Frankieboy Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Hi, Will soon be in the market for an inverter and battery charger and not sure what to get. I know everyone raves about Sterling but theyre not exactly cheap. Probably looking at a 1800w or 2000w inverter max with modified sine wave. No ideas what charger to get. We dont have many 240v items at all so inverter not likely to be used much at all, hence dont want to spend a fortune on one. Think maybe a 1800w may be too big, but figured its better to have too big than too small. Any rtecommendations on what to get without paying out the national deficit? Cheers Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Any rtecommendations on what to get... Yes... ... without paying out the national deficit? Ahhh... No. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frangar Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 If you think Sterling are expensive........quite a few people rant and rave about them....and the companies owner!! Suggest you look at Mastervolt/Victron....more money but you only want to buy one dont you? HTH Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Suggest you look at Mastervolt/Victron....more money but you only want to buy one dont you? That was going to be my recommendation, but OP ruled them out with the wording of his question. "What can I buy that's good and cheap" Well, in this area, to the best of my knowledge, nothing. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelaway Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) Hi, Will soon be in the market for an inverter and battery charger and not sure what to get. I know everyone raves about Sterling but theyre not exactly cheap. Probably looking at a 1800w or 2000w inverter max with modified sine wave. No ideas what charger to get. We dont have many 240v items at all so inverter not likely to be used much at all, hence dont want to spend a fortune on one. Think maybe a 1800w may be too big, but figured its better to have too big than too small. Any rtecommendations on what to get without paying out the national deficit? Cheers Frank. I've had a Sterling 1800w for 6 years, it's been no trouble even though I have overloaded it a couple of times with power tools. It runs the fridge 24/7 and an electric toaster upto a 100a DC - when I allow her to use it. Just avoid talking to Charles Sterling. I only use the engine for charging as we travel almost everday. I seems you need at least a 40A charger for the domestic bank. Alex Edited December 3, 2010 by steelaway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Victron combi. (inverter, charger, changeover switch) and a lot of other things that can be set by a computer. There again I am running an all electric boat, with 7Kw (stand alone) generator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blodger Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) Just get a cheap Chinese inverter off EBay and a caravan 3/4 step 25 amp charger likewise for now. Experience therewith will then dicatate your future investment and you may find out you do not have to go the expensive route for many years and then what you originally bought is sound back up Edited December 3, 2010 by blodger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Just a thought, how are you going to supply (240v) to the charger? I am guessing shore line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankieboy Posted December 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Just a thought, how are you going to supply (240v) to the charger? I am guessing shore line. Sometimes shore line maybe, but mostly a silent genny. I am also aware that I'll need a galvanic isolator but I presume theyre pretty much a standard piece of kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Sometimes shore line maybe, but mostly a silent genny. I am also aware that I'll need a galvanic isolator but I presume theyre pretty much a standard piece of kit. If only. As for a galvanic isolator, my boat came with one so could not advise on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 (edited) Sometimes shore line maybe, but mostly a silent genny. I am also aware that I'll need a galvanic isolator but I presume theyre pretty much a standard piece of kit. Sterling are reasonable pieces of kit - but certainly not the best quality or the most expensive. The main problem is that Sterling seem to use the customer as their quality control dept, so a small percentage of their equipment goes wrong straight away. I've sent stuff back to them and they just send new items back - they don't even ask for a reciept. When I kitted out my boat 5 years ago Sterling were about the cheapest in terms of good chargers and inverters and I don't regret not buying better quality and more expensive Victron equipment. However, I think the market has got cheaper while Sterling's prices have remained fixed. Someone posted a link to a South African charger recently and it looked good for the price. If you do buy Sterling then shop around as you might find a good deal. I used these people: http://www.yachtbits.com/power_management/inverters/ As for galvanic isolators, I'm afraid they do vary in terms of what they can do. The unit I have will stop radio frequency interference from switch mode appliances causing its diodes to go into conduction up to 2.4v (most others will only do 1.2v which may not be sufficient to stop RFI). http://www.safeshoremarine.com/ Edited December 4, 2010 by blackrose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHutch Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 If you just want something small to run the odd phone charger, laptop fairy lights, whatever. Then prehaps you just want a 300w sort of size unit? - We've got a £30 maplins MSW inverter and it works a treat, pure sine wave versions are also available for only an amount more. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGMarine Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 If your using a generator for 240volt supply you need to ensure that a cheaper type charger will work from it. Some generators especialy the cheaper ones do not poduce very clean electric and may not power a cheaper charger. I know that victron inverter/chargers can be configured to run from a dirty/poor/weak electric supply. Just some thing else to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 (edited) If your using a generator for 240volt supply you need to ensure that a cheaper type charger will work from it. Some generators especialy the cheaper ones do not poduce very clean electric and may not power a cheaper charger. I know that victron inverter/chargers can be configured to run from a dirty/poor/weak electric supply. Just some thing else to think about. I may be wrong but thought it was the other way around - that in general more sophisticated equipment requires a better quality sinewave? Perhaps the configuration on the Victron you mention actually downgrades the charger? Edited December 4, 2010 by blackrose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 Shameful plug Linky Might be persuaded to go down a bit more on price. Biggles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGMarine Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 I may be wrong but thought it was the other way around - that in general more sophisticated equipment requires a better quality sinewave? Perhaps the configuration on the Victron you mention actually downgrades the charger? I believe that the cheaper equipment just does not give out pure electric or does not like poor electric. Just my experiences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 Hi, Will soon be in the market for an inverter and battery charger and not sure what to get. I know everyone raves about Sterling but theyre not exactly cheap. Do they? I would go Victron true signwave which I have or Mastervolt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGMarine Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 In my experience the best thing about sterling is the customer service. You get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 Sometimes shore line maybe, but mostly a silent genny. I am also aware that I'll need a galvanic isolator but I presume theyre pretty much a standard piece of kit. Why if you are not using a shore supply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankieboy Posted December 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 Shameful plug Linky Might be persuaded to go down a bit more on price. Biggles Unfortunately I'd need you to knock a 0 off the end of the price. Am sure its a good deal but way too much for what I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frangar Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I hope thats meant how I have taken it!...I really have no idea how they stay in business! Gareth In my experience the best thing about sterling is the customer service. You get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb Innisfree Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I hope thats meant how I have taken it!...I really have no idea how they stay in business! Gareth There's one born every minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I may be wrong but thought it was the other way around - that in general more sophisticated equipment requires a better quality sinewave? Perhaps the configuration on the Victron you mention actually downgrades the charger? You're not wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Featured Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now