery via the inverter and because of the 'pass through' on the Renogy inverter it works as it should in 240v EHU.

Not sure I would want to be running the water heater on 12v/via inverter for too long though but with a full battery I reckon 30mins on power level 1 should provide enough for showers. Of course it's all 'guess work' until I try it properly AND the main issue is going to be how to replenish the battery

 

[Hoovie]

Latest update, just rewired the water heater so it can run off the battery via the inverter and because of the 'pass through' on the Renogy inverter it works as it should in 240v EHU.

Not sure I would want to be running the water heater on 12v/via inverter for too long though but with a full battery I reckon 30mins on power level 1 should provide enough for showers. Of course it's all 'guess work' until I try it properly AND the main issue is going to be how to replenish the battery

I have an 850W electric element in my water heater, which has a 10L tank.
I find in practice that 60 minutes on the electric is usually the right time for it to have reached the preset 60 degree C temperature.

If you do a search on-line you will find calculators where you can enter water volumes and temp rises to see just how much power is needed. it is a purely mathematical calculation (ignoring heat losses from the system. In my case, I find the water heater re-engages every 3-4 hours for around 10 minutes when the tank drops below a lower preset threshold).

Obviously that time to heat will vary depending on what the water temp is to start with, but 60 minutes is a pretty good basis to work on for me. It allows me to gauge when/if I will have excess power to use the heater on battery.

 

[The Wino]

On gas we get a tank of water in ten minutes and off grid our total gas usage including fridge and cooking is about 80p. I realise that people are using surplus solar generated power to heat water but does the cost of all these electrical upgrades for a lot of motorhome users add up as a sensible spend or are they an expensive hobby? Nothing wrong with expensive hobbies we've just bought a boat!

 

[MisterB]

On gas we get a tank of water in ten minutes and off grid our total gas usage including fridge and cooking is about 80p. I realise that people are using surplus solar generated power to heat water but does the cost of all these electrical upgrades for a lot of motorhome users add up as a sensible spend or are they an expensive hobby? Nothing wrong with expensive hobbies we've just bought a boat!View attachment 761757

Expensive hobby is prob closer to the truth ! I can't even pretend it's an investment to myself never mind anyone else. Will it increase the value of the motorhome, I doubt it. Will it make it easier to sell, I doubt it.
Will my wife know how much it cost, I doubt it ..

 

[Hoovie]

On gas we get a tank of water in ten minutes and off grid our total gas usage including fridge and cooking is about 80p. I realise that people are using surplus solar generated power to heat water but does the cost of all these electrical upgrades for a lot of motorhome users add up as a sensible spend or are they an expensive hobby? Nothing wrong with expensive hobbies we've just bought a boat!View attachment 761757h

80 pence! Wow, that is cheap for a whole year
Or do you mean a month? Day? 80p a minute maybe?

"80p" means nothing without context.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[The Wino]

80 pence! Wow, that is cheap for a whole year
Or do you mean a month? Day? 80p a minute maybe?

"80p" means nothing without context.

Sorry per day. There was of course the initial purchase of the refillable gasit bottle and we heat off diesel so probably use less gas than some if it's cold enough to need heating.

 

[Lenny HB]

Sorry per day. There was of course the initial purchase of the refillable gasit bottle and we heat off diesel so probably use less gas than some if it's cold enough to need heating.

Our fridge uses more than that.

 

[The Wino]

Our fridge uses more than that.

That's a lot just for a fridge. That being said we travel every day so the fridge spends a lot of time on 12v.

 

[Lenny HB]

That's a lot just for a fridge. That being said we travel every day so the fridge spends a lot of time on 12v.

approx 1 lt a day.