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AMPINVT 24v/3000w Inverter/Chargers

I'm close to pulling the trigger on this same inverter. It's got all the features I'd like at the price point. But I'm sceptical. Some of the Amazon reviews are making me reconsider. Anyone have any input?

I like that its low frequency, has battery charger, programmable low voltage cutoff, transfer switch, & gen start.

But some of the reviews throw me off. The reviews say this model has its wires all mixed up.

And a review for the model I'm looking at getting

"output voltage 95 to 107 volts ac and the cycles are at 95.5. that means my clocks (coffee maker and microwave loses about 5 min a day)" ..is there anything to this?


Yet I'm still tempted. I'm having a hard time finding anything else with the same specs/features in the same price range. Anybody have any advice?
 
I just got mine up and running... currently on line priority because my solar panels are not installed. My friend accidentally tripped the breaker while running the A/C and microwave simultaneously. Other than that I have noticed no issues and I am pleased with the product. I can't wait to get the panels going.

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Hi, thanks for the reply. The AC + microwave tripped the breaker on the inverter? How many watts was that?

What do you think about the Amazon review saying the voltage was on the low side? Do you have any way of testing it?
 
No... it tripped the DC breaker I installed on the Inverter. It's a 50A on a 24v system, so I am jumping up to a 75A. The AMPINVT literature is very vague about things like. the Inverter was only at 78% capacity. Mine is a 3000w inverter.
 
No... it tripped the DC breaker I installed on the Inverter. It's a 50A on a 24v system, so I am jumping up to a 75A. The AMPINVT literature is very vague about things like. the Inverter was only at 78% capacity. Mine is a 3000w inverter.
Are you talking about a 50A breaker on the DC power? That is way too small. I am using a 150A breaker between my 24V battery and my Victron Multiplus 24/2000-50.

What size wire are you using? I am using 1/0. For a 3000W inverter I would use 2/0 for a short run, otherwise 3/0.
 
@murphylawe, if you are still using the same inverter, how are your impressions so far? I am looking to get it for emergencies, wondering if it is worth, quality-wise
 
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No... it tripped the DC breaker I installed on the Inverter. It's a 50A on a 24v system, so I am jumping up to a 75A. The AMPINVT literature is very vague about things like. the Inverter was only at 78% capacity. Mine is a 3000w inverter.
I agree with above, you should size the wiring and breaker for 150 or more amps.
24v 3000W inverter can pull 125 fully loaded, and surge current can exceed 300A easily.
 
I agree with above, you should size the wiring and breaker for 150 or more amps.
24v 3000W inverter can pull 125 fully loaded, and surge current can exceed 300A easily.
For my my 24V, 2000W inverter I am using 1/0 AWG battery wires and a 175A circuit breaker. Nominal current for a 2000W load is ~88A. Surge demand could double this. I am also using 105 degree rated ABYC wire.

For a 24V, 3000W inverter I would use 3/0 or even 4/0 wire and a minimum of a 250A circuit breaker.


Advantage to using 105 degree rated wire is it can handle a ton more current. That way I can size my circuit breaker to not trip during surge loads, and not worry about the circuit breaker not protecting the wire.


Be sure to consider voltage drop also. Length is round trip, not one way .

 
I got a 5000W version of this inverter a few days ago, and now I'm trying to understand if there is any way to get a finer configuration out of it. The RS485 port on this product, anybody here knows - is it for management, and if yes then what software works with it?
 
Looks like the suggested configuration is a WIFI-RS485 adapter and an android app?

 
I had one for my off grid home and it lasted a year. It started sounding an alarm and saying the batteries were low while reading 0 volts on the battery bank. When I would connect to my battery bank (8- Valence U27-12xp) they would read fully charged (27.6v). If I cycle the inverter on and off it would eventually stop the alarm but never read that the batteries had any charge. Sometimes it would work, sometimes not.

I opened the unit and it looked very clean and beefy inside. Still, I need reliable power so I replaced it with an Outback.
 
5000W/24V split phase version here. Something is going on that I can not understand. I built a 10KW/h battery bank and use this inverter to plug said bank into generator inlet. All works fine, except somehow my house uses 2x power when run on battery compared to generator.

On generator (pure sine Champion) load is ~500W
On battery load is ~1000W

Power usage on battery is corroborated by inverter itself, reporting ~20-25% which matches the 1000+W figure

Load is mostly computer stuff. I am using this device: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YY1KOHA to measure power usage (coil over neutral wire)

Anyone has any idea why increased power usage?
 
5000W/24V split phase version here. Something is going on that I can not understand. I built a 10KW/h battery bank and use this inverter to plug said bank into generator inlet. All works fine, except somehow my house uses 2x power when run on battery compared to generator.

On generator (pure sine Champion) load is ~500W
On battery load is ~1000W

Power usage on battery is corroborated by inverter itself, reporting ~20-25% which matches the 1000+W figure

Load is mostly computer stuff. I am using this device: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YY1KOHA to measure power usage (coil over neutral wire)

Anyone has any idea why increased power usage?
Odd...
I would need to see how you have everything connected...
Measuring only the current on the neutral wire will not show 240V loads.
 
> Measuring only the current on the neutral wire will not show 240V loads.

In my scenario, there wasn't any active 240V loads. I have range and heat pump on 240V circuits, but both were off when I measured. Every load was using one of 110V phases
 
> Measuring only the current on the neutral wire will not show 240V loads.

In my scenario, there wasn't any active 240V loads. I have range and heat pump on 240V circuits, but both were off when I measured. Every load was using one of 110V phases
Also, balanced 120V loads will show zero watts when measuring the neutral wire for load...
 
> Also, balanced 120V loads will show zero watts when measuring the neutral wire for load...

It's possible I guess, although I still don't understand why would loads become balanced when feeding house from generator, but not from battery. What gauge would you recommend for measuring the power consumption then?..
 
I think to accurately measure loads, you need a probe on each hot.
The neutral will only work to show loads when a single hot is feeding... if BOTH hots are feeding, they balance the neutral, and show less amps...
 
Sorry for double posting - I also asked here.

I have the 2000W inverter charger (12V/120V). I can set a lithium/custom charge voltage. But I'm not seeing anywhere in the menu to configure absorption time or charge current cutoff, float voltage, etc.
In response to a question on amazon the seller claims the unit has three stage charging, but I'm not convinced. Please prove me wrong!

Does charging ever stop completely or is this basically a dumb CC/CV power supply?
Is there a float cycle? I can't even tell if there is for the lead acid battery configurations.
If it's just a dumb power supply, what have those of you using it set as your charge voltage?

Manual is no help at all...and seller is essentially non-responsive.
 

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