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Xantrex ProWatt SW 2000 Watt Inverter


JEssary

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The optional 2000 watt onboard inverter is a great option to have if you like to get off-grid or even if you have a lengthy drive to get where you are going. The way the optional on-board inverter works is by taking battery (DC) power and converting it over to (AC) 110 power. It is tied to the campers 110 receptacles and microwave to provide power for use when a shore connection isn’t available. However, the inverter does depend on the battery power and it can only provide up to about 15 – 16 amps of power at a single time. This means that if the battery power is too low then some of the more high power consuming devices/appliances may not work properly or simply overload the inverter and cause it to shut down.

 

There are many different appliances out on the market that range from low power consumption to high power consumption and this is important when purchasing these items for use with the inverter option. Hair dryers are a great example of an appliance that demands a lot of power, but also have a broad range of rating. They typically range from 800-1800 watts. While an 1800 watt hair dryer might be the best choice for your house, it will likely require more power than you might want in your camper, especially when running on the inverter. Another example of high power consumption is the microwave. It uses 12 amps, which is getting close to the 15-16 amp max for the inverter. Just keep this in mind when running the microwave as turning on another appliance at the same time might cause the inverter to shut down.

 

What does the inverter need to work properly? The inverter is 100% dependent on the battery bank power, so be sure that the batteries are always charged up and ready for use if you plan to use the inverter. When purchasing the inverter option it is crucial that you also get the solar package or some form of charging solution so it can keep the batteries charged up and ready to go. The battery bank on the camper also needs to be able to hold enough power to supply the power demand from the inverter and appliances connected. The optional 6V AGM batteries can provide about 200-250 amp hours which is a substantial increase from the standard 12v batteries. The lower the battery voltage, the less likely the inverter will be able to sustain the power needs of the appliances in use. Also keep in mind that over time your batteries age and lose the ability to hold as much power as they did when they were new. This will also start to impact what you can run on the inverter as well as how long it will run on the inverter.

 

The conversion rate from DC power to AC power is also important to know as this will change the rate at which the batteries can provide power to the inverter and the rest of the camper. If the microwave pulls 12 amps of AC power then it will use about 122 amps when using the inverter and battery bank. What this means is that it is draining your 200 useful battery bank amps rather quickly. However, most people don’t run their microwave but for short periods of time so this high power consumption shouldn’t create a problem. What might cause a problem would be running an appliance like a space heater on the inverter as you might leave it running over a longer period of time and it would eventually drain the battery bank down low enough where the inverter would shut down.

 

The inverter is a great option to have if you think you will be camping off-grid with the solar panel package and without shore power or even if you just want to pull over for a quick break to heat up something in the microwave while traveling to your next camping destination!

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Jason D. Essary

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  • 4 months later...

I have a question about the ProWatt SW. I guess that I failed to ask the question or I have already forgotton the answer during delivery of 412 on December 10.  So here it goes. In what circumstances,  do I turn the ProWatt Inverter on?  A previous post said the below.

 

 

 

"The inverter is a great option to have if you think you will be camping off-grid with the solar panel package and without shore power or even if you just want to pull over for a quick break to heat up something in the microwave while traveling to your next camping destination!" Jason Essary

 

So, does it stay off rest of the time?

 

 

 

 

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For what its worth, I keep my inverter OFF except for when I specifically need to - primarily to power the microwave for popcorn.  This is because even when the inverter is not being used but is in the ON position, it will draw a bit of power.  There is no reason to "waste" this power (read battery resources) if there is no immediately need for 110 volts.

 

Bill

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According to the manufactures website, the inverter draws <.8 A at no load.

 

For easy math lets call it a 1 Amp hour draw or a 10W idle load.  Leave it on constantly and it's going to draw 24 Amp hours per day just doing nothing.

 

What is the usable Amp hour capacity on an Elite I battery bank?  I'm not sure.  With two six volt AGM batteries I believe it would be 200 usable Amp hours.  If that's true (and it could be wrong) leaving the inverter on will use up the usable capacity of the batteries in eight days.  On the ninth day you'd be drawing down the batteries lower than designed and potentially start damaging them.

 

Get in the habit of turning off the inverter when you're not using it.  You might avoid damaging the batteries by accidentally over discharging them.

 

HTH, Ken

 

 

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My microwave draws 75 amps through the big inverter power cable, measured with a clamp-on inductive amp meter.

 

The inverter - AKA the "Battery Killer"-  is definitely a luxury item that you need to use very wisely so that you have plenty of time to recharge your batteries. Don't cook a bunch of 6 minute TV dinners on High just before dark. Do them while the sun is brightly shining on your panels, and cook outdoors on a grill in the evening.

 

Even a dinky little 110 VAC ventilation fan is going to suck maybe 10 amps DC out of y0ur house batteries. It really makes sense to switch to efficient 12V DC marine appliances where possible. This is on my Christmas Wish List: ... https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01LDY4TE4/?coliid=I14ORXBQ0IDTF1&colid=1X5H11EH41351&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

to replace this: .... https://www.amazon.com/Vornado-CR1-0253-43-Small-Whole-Circulator/dp/B01BF3XYMQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1544728555&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=vornado+fan&psc=1

 

The Vornado is a terrific fan but it is a real power sucker when run through the inverter.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

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Just went and checked the drawl of the inverter with no other drawl. Normally during boondocking I'll have the inverter on all day running a laptop and other little things and still get 100% state of charge by 2-3pm in full sunshine. Once again unless you have a way of monitoring your batteries you have not a clue.

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I've found that our (non standard) inverter draws around 2 amps with no load.  That's higher than than the Xantrex but we knew that going in.  It's also slightly higher than the advertised draw of 1.7, so there's possibly some measurement error there.

 

Even at the higher draw rate, we don't worry too much about it.  Like the advice above, we turn it off when we aren't using it, but 2 amps isn't enough to make us shy about using it.  We turn it on in the morning for coffee, and at night for the toaster oven and the hair dryer, and also for music, since we decided to go with a 120v speaker for that.

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