I have been doing a good amount of searching here about inverters, some are just inverters some are I/Chargers size from small to pretty big.I am going to step into the Inverter world in my Rebuilt 1161 Lance, some of you may be following my rebuild and THX.So please post your pros and cons in short easy to read paragraphs. Thank YOU for your interest! It will be helpful I am sure.

I've seen a couple combination charger/inverters too and decided on separates so if one dies, I only have to mess with it. I kind of also decided 800-1000 watts inverter or 3000 watts inverter are the sweet spots. I don't use AC or microwave dry camping, just the two 12 volt fantastic vents which move a lot of air and make hot days comfortable. All we need are computers, cameras, small devices so 800-1000 will fulfill our needs. If you want to run the AC or micro, hair dryer, coffee maker, etc... then get the 3000 watt inverter. A 2000 watt in my opinion falls into the too much, too little gap. Get a 1500 watt model if you're going to run power tools. I use battery powered tools so the 800-1000 watt model again will easily charge the batteries. A 3000 watt inverter means you will need about 4 group 31 or Trojan 125 or 105 batteries to support the current demand. I would also get a pure sine wave model. That's my answer and I sticking to it.

I have a 2000 watt inverter installed, but no easy way to use it other than walk outside and switch my house power cord to it. Even then, I have to remember to make sure my fridge isn't on Auto and my battery charger is unplugged. It works.Recently, I started using a small inverter for just the tv/dvd/computer as needed. I already had it. The net of that is that I only have to plug into the 12 volt plug. It's much simpler as you might expect and powers only what I need for AC.I've also bought two fast 12v chargers for the phones/tablets. My wife is all Apple, and I'm all Android. These really fast chargers mean I don't use AC for charging either. With the LED lights, I practically have power left over at the end of the weekend. :) I'm sure that will change when I have to run the furnace more, but an inverter won't help with that either.My advice is try a small inverter first.

Two things seldom mentioned but worth considering: 1) Idle power. If you leave it on all evening it will draw a certain amount of current just sitting there doing nothing. Some people only turn it on to run a specific thing, I like it more like at home. Sine wave inverters typically have more idle power than square wave, some of them as much as 4 amps. Look at the specification for idle power. 2) Noise. I would not have thought this would be a problem, but the Prosine 2.0 that I had turned on its fan, at odd times too. Middle of the night when nothing was drawing power for example. Loud enough to hear for sure. The Magnum Energy square wave I have now in the camper makes a whining sound all the time. More when you are drawing more power. "Yep, that's what they do" says Magnum tech support. I cannot sleep with it on (like to charge the computer overnight), too loud. Nobody seems to spec noise.In both of those respects the Mastervolt I have on the boat is the best: very quiet and very low idle power in a true sine wave converter. They are costly though.

HI,I would recommend a small inverter. Something in the 150 - 300 watt range will be really energy efficient. I rarely use my 1500 watt inverter, and when I used it for cooking in the microwave, the microwave never cooked as quickly again, so I had to replace it. WHen watching TV with my 1500 watt inverter, the draw from the battery might be 6-8 amps, while plugging in the 150 watt inverter and shut off the big one, the amps will drop about 2 amps. I have 4 golf cart batteries, 67 pounds each, or around 300 pounds including the larger wires. WIth a camper, I would only recommend a pair of batteries. I had one under the hood of my gas F-350 and did not have one inside the camper. This helps bring more weight over the front axle, but there is not room with a diesel engine (that has dual batteries to start the engine). You might have space for a max of 2 batteries? That limits you to storing about 1,500 watts, and if you want the battery to last more than 3 years, do not discharge them below about 50%, so about 750 watts before recharging.I have a 400 watt solar system, and it can make up 120 amp hours daily. I would recommend at least a 140 watt panel, you will not need nearly as much battery capacity if the solar is making up for the power consumed during the day. Your propane leak detector, CO meter and refrigerator will use about 1.2 amps all day and night, or around 35 AH daily. This is your 'base' load, before any other lights, pump, furnace ect, are added to that load. One 140 watt panel can make around 35 -45 AH daily, in full sun. It will also shade part of your roof, so it will be slightly cooler inside. Also I run my fantastic fans (3) so it is usually cool in my RV!SunElec.com sells a 140 watt 12 volt nominal panel for around $229. Add a PWM controller, and some #10 UV rated grey romex from HOme Depot, you have a system. Mount it to the roof with 6" long brackets - 2" angle aluminum with 3 holes 3/16" for #10 screws into the roof, and 5/16" hole for the 1/4" bolt into the panel frame. (do not buy home style frameless panels). This will mount the panel about 1" above the roof, for cooling air under it, and will increase output when cooler.Good luck,Fred.

INVERTER opinions PROS CONS | Good Sam Community

pjay9
Explorer
Sep 02, 2015
I am using an ATS and a sub panel, which will hold the house plugs and microwave circuits. The ATS tells the inverter if there is shore or genset power and allows the current to go to the plugs and micro...by having the sub panel the refer and Converter charger are not on the inverter circuit This is a passive system...no mistakes and refer selects what it wants and cannot access the batts unless I select DC on the refer and the Con Charger cannot try to charge the batts using the batts. that is why the ATS!! The 12v panel stays the same no matter. So no matter where I plug in a laptop or TV or hairdryer I will have power either thru the shore or Genset or Inverter..SWEET!!!
fpoole
Explorer
Sep 01, 2015
kerry4951 wrote:
I installed a Xantrex ProWatt 1000 and I installed 4 separate designated outlets direct from the inverter (2 in cabover and 2 in living area). They are brown outlets with brown covers. The shore power outlets in the RV are all white. When we are on inverter power we know to use the brown outlets. When we are on shore power we use the white outlets. Maybe more work than what most want to do but it works for me, and especially my wife as it makes things simple for her.

Question:
I'm going to get the Xantrex 1000, (for tV/player/DISH box) but it only has 2 plug outlets and I'm let to believe that the unit needs to be right near the battery due to cables.

What did you do to get 4 plugs and how did you run them from unit assumed in the battery area, to the 2 different locations. I can see like an extension cord, but are you wiring it behind the panels? or ?

Also, the color coding, if I had the "auto switch", would I need to worry about the color coding as the switch would change it from one to the other.

Just a Wandering Mind, That Wants to Know.. heheh,
Thanks..
sleepy
Explorer
Sep 01, 2015
pjay9 wrote:
I ordered from Best Converter today: PST -2000 12 Pure Sine, 30 Amp ATS, Trimetrix 2030RV and 500 Amp Shunt plus a 300 Amp fuse. Getting breaker box and cable locally.

T think you have made wise choices,,,, now for some solar....

I like your thinking.

Chet
pjay9
Explorer
Sep 01, 2015
I ordered from Best Converter today: PST -2000 12 Pure Sine, 30 Amp ATS, Trimetrix 2030RV and 500 Amp Shunt plus a 300 Amp fuse. Getting breaker box and cable locally.
pjay9
Explorer
Sep 01, 2015
The decision has been made...will order everything in the morning from Best Converter in Boise...chatted with Randy briefly today and put things together. Will post what I get tomorrow. Thx folks for your comments and experiences.
Freedom_49
Explorer
Aug 30, 2015
I am assuming your truly need an inverter? So much runs off DC now that I wish I didn't have one.
kerry4951
Explorer
Aug 30, 2015
bighatnohorse wrote:
kerry4951 wrote:
I installed a Xantrex ProWatt 1000 . . .

Does that Xantrex 1000 have a cooling fan? How quiet is it?

I never hear it running. According to the specs it has a thermostatically controlled cooling fan. I will tell you that it works great and its stowed in an area with little air circulation and never had a problem with it.
bighatnohorse
Explorer II
Aug 30, 2015
kerry4951 wrote:
I installed a Xantrex ProWatt 1000 . . .

Does that Xantrex 1000 have a cooling fan? How quiet is it?
kerry4951
Explorer
Aug 30, 2015
I installed a Xantrex ProWatt 1000 and I installed 4 separate designated outlets direct from the inverter (2 in cabover and 2 in living area). They are brown outlets with brown covers. The shore power outlets in the RV are all white. When we are on inverter power we know to use the brown outlets. When we are on shore power we use the white outlets. Maybe more work than what most want to do but it works for me, and especially my wife as it makes things simple for her.
valhalla360
Navigator
Aug 30, 2015
donn0128 wrote:
Inverter is only one step, and not the first one. Need, power, then inverter.
Need= what and for how long are you going to operate it.
Power= sufficient batteries to supply your need.
Inverter= sufficient size to run the "needs" listed above.
Of course there is one item still missing, replenishing the power consumed?

Bingo!!!!

If you just want to watch the news each evening a little 100-150watt inverter plugged into a cigarette lighter to run your TV is probably fine.

If you want to run the microwave, you need more wattage.
If you want to run an expensive high end sterio, you better be looking at the quality of the power real hard.

What are you trying to accomplish?

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