When on inverter am I using the batteries?
When I'm parked, plugged into shore power and I'm plugged into the inverter outlet in the refrigerator compartment, is the electricity coming from the shoreline or from my batteries? I guess I'm as...
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There are a few inverter/chargers that allow dual 120 volt shore or generator sources to be used together, blending the power. These tend to be quite expensive. (3k and up). They tend to have all the bells and whistles.
One step down from that are inverter/chargers that allow load support, which may blend power from shore and battery bank.
On the second step down, there are some that will switch from shore to battery bank for starting up loads. It is unclear to me which are which.
A very few inverters are also solar charge controllers. I'd look closely at one of these for the future, if my current Magnum 3012 hybrid should fail (again).
There is a "new kid on the block" inverter from Magnum that uses grid tied inverters and a line voltage inverter to eliminate using a charge controller. Of course, it is intended for large installations--but would save about a thousand dollars on doing a solar install.
Finally there are plain Jane inverters.
Unless load support is a desired feature, it is better financially to have a good stand alone inverter mated to a good converter or battery charger.
Can anyone add to this list of inverter/charger types? (Please I'm truly interested, not trying to be a "smart ass")
One step down from that are inverter/chargers that allow load support, which may blend power from shore and battery bank.
On the second step down, there are some that will switch from shore to battery bank for starting up loads. It is unclear to me which are which.
A very few inverters are also solar charge controllers. I'd look closely at one of these for the future, if my current Magnum 3012 hybrid should fail (again).
There is a "new kid on the block" inverter from Magnum that uses grid tied inverters and a line voltage inverter to eliminate using a charge controller. Of course, it is intended for large installations--but would save about a thousand dollars on doing a solar install.
Finally there are plain Jane inverters.
Unless load support is a desired feature, it is better financially to have a good stand alone inverter mated to a good converter or battery charger.
Can anyone add to this list of inverter/charger types? (Please I'm truly interested, not trying to be a "smart ass")
