Inverter/charger

[knelly]

Hi 

I'm looking to buy and install an inverter charger on my 12v system output 2500kw/3000kw.

 

Any one give me a heads up in a good make and model.

I know that victron is one of the best on the market but very pricey.

Interested in the sterling pure sine wave 2500kw.

 

Are these any good.

[TheBiscuits]

https://www.sunshinesolar.co.uk/prodshow/3000W___12V_Pure_Sine_Wave_Sunshine_Power_Inverter/VP3000.html

 

I have one of these and am very pleased with it.  My only two complaints are that I didn't think the provided cables were thick enough so I replaced them, and the optional remote switch has too many flashenblinkenlights on it for my liking.

 

The inverter itself is great, and they are nearly giving them away for another week or so.

[Movin' on]

7 hours ago, knelly said:

Hi 

I'm looking to buy and install an inverter charger on my 12v system output 2500kw/3000kw.

 

Any one give me a heads up in a good make and model.

I know that victron is one of the best on the market but very pricey.

Interested in the sterling pure sine wave 2500kw.

 

Are these any good.

 

IMHO - there's NO substitute for the tried and tested Blue Boxes or Mastervolt if you can stretch to that and they both come with the bonus that the warranty period and aftersales service is second to none. 

I'm all for saving money but not in this area...…………….. best prices can often be found from Springwood Haven.

[mrsmelly]

7 hours ago, knelly said:

Hi 

I'm looking to buy and install an inverter charger on my 12v system output 2500kw/3000kw.

 

Any one give me a heads up in a good make and model.

I know that victron is one of the best on the market but very pricey.

Interested in the sterling pure sine wave 2500kw.

 

Are these any good.

Mastervolt are simply the bizz, they are motre expensive than Victron. Victron are also very good. Sterling are way down the line way way below either of the other two. I had a sterling combi on one boat that I bought and I quickly replaced it with a Mastervolt.

[Sea Dog]

42 minutes ago, Halsey said:

IMHO - there's NO substitute for the tried and tested Blue Boxes or Mastervolt if you can stretch to that and they both come with the bonus that the warranty period and aftersales service is second to none. 

I tend to agree with the first bit, but the bit in bold relating to Mastervolt? Really? Sadly not in my experience.

 

[Dr Bob]

If you are asking the question, you obviously don't know inverters then?

 You are going for a big one..3KW. Do you really need that size? When we got our boat it came with a 2KW Victron combi. Initially I thought about replacing it with a 3KW one but soon came to realize it wasn't needed. We use a lot of 240V (and I mean a lot) but the only thing we are limited by is the washing machine on heat up. Solve that by manually putting hot water in. You will use a lot more Amps with a bigger one if you are running washing machines etc off the inverter and they HAVE to be replaced. Having a 2KW one will restrict you a bit on what you can run but does help limit Amps out so helps you fill your batteries better.

There is another argument over separates and combis. We have rewired our Victron combi to be inverter only, so we control the shore power better, and got an IP22 30A charger. Obviously that won't work if you run a genny and need a big charger. Worth thinking about your style of usage to match what you buy.

[Boat&Bikes]

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

Mastervolt are simply the bizz, they are motre expensive than Victron. Victron are also very good. Sterling are way down the line way way below either of the other two. I had a sterling combi on one boat that I bought and I quickly replaced it with a Mastervolt.

Did the sterling not work?

[Movin' on]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

I tend to agree with the first bit, but the bit in bold relating to Mastervolt? Really? Sadly not in my experience.

 

True to say my best aftersales experience was with Victron...……………………...

[knelly]

Dr Bob as for the comment I don't obviously understand inverters I can't work this out it seems a little unfriendly.

 

I have read in detail about inverters and I have a fantastic knowledge about them but was unsure what makes are good.

 

I

We are not looking bing on our boat it is for leisure purposes only.

 

Weekends mainly and a good few weeks out if n the canal, saying this because m that making the likes of a sterling may be egood for me as it won't be getting battered with usage rate

 

Anyone requiring an LPG gas engineer I'm your guy covering a 40 Mike radius from Wigan/Warrington

Edited February 3, 2019 by knelly

[OldGoat]

In addition to Dr. Bob above - are you aware that you'll need a really BIG battery bank to power a large inverter. Two 100Ah batteries (typical) is way, way too little...

 

add:

Sterling stuff is OK -  possibly not terribly wizzy - but do the job

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, OldGoat said:

Sterling stuff is OK -  possibly not terribly wizzy - but do the job

A bit like the old Trabant would get you from A-B, but a Ford would do it more easily, and a Jaguar would do it easily & in comfort.

[OldGoat]

5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

A bit like the old Trabant would get you from A-B, but a Ford would do it more easily, and a Jaguar would do it easily & in comfort.

You pays your money accordingly.

[Richard10002]

11 hours ago, knelly said:

Hi 

I'm looking to buy and install an inverter charger on my 12v system output 2500kw/3000kw.

 

Any one give me a heads up in a good make and model.

I know that victron is one of the best on the market but very pricey.

Interested in the sterling pure sine wave 2500kw.

 

Are these any good.

I have a 2500W Sterling inverter charger from 2011, and a Sterling 60A charger bought about a year ago. I looked at Victron chargers and was close to buying one, but they don’t do what the Sterling does, so I plumped for Sterling.

 

If I had my time again I would buy separate inverters and chargers, or always have a separate charger.

 

I specified 2500W inverter to run a 240v vacuum cleaner. It also copes well with the Nespresso. I would do the same again.

[Dr Bob]

38 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

A bit like the old Trabant would get you from A-B,

I've got a Sterling AtoB.

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, Dr Bob said:

I've got a Sterling AtoB.

I've got a Scotland A-Z (has Stirling listed)

[Alan de Enfield]

Matron, Matron, Matron …………...

 

They've escaped again and they are doing it again !!!

[jonathanA]

A bit harsh to compare sterling to Trabant... 

 

more like a ford escort I would say... 

 

didnt chose the sterling 1800w Msw we have, came with the boat, but it seems to be fine. Did chose a sterling charger as that seemed a reasonable compromise between function and price. 

 

Our use is similar to the ops and if the inverter did die it would be a trifle inconvenient but not really a big issue.

 

Worth bearing in mind not only do you need bigger batteries for a bigger inverter but the cables need to be 

 

as well 

Edited February 3, 2019 by jonathanA
To finish sentence

[Alan de Enfield]

47 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

Worth bearing in mind not only do you need bigger batteries for a bigger inverter but the cables need to be 

Bigger ???

 

And you need to be able to replace the additional power used in a reasonable and timely fashion.

[ditchcrawler]

Come on, Its obvious from the OP's posting they don't know about inverters if you read it so why not give them some help.

I don't have an invertor charger so cant say which is best, just an invertor and that is a Mastervolt which I am very happy with. It is a true sine wave and runs everything I want, but I don't like most new boaters have a microwave cooker but id di have bit of a problem finding a suitable vacuum cleaner. As someone said, regardless how big your battery bank is you have to put back into the batteries what you take out, If you go for 3000Va and load it fully you will be drawing some 300amps out of the batteries. but of course that current is proportional to your use so if you have a load of only 500 Watts they you will only be drawing 50 Amps. If I was fitting my boat again I would fit a larger one just to give the extra head room over my maximum load.

[Glynn]

Ive had  Sterling for over 4 years, never had a problem with it.Likewise another couple of dozen others on the marina .

[Keeping Up]

I had a Sterling sinewave inverter, after 4 warrantee replacements they admitted I'd found a design fault which they weren't going to fix and gave me a quasi-sine inverter which blew up my cooker and a few other things including 2 phone chargers (cost me £500). I binned it. Also I had a Sterling charger which put huge amounts of leakage current down the battery negative lead, I blame it for the way my hull dissolved away. I binned it (cost me £6000). I shan't be buying anything Sterling again.

[DandV]

Our off grid holiday cottage had a Victron Combi I purchased and  installed in 2006

Our boat had a Stirling Combo fitted by the original owners when built in 2006.

Both were still working when we sold both in 2017. 

The Stirling had nearly as many LEDs as a Christmas tree.. The Victron had only 3, and a three position switch, one of those positions being a charge only mode, something regrettably missing from that model Stirling.

In terms of use the Victron was always on when the place was occupied, 230vfridge, most years only about month a year but some years six months a year.

The Stirling was only run when 230volt was required when the boat was in use 6months each year,  So power tools and the washing machine and occasionally the computer and printer.

I chose a Victron. The previous owners of our boat chose a Stirling. Both worked.