Inverter charger

[bigcol]

Hi there

 

just seen these on eBay, I know there's a few Chinese cheap ones arround

and most things are made in china

but has anyone bought one of these??

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3500W-5000W-Power-Inverter-Charger-Pure-Sine-Wave-for-motorhome-caravan-boat/222515602041?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D43783%26meid%3D4f39cd7311d74263bfc9a1758c178819%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D222515601629

[Psycloud]

I have been looking at the Volt Polska range and also wondering if they are good quality.

Edit: the 12v ones only go up to 700w.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Psycloud

[mross]

You would be putting all your eggs in one basket; if it blew up you would have no solar, no battery charger and no inverter.  But that's your choice!

Edited June 16, 2017 by mross

[WotEver]

Unless I'm misreading the spec it's also only a 700W inverter, assuming a 12V boat.  

[Psycloud]

37 minutes ago, mross said:

You would be putting all your eggs in one basket; if it blew up you would have no solar, no battery charger and no inverter.  But that's your choice!

Victron do one for £1150 (1600w).  Would that be any better do you think? https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-EasySolar-1600VA-EN.pdf

 

[mross]

My brother's Mastervolt combi blew up and he lost all the 230V sockets in the boat, even on shore power.  I sometimes think these multis are getting too complicated.  But that Victron seems to give you a lot for the money.  Is 1600VA enough?  It wont give you 1600W unless all your loads are resistive.  I would go for Mastervolt, Sterling or Victron as they are well known and have agents in the UK.

[jddevel]

8 hours ago, Psycloud said:

Victron do one for £1150 (1600w).  Would that be any better do you think? https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-EasySolar-1600VA-EN.pdf

 

Bought my Victron 3000 pure sine wave from Paul Hands  at Evesham Marina chandlery. Good deal and excellent service.

[stegra]

I've been considering this product for a while now. They're a little bit cheaper on the company's own website but considerably less in Poland. I happen to have a ex-girlfriend who's Polish and happy to source it for me if Sterling hasn't made that idea defunct by the time I get to purchasing.

Although I share with "all eggs in one basket" concern, I rather like the fact that everything is built to work together. The unit switches to the required mode as necessary. It works as an uninterruptible power supply so can switch to battery power when mains is unavailable and switch on the generator when needed to maintain the batteries. I suspect there could be a few issues in this regard with separate units.

From my own perspective the 20A charger is rather low. I'm going with electric drive and will have around 500Ah (48v) battery bank. In good light the solar and a fully charged bank should provide ample for cruising but in poor light with a partially charged bank, the 20A (48v) will likely to be found wanting... Of a downstream route and tailwind! However, it will certainly reduce my generator requirements.