Replacement for Xantrex RS 2000

[Traveling Raven]

Our charger in the RS 2000 stopped working. After trouble shooting Xantrex Tech's determined it needed to be replaced, everyone knows these are not repairable. Xantrex has a new model the Freedom WS3000 that we chose after some research. One issue for those of us that had the RS2000 installed horizontally is the new model cannot be mounted horizontally due to the location of the cooling fans. In my case we added a slide out tray in that bay which meant we could not install the new inverter in the same location vertically becasue we did not leave enough room. Due to the bay heater and surge guard along with water and gas lines we needed to find an new location for the inverter. We chose to put a shelf in the last passenger side bay and installed the new inverter on that shelf. Southeast Power Systems in Orlando FL did a great job and the charges were very fair. Buck was my contact and Mike was the installer both were very helpful in the entire process.

[bcbowers]

I took a look at the Freedom SW 3000 on the Xantrex web site and have a question.

What do you use for remote control & monitor? The SW 3000 doesn't appear to support the "Remote Control Panel" that came with the Freedom 458 and supposedly compatible with the RS 3000.

[Wayne R]

I took a look and it appears the control panel and auto gen start from an RS2000 is the same. I also read through the installation manual an hanging it to the ceiling is an acceptable orientation. This hopefully could end up a plug and play swap. I am sure my 5 year old RS2000 will bite me soon. It has worked flawless so far.

[bcbowers]

Ah! I was looking at the SW 2000 installation manual that doesn't identify the Xanbus feature whereas the SW 3000 does.

Does all of the original cabling support 3000 watt units? Are the cable sizes adequate for the increased power? I'm assuming they are since some people seemed to have previously upgraded to the RS 3000 and no posts declaring related problems (other than unit failures).

[Wayne R]

I would think the supply wiring would be adequate but it would need to be verified.

[bcbowers]

The original Freedom 458 manual (2000 Watts) stipulates a minimum DC cable size of 2/0 AWG.

The Freedom SW 3000 manual stipulates a minimum DC cable size of 4/0 AWG.

The electrical diagrams within my coach manual identifies the original Inverter/Charger DC cabling as being 2/0 AWG.

Seems like a slight risk involved if a 3000 Watt upgrade is performed and the original cables are not also upgraded to 4/0 AWG. Could the use of the original 2/0 AWG cables potentially cause problems for a 3000 Watt unit over? If not immediately, over time?

[Wayne R]

My 05 WRV wiring digram says 2/0 and the RS2000 installation manual says 4/0 minimum. When WRV upgraded to the RS2000 they must have went to 4/0 I did a quick check could not find the wire size. Mine is .750 inches in diameter welding cable(very flexible).

[Traveling Raven]

bcbowers and Wayne R I'll try to answer your questions. I had an RS2000 and the remote, monitor, and AGS all were compatible with the WS3000.
Yes, it can be hung from the ceiling but in my case I have Hydro Hot heat and the bay register, lines and the surge guard made that an issue. The installer was concerned that the heat blowing on the inverter could cause an overheating of the inverter. If you do not a tray slide in that bay I think it could be mounted vertically in the same location. We used the original cables and wires. As for the 2/0 AWG cables you would have to check with Xantrex or an electrician.

2006 40 FDQS Alpine Limited

[Wayne R]

Traveling Raven, thanks for the reply. I actually suspended mine between the frame rails on aluminum angle stock desk top style with the bottom being wide open to the air and it least 4 inches to the ceiling. It runs much cooler than it did mounted on the cargo bay wall. The fans actually cycle on and off as opposed to be on all the time. As to the HH heater in the bay it only comes on at temps below 38 degrees so not really an issue. I will attempt to put a replacement in the same area when the time comes.

I too have a full width slide tray so the sidewall mount had to go.

[Old Rv'er]

All - cabling - the a/c amp load on the appliances you are using has not changed, so the cabling presently installed will be fine with the new inverter. Cabling sizes are rated in amps and so that won’t change from the A/C output side of the unit.

I did notice that the charging output is 150A now so that makes a difference on the cabling to the batteries if it ever tries’s to charge at that rate. It should however; balance the charging output based on the temperature of the batteries, and that will limit how many amps it will output to those batteries because if they get to hot, it would warp the plates, and cause other problems. If the temp sensor goes out, it won’t charge the batteries at all. However, it might make a difference if the charging output was real high like over the 100A range. Currently, I have seen 90-95A charging output on my RS-2000 at times. The old RS 3000's I don't think had 150A charging output, but cannot remember for sure.

The difference is now the inverter will handle a total output of 3000 watts, and a/c's are the only thing I can think of right off which would use close to that power to start, that is if you were going to run both of them. Since they are not in the inverter wiring scheme, nothing is going to change. Oh, you might come close if the dryer was running (not in the inverter circuit) the hydro hot electric element was running (not sure about this one) and only a few circuits are in the inverter output circuit anyway, so I just don’t think it’s an issue. Check your inverted circuit panel to see what devices are/is tied to it, and it should be near the regular A/C circuit panel, if yours is sort of like mine.

FWIW-Freedom purchased Xantrex a couple of years ago, so some consolidation was expected, but I did not think they would eliminate the Xantrex line. Freedom may be component replaceable, in which case new card/parts can be installed to keep them going, unlike the Xantrex which are not repairable. I would look into a Magnum brand also if I have to change it out, although I don’t know about the Xanabus network scheme, and us APEX owners have to worry about the silverleaf stuff as well.

NOTE THIS Recall:

[Basil Shannon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Rv'er FWIW-Freedom purchased Xantrex a couple of years ago, so some consolidation was expected, but I did not think they would eliminate the Xantrex line. Freedom may be component replaceable, in which case new card/parts can be installed to keep them going, unlike the Xantrex which are not repairable. I would look into a Magnum brand also if I have to change it out, although I don’t know about the Xanabus network scheme, and us APEX owners have to worry about the silverleaf stuff as well. NOTE THIS Recall:

I recently replaced my Xantrex RS2000 With a Magnum MS2812 2800 Watt pure sine wave unit and got AGM batteries and all new cables to go with it. Since Freedom has not been very cooprative with Silverleaf, they have not been able to write useable code for their inverters so far.They do have code and a new interface box for the Magnum which works well.
The Magnum is repairable.

When I removed the RS2000 I noticed that WRV had installed it touching the frame which blocked the air vent in the back of the inverter. Dumb! Wonder why all the failures.

[Old Rv'er]

Basil, mine is located on the driver’s side aft of the large smart bed. I am going to assume since yours is an APEX we are similar. Tomorrow, if I can get my neck working right (sprained it last night) I will try to look up and see with my inspection mirror if my inverter is located the same as yours. Then I will know if the fans are blocked. Mine sits on a support bracket and it appears (having not inspected it yet) that it's fairly open on all sides. I have heard good things about the magnum, how was it to get the silverleaf to work with it? I’m sure I could replace the inverter/charger; it's not knowing how the software interfaces with the SL I would be worrying about. I wonder if it's something I could do myself?

[Basil Shannon]

On my 2006 Apex 40' FDQS, the inverter is in the service bay above the Hydro-Hot. The inverter is on a shelf bolted to the frame and is mounted so that the rear is pushed up against the frame, blocking the cooling air outlet. There was a pattern of dirt on the frame where the air had been blowing on it. I mounted the Magnum about 2" away from the frame.

As for Silverleaf, it is necessary to add an interface box next to the inverter and reprogram the box in the tank bay, the box behind the TV and the dash unit.

[Old Rv'er]

Thank you Basil, it sounds more involved than I thought, however, I worked in the Computer industry for over 15 years, so I think installing the box (when it is needed) won’t be a large problem. I will have to wait and see. Once my neck allows me to look up, I will check the inverter, and based on your description it sounds very similar to mine, wonder if I can move it out a tad?