ExpertPower 12v 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger

[bgpeters]

I've searched and do not see a discussion here of the ExpertPower 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger. The price is certainly nice. The charger has profiles for many battery types, but I only care about LiFePO4.

Is anyone out there using one of these? I'm planning my components for converting my RV from LA to LiFePo4 and saw this one. I think I like the specs on the Inverter. I'm a bit fuzzy on whether the Charger voltages are a good design or not.

In the user manual I see that for LiFePO4 the charger will use "constant current charging (constant current stage) -> constant voltage (constant voltage stage) -> float (constant current stage)". Boost is targeting 14.4v, and Float is at 13.8v. Does this sound right? Is floating at 13.8v a bit high?

Thank you for any feedback. I admit, I'm a newbie.

 

[Rocksnsalt]

I’d like to hear any feedback on this unit as well.
Am Looking for something like this for my sprinter van, with good reviews, dependable, and a legit company.
I really wish Growatt and others made a 12v/3000w all in one inverter unit.
Would also like to see idle consumption of such units… though I don’t plan on leaving it on when not in use.

 

[FLD]

This inverter-charger looks very similar to my Sungoldpower 3000/9000-watt inverter-charger, although mine has a max charge rate of 95 amps. The charge profiles are similar except mine has a selection for Euro gel batteries (whatever that is. I'm not an expert on any of this stuff).
For cycling my batteries during winter (my batteries and inverter-charger are used in our RV during camping season, winter season I have them at home) I use setting #4 on the rotary switch (again, the same configuration as this unit) which is for sealed lead acid with 14.4 volts/13.6 volts.
Mine was $100 more so I think the Expertpower unit is a good deal. Just my opinion though.

 

[Kcdaniels]

Been researching this also....anyone with any knowledge of this inverter ?

 

[DWGEC]

I got this inverter as part of a kit, $2,755.00 it dose not have a Power Save mode, as was advertised on your website.
Contacted support and they have updated the website to show it dose not have a Power Save mode.
Ended up trading it in for there 24V 5000W (IVOCH24V5KW) inverter WITH Power Save mode.
1x 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger (IVOCH3KW)
1x 3 Way-Solar Panel Connector
4x EP12100 12V 100Ah LiFePO4
6x 100 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel
6x Mounting Z Brackets for Solar Panels
1x 40A MPPT Solar Charge Controller
1x Bluetooth Module BT-2 for Solar Charge Controller
1x Set of 20Ft 10AWG Solar Cables
1x 6Ft 8AWG Pure Copper Cables
Working on reconfiguring for a series parallel for 24-volts.
Anyone have a good schematic for (4) 12 VOLTAGE BATTERIES PERFECTLY BALANCED CHARGING & DISCHARGING FOR 24 VOLTAGE SERIES PARALLEL?

 

[FLD]

I don't have a battery wiring diagram but hopefully someone will post one.
Sounds like a very nice system and a decent price.

 

[Kornbread]

Maybe this will help. Unlike most Chinese sourced solar products, it is said that Victron's manuals are generally well documented. Start around chapter 3 in this Victron pdf for battery bank wiring suggestions. Victron Battery Bank Wiringi

 

[DWGEC]

Thanks: Lot's of good stuff in that link.
Ran over the weekend and seemed to run balanced amps +/- .05 Volts +/- .05 6-7hours @ 43.03AMPS
200ah 24v
What would be the watt hour rating, (what is the formula watt hour calculation)
And what size dc circuit breaker is recommended from the batteries to the 5000 watt inverter?
For this system?
Thanks again....
P.S. DISCLAIMER USE AT YOUR OWN RISK THIS IS WHAT I HAVE HOOKED UP ON MY SYSTEM RIGHT NOW.?

 

[Pi Curio]

3000W on a 12V? I'm completely new to solar and electricity, but from what I've read so far, isn't that way too much current at that voltage?

 

[DWGEC]

It came as a kit, batteries hooked up in parallel.
It run ok, a little warm but ok..

 

[Rocksnsalt]

3000W on a 12V? I'm completely new to solar and electricity, but from what I've read so far, isn't that way too much current at that voltage?

3000W on a 12V? I'm completely new to solar and electricity, but from what I've read so far, isn't that way too much current at that voltage?

A 3000w inverter is becoming the go to in the adventure van / van life / Rv world.

Victron Multi Plus and Multi Plus 2 being the item of choice for many.
Renogy as well. Which looks a lot like the Expert Power inverter in the op… With it’s 7 ratings btw.
.

 

[FLD]

3000W on a 12V? I'm completely new to solar and electricity, but from what I've read so far, isn't that way too much current at that voltage?

Hi Daxo. Welcome to the forum.
I bought my 12-volt 3000/9000-watt inverter-charger because of it's charging capability of 95 amps. As far as loads, a 2000-watt inverter would have performed admirably but I'm not a fan of running devices anywhere near their capacity.
It's input side is fused for 200 amps, much lower than if I was loading it to it's rated output. When operating, the continuous DC amp draw is 120 amps, give or take.
I installed it in our camper this spring and it's performed flawlessly, both as an inverter and as a charger.

 

[Pi Curio]

Hi Daxo. Welcome to the forum.
I bought my 12-volt 3000/9000-watt inverter-charger because of it's charging capability of 95 amps. As far as loads, a 2000-watt inverter would have performed admirably but I'm not a fan of running devices anywhere near their capacity.
It's input side is fused for 200 amps, much lower than if I was loading it to it's rated output. When operating, the continuous DC amp draw is 120 amps, give or take.
I installed it in our camper this spring and it's performed flawlessly, both as an inverter and as a charger.

Thank you for having me here.

It makes sense. Sounds very wise to have the power for more while using just enough within your system sweet spot. As far as I understand these things, some AC devices with larger loads can have significant surges when powered up. I guess, this should also help keep things in check.

I'll definitely keep that in mind when looking for an inverter

 

[FLD]

Thank you for having me here.

It makes sense. Sounds very wise to have the power for more while using just enough within your system sweet spot. As far as I understand these things, some AC devices with larger loads can have significant surges when powered up. I guess, this should also help keep things in check.

I'll definitely keep that in mind when looking for an inverter

I should have mentioned that my inverter is a different brand than the Expert Power.
If I recall correctly, the Expert Power has specifications almost identical to mine for less money than I paid for mine.
I just reread one of the above posts which said the ExpertPower does not have a powersave mode, which my SunGoldPower inverter-charger does have. I think it's pretty handy to have as long as you turn on a load that will be detected in powersave mode. A table lamp with an LED bulb doesn't work in powersave.
Get confused by all the fancy gizmos and doodads. But I AM super old.

 

[John Frum]

A 3000w inverter is becoming the go to in the adventure van / van life / Rv world.

Victron Multi Plus and Multi Plus 2 being the item of choice for many.
Renogy as well. Which looks a lot like the Expert Power inverter in the op… With it’s 7 ratings btw.
.

The Victron units you mention are 3000VA units.
According to the Victron datasheets they are rated for 2400W@25C.

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-MultiPlus-II-3kVA-2x120V-EN-.pdf

 

[Rocksnsalt]

The Victron units you mention are 3000VA units.
According to the Victron datasheets they are rated for 2400W@25C.

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-MultiPlus-II-3kVA-2x120V-EN-.pdf

Ok. Thanks for pointing that out.
Seems to work for many.


From the interweb:
What does 3000va 2400w mean?
The rated output for our most popular inverter charger, the Victron MultiPlus 12/3000 is 3000 VA but for inductive loads it is rated at 2400 Watts. This represents a Power Factor of 0.8 since 3000 VA x 0.8 = 2400 Watts.
Nov 30, 2018

 

[scrubjaysnest]

Older thread but still pertinent for those of us wanting a basic 12 volt inverter.
I'm looking at either the Expert Power 3000, probably 2700 watt actually since it has an efficiency of 90%. Or the Aims 2500. Both have features I don't need but pricing is about the same.
@Will Prowse I know you are pushing 48volt over 12 volt and it makes sense in many cases. Even saw your most recent video. But some of us can no longer pick up a 100# battery and space becomes a problem in a small MH or travel trailer. Then all the bells and whistles of an AIO. Some of us don't need that and prefer the K.I.S.S. principle.
The unit I select is a tidey over for the simple off grid set up I'm putting together. In a few years when the desert nest needs grow this small inverter can be moved to the MH. Will still need some kind of soft start for the ac unit.

 

[Rednecktek]

I haven't been able to get it online and load tested yet, but I found the Ionic 2Kw 12v AIO Low Frequency unit for my pop-up camper re-vamp. They make a 3Kw unit as well but that was overkill for my needs. I'd love to see @Will Prowse do a true load test and such because I just don't have the equipment to do proper testing, but I'll be posting what I find once the system is online.

 

[Kornbread]

This guy likes to tear into them to see what they are made of. Very informative.

 

[scrubjaysnest]

The Expert Power 3000 watt inverter came Monday in the rain.
Got it hooked up today to test out. It arrived double boxed with closed cell foam packing in the inner box. It comes with a remote on/off/ Power save switch, mounting brackets, a 30 ohm 25 watt pre charge resistor, 2 cables about 6 feet long and manual. The cables are about 1/0 and the ring lugs are crimped and @Will Prowse, soldered. Manual calls for 3/0.
Initial test data 0.28 amp spike through pre charge resistor. Power save mode 0.3 amp and on mode 7.8 amps . Batteries started at 13.33 volts. Floor fan on low 9.96 amps/31watts. All values reported by Victron 500 amp smartshunt.
For higher wattage values I used a heat gun and small electric heater. 1840 watts for the heat gun, 815 watts on low for the heater and 1293 watts on high. Again wattage reported by the smart shunt. By varying settings of the heat gun and space heater I ran the inverter at 3420 watts, 270.4 amps for 5 minutes. Positive inverter cable was hot enough to burn you. Put the heat gun and space heater on fan only and let the unit cool down. 1.7kWh used during the test.
Next made up a suicide cord and tested the buit in charger. Charge ran between 58.6 and 59.3 amps. There was some kind of noise on the DC out. No scope so don't know what it looked like. 1.4kWh brought the batteries back to 99%.
Battery charging was a little uneven but that was due to mismatched cables.
Over all not a bad inverter for $619. One thing I don't like is no way to turn it on without the remote switch and no cover over the ac input/output terminals.
It will work fine with 400 aH Battery bank for a few hours to run a 15000 BTU roof air on the RV.

 

[timselectric]

Next made up a suicide cord and tested the buit in charger.

A suicide cord has two male ends.
The name comes from the fact that if you plug one end into a live receptacle, the other end can kill you.
I'm guessing that you meant a standard power cord.

 

[scrubjaysnest]

No, the type I refer to is wall plug one end with bare wires on the other. Just as bad as the one you refer to.

 

[timselectric]

No, the type I refer to is wall plug one end with bare wires on the other. Just as bad as the one you refer to.

That is a standard power cord.
But yes, I can be dangerous. If you plug it in, without having the other end wired to anything.

 

[robbob2112]

I've been using the 2000w version for 6 months or so as a simple UPS for my media server. I replaced an APC smart UPS 2200 when the batteries fail. For my purposes it works really well. I have it set to prefer DC so it cycles the battery down. And I have the AC cord on a wall timer so it can't charge during my work hours as the fan is pretty loud.

The switch from AC to DC says 5ms and the computers don't even notice.

As mentioned the AC input could use a cover. Ill have to put a scope on it to see about ripple from the charge circuit. This thing is super heavy duty and specs say it should handle a large inductive load if I ever need it for power tolls in a remote area.

 

[FLD]

The Expert Power 3000 watt inverter came Monday in the rain.
Got it hooked up today to test out. It arrived double boxed with closed cell foam packing in the inner box. It comes with a remote on/off/ Power save switch, mounting brackets, a 30 ohm 25 watt pre charge resistor, 2 cables about 6 feet long and manual. The cables are about 1/0 and the ring lugs are crimped and @Will Prowse, soldered. Manual calls for 3/0.
Initial test data 0.28 amp spike through pre charge resistor. Power save mode 0.3 amp and on mode 7.8 amps . Batteries started at 13.33 volts. Floor fan on low 9.96 amps/31watts. All values reported by Victron 500 amp smartshunt.
For higher wattage values I used a heat gun and small electric heater. 1840 watts for the heat gun, 815 watts on low for the heater and 1293 watts on high. Again wattage reported by the smart shunt. By varying settings of the heat gun and space heater I ran the inverter at 3420 watts, 270.4 amps for 5 minutes. Positive inverter cable was hot enough to burn you. Put the heat gun and space heater on fan only and let the unit cool down. 1.7kWh used during the test.
Next made up a suicide cord and tested the buit in charger. Charge ran between 58.6 and 59.3 amps. There was some kind of noise on the DC out. No scope so don't know what it looked like. 1.4kWh brought the batteries back to 99%.
Battery charging was a little uneven but that was due to mismatched cables.
Over all not a bad inverter for $619. One thing I don't like is no way to turn it on without the remote switch and no cover over the ac input/output terminals.
It will work fine with 400 aH Battery bank for a few hours to run a 15000 BTU roof air on the RV.

Sounds like nice inverter-charger. I typically see 135-140 amp discharge when running our 15,000 btu rooftop air. That includes everything else in the camper, including the 12-volt fridge.
I'm using 24" long double 2/0 cables between the batteries and the inverter-charger.