Inverter

I have an AIMS PWRIX120012S sine wave inverter that I installed spring 2017 to power my new residential refrigerator. During our last camping trip this fall, the inverter stopped providing 120 volt power. After returning home, I called AIMS technical support and confirmed that at 15 months, my warranty was done. The tech suggested that I open the unit up and check the internal fuses myself as this would no longer invalidate my already expired 12 month warranty. What I found was that the fuses were all good. However, I observed that a "daughter" circuit board mounted perpendicular to the "main" or "mother" board had torched spectacularly leaving a good soot trail. I am now planning on replacing the AIMS with a SAMLEX sine wave inverter this coming spring.

RoyB wrote:


I also have the 1500WATT AIMS POWER Inverter. The biggest problem I have is the RFI noise generated when being used. Interfere with my HAM RADIO big time on certain frequencies...

Is that RFI generator a MSW type inverter.. I'm on my second TSW or PSW if you like inverter Xantrex prosine 2000 and Freedom 2000 xc

My TS-2000 can not tell if they are on/off/standby/inverting/sitting there doign nothign/charging the battery/working/not.

THey simply do not show up.

The amount of energy needed to run the inverter is negligible compared to the 1200 watts of load.

I agree with others on the AIMS model probably being not built as good as the other inverters... however I have been using their 600WATT PSW Power Inverter that sold for $159 when I got it several years ago. It is still going just great for me. This is my 'duty' always ON Power inverter haha...

I also have the 1500WATT AIMS POWER Inverter. The biggest problem I have is the RFI noise generated when being used. Interfere with my HAM RADIO big time on certain frequencies... If I move the Power Inverter back away from the trailer then the extension cord plugged into the power inverter acts like an antenna haha... The better built Power Inverters probably have a better RFI noise suppression circuits...

You can get an idea on how much DC Current to expect the units to draw by dividing the wattage load by 12.3VDC... i.e. your 2000watt load will draw around 162AMPS DC Current plus an additional loss built-in to the Power Inverter. Drawing the 162 DC AMPS will take a pretty good battery bank if you want to run it for several hours... In my case my three 12VDC 85AH batteries will go down to the 50% charge state when I only draw around 20-23AMPS DC CURRENT during the evening from 6PM to 11PM along with the parasitic power drain of 1 AMP DC Current for other connected small loads 24/7. This gets me through the night but the next morning during breakfast I will run my 2KW Generator and recharge my battery bank back up to its 90% charge state which takes around three hours of generator run time. I can do this routine a good 10-12 times without doing any harm to my battery bank. After that however I need to do a full 100% charge rate which tales several hours to finish so that usually when I head back to home base and do my 100% charge state there.

My success is to closly watch my 12VDC line voltage and never let it get down below 12.0VDC which is approximately down to the 50% charge state. When it drops down to this state I stop loading down the batteries until I get them charged back up to at least their 90% charge state again...

Hard for me to run my 2kw generator for 10-12 hours when camping off grid hehe...

This is my standard routine when camping off-grid with my setup... Been doing this since the 2009 time frame and just a couple a seasons back my batteries final gave up the ghost and will not hold a good load anymore. Pretty good after being installed in 2008... Got a new battery bank in the process now...

This is my battery bank to run my 600WATT PSW always ON Power Inverter setup when camping off-grid ... Can't imagine what I would need to have to run a 2000WATT PSW Power Inverter setup...


Roy's image

My camping off-grid story... It will take some planning for you. Doubt you won't do very well just showing up with a couple of batteries and expect to work for any length of time...

Roy Ken

At any given load there should be little. if any, difference. the big difference is the 3KW can both draw more amps and power more stuff at the same time if you load it down.. Also I suspect that if I were to replace my 2K with a 3K and make NO OTHER CHANGES the 3K would last longer due to never running at full output.

I just purchased the 3000 watt

Aims inverter


Thank you all for the input

I also went back and forth between 2000 watt or 3000 watt. I finally settled for 3000 watt, i only need 2000 watt but i shouldn't have any problems with heat. Every thing inside is overbuilt for my purpose.
Go Power 3000 Watt

It doesn’t matter! The size, capacity, number etc. of batteries, inverter, generator, solar panels, solar controller etc. are all determined by your energy use survey. Find what you use or might use. Up it by 50% or so and go forth purchasing what you need.

If you're looking that big in wattage, look at 24v or 48v battery configurations. The wiring is so much easier.

If you don't have enough batteries to run 48v, you don't have enough batteries for a 2000-3000 watt inverter, jmho

For the same brand not much diff in inverter efficiency curves between a 2000 and 3000.

I have this one, and am very pleased with it. You can get its remote on/off switch as an option (recommended for if inverter is not where you can get at it easily from inside the RV).

In all cases, you save battery by only turning the inverter on when using it and shutting it off otherwise. Better for battery to not leave it on in standby for most of the day when not using it.

https://www.amazon.com/PowerMax-PMX-2000-Pure-Sine-Inverter/dp/B07DQTW1SW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1545097226&sr=8-4&keywords=powermax+inverter