Xantrex Noise

[Fritz]

Have any of you experienced objectionable noise with the Xantrex 3000 inverter?  When plugged in to shore power, the continuous sound level from the fan is about 60-64 decibels in the cabin when batteries are charging, and about 72 decibels adjacent to the inverter.  Once the batteries are charged, the inverter fan comes on about every 15 minutes for a minute or so.  It is an unpleasant (IMO) drone/whine, and appears to reverberate between the hulls.  Have any of you experienced something similar?  Is this normal?  Thanks!

[SeaDawg]

Fritz, we have a xantrex 2000 on the boat. It is not noisy, at all. We have progressive dynamics in the Ollie. No sound, either. It's under the small dinette seat,  so I  don't even hear the fan unless the lid is open.

How is yours mounted?

I'd open a service ticket,  if I were you.

 

[Fritz]

Thank you, SeaDawg.  I did open a ticket about 2 weeks ago; Jason said he would explore the noisy fan with Xantrex.  I'm just wondering if this is an isolated problem, or if others (especially those with the lithium package and 3000W inverters) experience excess noise.

Just checked the periodic maintenance-charging noise level (i.e., periodic charging when batteries are full and the fan kicks on about every 15 minutes fo a minute): it's about 50 dB.  

 

[SeaDawg]

50 db is pretty quiet . Like quiet conersation. But pretty loud for a fan.

I know you get it, but for others reading this, db ratings increase exponentially, not linear. 

[BlueHighways]

On the qualitative scale, our 3000 is “noticeable” but I don’t think about it until it shuts off.

[johnwen]

My visit to the Oliver showroom was a couple of months ago and I was indeed distracted by the x3000 fan noise.  The staff had used the ollie over the weekend for an office/workspace and the batteries were run down quite a bit.  Upon hooking to shore power the inverter started doing it's thing to charge the lithium batteries.  I tracked down a salesperson to ask about the noise and it was the first time they had noticed and were going to investigate but we left before hearing the outcome.  I hope it's not a common occurrence, I think it would be a deal breaker for us.

[Overland]

It might be hit and miss on the fan noise, if Xantrex quality control isn't excellent.  When we saw our first Ollie at the factory, one of the trailers had an inverter that made an awful high pitched squeal, which our tour guide couldn't hear, but would have driven me crazy in no time.  But I've since read similar complaints about Victron inverters, so I really do think that just some units make noise and some don't.  Thankfully, ours doesn't, and even at full tilt, I have to be paying attention to hear even the fan.  

[katanapilot]

Just turn on the Dometic Penguin a/c. You won’t hear anything, including an oncoming tornado.

Sorry, couldn’t resist 😉

[Ray and Susan Huff]

Our Xantrex 3000 inverter does the fan kicking on every 15 min or so, like the OP reports, running for a few minutes when hooked to shore power.  I asked Jason if this is normal and he says it is.  Whether the noise level is as high as yours, I can't say.  It isn't bad, but annoying, especially after we settle in for the night.  I've thought about unplugging shore power at night.

That being said, we have a new Xantrex 3000 waiting to be installed.  The original inverter that was part of the Lithium Pro Pkg  would not communicate with the remote panel (consistently).  An attempted firmware update did not fix the problem; thus, Xantrex decided the inverter had a bad communication board.

Oliver sent us a replacement which Jason will walk us through installing so we can be fully functional, in regards to power.  We'll see if the new inverter fan does the same.

[johnwen]

2 hours ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

Our Xantrex 3000 inverter does the fan kicking on every 15 min or so, like the OP reports, running for a few minutes when hooked to shore power.  I asked Jason if this is normal and he says it is.  Whether the noise level is as high as yours, I can't say.  It isn't bad, but annoying, especially after we settle in for the night.  I've thought about unplugging shore power at night.

That being said, we have a new Xantrex 3000 waiting to be installed.  The original inverter that was part of the Lithium Pro Pkg  would not communicate with the remote panel (consistently).  An attempted firmware update did not fix the problem; thus, Xantrex decided the inverter had a bad communication board.

Oliver sent us a replacement which Jason will walk us through installing so we can be fully functional, in regards to power.  We'll see if the new inverter fan does the same.

Thanks Ray and Susan.  I'm interested in the comparison.  Good luck with with the swap-out 🙂

[Ray and Susan Huff]

Removal and replacement went well.  The biggest problem was the removal and mounting, as the screws were difficult to reach.  We dropped two while reinstalling, but were able to retrieve them.

The new inverter is working as it should - charging when on shore power, transferring from grid to battery mode, and powering up on 12v.  There is with no problem with communication between the inverter and the remote panel.  I tested the outlets and all are supplying inverted and AC power.  I did have to program the inverter for lithium batteries, as it came with default settings, which are for flooded batteries.  Oliver gave us the settings, which are easy to change.

I haven't had the opportunity to compare the new inverter to the old, in regards to fan noise, though I suspect it will be the same.  According to the Xantrex manual and Jason at Oliver, the fan cycling is normal; the fact that the inverter is basically installed inside a drum most likely amplifies the noise level.  The only work-around I have found to this annoyance while sleeping is to disconnect shore power at night as it seems the fan cycling on and off coincides with the charging function.  Also, possibly when there is a high electrical load, though we haven't tested that theory yet.  With the lithium/solar pkg, we can go the night without shore power and only lose a tenth or two of battery charge, assuming the AC or other high draw appliances (such as an electric space heater) are not being used. 

 

[John C Marsh Jr]

I’ve noticed the fan cycles more in hot weather.  Seems normal.

What bothers me, when plugged in and charging, is the loud relay switch changing on and off every fifteen seconds.  Raises havoc with the fridge that changes from AC to propane every fifteen seconds.
IS THIS NORMAL BEHAVIOR? 

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, John M said:

I’ve noticed the fan cycles more in hot weather.  Seems normal.

What bothers me, when plugged in and charging, is the loud relay switch changing on and off every fifteen seconds.  Raises havoc with the fridge that changes from AC to propane every fifteen seconds.
IS THIS NORMAL BEHAVIOR? 

No!  Not sure what could be causing that.  Our fridge always stays on AC when plugged in and propane when not.  No switching between the two.    Does the fridge switching match the inverter relay?  Maybe one of our electrically smart owners will weigh in.  Mike

[Overland]

I agree with Mike - that's a strange behavior.  Does the Xantrex log error codes that can be checked?

[topgun2]

I'm with Mike (and Overland) on this one and do the same as Mike does with the fridge.  I've never noticed ANY noise coming from the charger.

Bill

[dewdev]

A friend of mine has a 2018 Oliver Elite II with the Xantrex 2000. His Xantrex fan comes on very often at might when he is plugged into electricity (even though the batteries are charged) and the noize bothers him. At night he turns off the power breaker to the Xantrex so he does not hear the noise.

[Jim_Oker]

26 minutes ago, dewdev said:

His Xantrex fan comes on very often at might when he is plugged into electricity

I find mine does this, and rather loudly, when plugged in and when the batteries are not wildly full. I think this is happening during the bulk charging stage and the charger w/in the inverter unit has a lot of current flowing through and so gets hotter and needs more cooling, though I haven't carefully documented at which SOC and battery voltage the fan does versus doesn't do its jet aircraft impersonation.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

14 hours ago, John M said:

I’ve noticed the fan cycles more in hot weather.  Seems normal.

What bothers me, when plugged in and charging, is the loud relay switch changing on and off every fifteen seconds.  Raises havoc with the fridge that changes from AC to propane every fifteen seconds.
IS THIS NORMAL BEHAVIOR? 

 

14 hours ago, John M said:

I’ve noticed the fan cycles more in hot weather.  Seems normal.

What bothers me, when plugged in and charging, is the loud relay switch changing on and off every fifteen seconds.  Raises havoc with the fridge that changes from AC to propane every fifteen seconds.
IS THIS NORMAL BEHAVIOR? 

You must be running the fridge on Auto . . . . . ??  Running the fridge on propane would eleviate that problem.  Fridge on LP does not use that much propane.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

On 6/3/2021 at 6:49 PM, Fritz said:

Thank you, SeaDawg.  I did open a ticket about 2 weeks ago; Jason said he would explore the noisy fan with Xantrex.  I'm just wondering if this is an isolated problem, or if others (especially those with the lithium package and 3000W inverters) experience excess noise.

Just checked the periodic maintenance-charging noise level (i.e., periodic charging when batteries are full and the fan kicks on about every 15 minutes fo a minute): it's about 50 dB.  

 

I'm not sure of the dB level, but our inverter fan cycles like that (lithium package).  It is very annoying, especially at night.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

7 hours ago, dewdev said:

A friend of mine has a 2018 Oliver Elite II with the Xantrex 2000. His Xantrex fan comes on very often at might when he is plugged into electricity (even though the batteries are charged) and the noize bothers him. At night he turns off the power breaker to the Xantrex so he does not hear the noise.

I'm curious to hear what Oliver says about this . . . . . and a possible solution.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

6 hours ago, Jim_Oker said:

I find mine does this, and rather loudly, when plugged in and when the batteries are not wildly full. I think this is happening during the bulk charging stage and the charger w/in the inverter unit has a lot of current flowing through and so gets hotter and needs more cooling, though I haven't carefully documented at which SOC and battery voltage the fan does versus doesn't do its jet aircraft impersonation.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one annoyed by this.  Our previous RV had a 1000w inverter, but a separate charger, which must be whey we did not experience the fan noise, although I do recall the surge protector humming, at times.  I suppose unplugging shore power at night is a possible solution for the noisy Xantrex fan.  Does anyone see any harm in doing this?  We lose very little battery charge overnight (Lithium Pro Pkg)

[Mcb]

Do you have the Bluetooth app for the inverter? If so, by turning the “Charger Ignition Control” switch on (#26), you can disconnect the charger from the batteries… it’ll take care of the inverter noise as it stops it from constantly trying to charge the batteries. There was a thread a while back in which NCEagle brought this strategy to light. I’ve been doing it ever since and it works great. 

[LCTraveler]

Susan

We have an LE2 hull 836 with the Lithium Pro Package (lithionic batteries).  On our panel, the Xantrex can be turned off quite easily by the button on the remote panel.  Please note, there is a switch underneath the street side bed that needs to be turned to the off position for the remote to be able to turn the system off.  We usually dry camp but have turned the Xantrex off while on shore power during the night.  The fan noise bugs me too but not my husband.  
pam

[Jim_Oker]

I've had the loud fan even with the inverter turned off but the trailer is plugged in - it will still charge the batteries in this state. I will try the solution Mcb mentions the next time I'm plugged in if the fan is doing this. So far I've only heard this in our driveway as all our camping has been w/o any plug-in. In late September 2 of our reserved camping nights will have full hookups so I will keep this settings option in mind.

[Jim_Oker]

13 hours ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

Our previous RV had a 1000w inverter, but a separate charger,

Yeah our van has a 2000W Xantrex inverter (2004 era) and a separate charging unit. That charger can get a little annoying when plugged in and it's doing bulk charging but this one in our Oliver is very much "next level." I'm not wildly concerned about it overheating! 😉