12v Pure Sine Wave Inverter ~1000-2000watt recommendations?

[Rroff]

Since moving to somewhere quite rural with the power coming on overhead, telephone pole style, lines it isn't the most reliable, not terrible but especially since several neighbours have installed electric car chargers it is creaking a bit.

I've a couple of applications I'd like to move away from reliance on mains power alone and having the extra backup would be nice being a more remote area. I have ready sources for 12V. I have plenty of experience with 100-300watt inverters but anything bigger seems to be a minefield of "burnt down my house", "lasted 3 hours before going bang", etc. so looking for recommendations before spending the kind of money a good one costs.

 

[LuckyBenski]

It's been a few years but I used to build bicycle-powered electrical generation kit. Stuff you'd take into schools, festivals, events etc. Occasionally we'd sell a kit to someone living on a caravan or similar off-grid setup. Everything used 12V type systems as the bike generators would typically produce 12-30V.

In 2012 we were using these Studer AJ series ones:

https://www.selectsolar.co.uk/prod/567/studer-aj-series-inverters

And a quick Google shows me they've also used SMA inverters in more recent years. We were pretty serious about safe and reliable kit, given it was taken out into public spaces, all weather, and fed quite a dirty supply. Hope that helps at least a bit

 

[Terminal_Boy]

What’s your required AC current and how long do you want it to last?

The reasons DC>AC inverters go bang are:

1. Under capacity DC feed cables
2. Keeping them at a constant 100% of rated max load or higher
3. Sticking them in an unventilated box or cupboard where they overheat

Personally, I’d buy a decent petrol generator to keep the fridge/freezers cold if the power went out regularly for more than 3-4 hours at a time.

 

[sovietspybob]

I keep thinking about getting something to power the house when we get power cuts, as like yourself we live quite rurally and get them every so often, like a couple of times a year probably.

If you're looking to power anything for any kind of time i'd have thought an actual generator would be the best way, what are you thinking of powering?

When i've looked into inverters for anything more than a few hundred watts it just gets too mental on the battery side, if you want to draw 2kw on 240 you're looking at constantly supplying like 160+ amps from a 12v battery, for anything more than a few seconds you'll need a serious bank of batteries to sustain that.

I think a small petrol generator is the cheapest and easiest solution personally as for the price of a decent 2kw inverter you're already there in 2nd hand prices and not far off new.

I quite fancy getting an old stationary engine genset but only as i'm into old engines anyway as they're in no way practical compared to modern stuff.

 

[Rroff]

Don't have time to go into details at the moment but generally 200-400 maybe 500 watt draw with some overhead incase of longer issues and/or my experiences with smaller inverters it is better to double up on requirements. I do have a couple of UPS already but not ideal for what I'm trying to do.

I already have the 12v side sorted and is capable of current well above anything I'll be doing.

 

[DXP55]

I had a big petrol gen at old house -when we first got there the power was like a yoyo on off on off - Had the genny out back of garage in brick box I built and put duct in ground to feed it in to house - It did keep fridge and freezers cold and boil a kettle.
Don't mess about.

 

[Puzzled]

You could have a look at the sort of setups boat / caravan users have. Canal boats these days tend to have all the mod cons which run off a battery bank and inverter. Think Victron is one of the main brands they tend to use but only going by what I've seen in a few vlogs.

 

[Rroff]

When i've looked into inverters for anything more than a few hundred watts it just gets too mental on the battery side, if you want to draw 2kw on 240 you're looking at constantly supplying like 160+ amps from a 12v battery, for anything more than a few seconds you'll need a serious bank of batteries to sustain that.

Yeah I don't plan on scaling it up to 2kw loads or I'd probably buy a professional off-grid kit - but from my previous/current experience with inverters it tends to be best to over-spec them (though then there are possible implications with efficiency).

Personally, I’d buy a decent petrol generator to keep the fridge/freezers cold if the power went out regularly for more than 3-4 hours at a time.

I had a big petrol gen at old house -when we first got there the power was like a yoyo on off on off - Had the genny out back of garage in brick box I built and put duct in ground to feed it in to house - It did keep fridge and freezers cold and boil a kettle.
Don't mess about.

I'd like more options for dealing with proper power cuts which is one reason for looking at a bigger inverter but though they happen way more often than when I lived in town it is mostly smaller signs of the supply being under strain here for instance 2 mornings this week the power went out for 5-10 seconds. Amongst other things I have a couple of 3D printers so that isn't ideal.

I already have a solar/battery setup and some low power inverters (modified sine) and a couple of UPS but it is a bit limited what I can run off them currently.

You could have a look at the sort of setups boat / caravan users have. Canal boats these days tend to have all the mod cons which run off a battery bank and inverter. Think Victron is one of the main brands they tend to use but only going by what I've seen in a few vlogs.

That is a good idea - I've looked at a few different off-grid videos on YouTube, etc. but the inverters they are using tend to have very mixed reviews and a few too many people who've had a bad experience.

 

[Rroff]

Still not finding anything I'm feeling and stock is a bit hit and miss.

Potentially thinking either the Renogy 1000 watt as it has UPS like functionality or something like the Iconica or similar though I already have a charge controller and they need proper wiring in on the mains side really rather than just plug and play so to speak.