inverter question

[xxRaniz]

We were told to get a Pure sinne inverter to give Batteries longer life. We are wondering , before we put out the extra money , if this is something we should do? And what is the best wattage to go with?

[FormerBoater]

Your batteries are charged by the converter portion of the inverter. This is where the 120 V alternating current is converted to direct current which is available to charge your coach batteries.

Pure Sine Wave refers to the output of the inverter's alternating current (120 volt A/C).

Would not affect the charging capabilities for your batteries at all IMHO.

[Melmoses]

The big difference in Pure Sine Wave over MSW is life of appliances such as coffee pots, electric blankets, night lights, etc. A whole lot of electronics do not play well with MSW. I have been through 3 coffee pots, 1electric blanket and 2 night lights. I didn't know until I read the forum that MSW will burn out the brain of these and more. Now I am much more careful not to use certain things and I unplug as soon as I am finished. Wish I had a PSW inverter!!!!

[JFNM]

Originally Posted by xxRaniz

We were told to get a Pure sinne inverter to give Batteries longer life.

If you have ONLY an inverter (and not an inverter/converter (charger)) then I know of no reason this makes any sense. As FormerBoater said, having a quality 3-4 stage converter/charger will make a difference to your battery bank.

Originally Posted by xxRaniz

And what is the best wattage to go with?

Only you can answer this. You can either spend X dollars and be happy with the results or you can decide which items you want to run from the inverter, add up the power requirements, and then purchase the inverter that will meet your needs/desires.

[Rockwood27]

For planning purposes, you should have around 200 ah's of battery capacity for every 1000 watts of inverter. This could marginal, depending on how long you draw that 1 KW.

[J Birder]

Whether you need a pure sine wave (PSW) inverter, or can get by with a much less expensive modified sine wave (MSW) inverter depends on what you want to power with it.

Many devices with digital controls require PSW, and may even be destroyed by MSW. Examples are most modern electric blankets, coffee makers with timers, etc. Most televisions, microwaves, most devices with "power bricks." such as lap top computers, cell phone chargers, etc, and anything with no digital electronics will work just fine with MSW.

Joel

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Melmoses

The big difference in Pure Sine Wave over MSW is life of appliances such as coffee pots, electric blankets, night lights, etc. A whole lot of electronics do not play well with MSW. I have been through 3 coffee pots, 1electric blanket and 2 night lights. I didn't know until I read the forum that MSW will burn out the brain of these and more. Now I am much more careful not to use certain things and I unplug as soon as I am finished. Wish I had a PSW inverter!!!!

Totally agree! I would go with at least a 2000 watt!

[wa8yxm]

Originally Posted by xxRaniz

We were told to get a Pure sinne inverter to give Batteries longer life. We are wondering , before we put out the extra money , if this is something we should do? And what is the best wattage to go with?

For many years I thought PSW (pure sine wave) inverters were LESS efficient at converting Battery power to 120vac RMS but then I did research and learned I was wrong.. No significant difference. Both operate at efficiency rates that are so close to identical that only very senistive test gear can figure out which is worse and .... It can go either way.

HOWEVER there is another consideration that is very important.

Here is the list of things that will not work properly with an PSW inverter: Anything needing more power than it can produce.

That's the list Now for MSW inverters there is a much, much, longer list of things that MIGHT not work well.. First. the above item of course (Applies to all inverters)

Radios, Televisions, All manner of audio/video gear, Electric blankets, Night lights, Clocks, anything with a timer, Microwaves, all manner of electronics.

NOTE: Does not mean they WILL not work with an MSW.. Just means they MIGHT not.. But why take the chance?

What wattage.. TV and entainerment,, 500-1,000 watts

Add the Microwave, 1,500 watts, Add the GFCI chain, 2,000-3,000 watts. I'd not go bigger than that.

Mine is 2,000 PSW.

[TLGPE]

Our 2005 KSDP came with a Xantrex 2KW inverter. It has powered all of our appliances just fine. Digital coffee maker (Kruig), 46" LED TV, microwave, Samsung RF197 refrigerator, everything.


I don't see the problem.


Tom
YMMV

[dirko]

Hi Ho: Here's another possibility: We have a 2007 Tiffin Phaeton and wanted a RR (residential refrigerator), (which by the way is the best thing we have done for the coach). Many (if not most) RR do much better with a sin wave inverter. Because everything (except the microwave) runs just fine with the Modified sine wave inverter in the coach we just left it there and installed a 2000 watt sin wave inverter dedicated to the RR. Installation is very simple and total cost was under $1000. So now we have both.

By the way, even though the power consumption of the RR is only a couple of hundred watts a 1000 watt inverter is really not enough do to the required staring current for the compressor.

[xxRaniz]

The " Batteries " I was refering to are, cell phones, lap top and electronic brains . Thank You ALL !!!! I never got so many no nonsense answers to a question before!

[twinboat]

What you were told, I found true.

With a MSW inverter my cordless tools, cell phones and shaver took much longer to charge then when I eventually changed to a SW inverter.

No theory, just experience.