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Small inverter

Bluedog225

Bluedog225

Solar Wizard
Joined
Nov 18, 2019
Messages
3,475
Location
Texas
I want a little 12 volt, pure sine, inverter.

I’ve got one of these victron units. No complaints.

It’s about $330.

Is there any real competition at a better price? Samlex?

Or am I done?

Thanks

IMG_1088.jpeg
 
Did you know that they've dropped the "Phoenix" designation? Maybe a trademark issue.
They are now just called Inverter VE.Direct (which sounds boring).

Inverter VE.Direct - Victron Energy

Inverters allow you to power domestic equipment - requiring 230V/120V AC - using 'leisure' or 'automotive' batteries rated at 12V, 24V or 48V DC.
www.victronenergy.com www.victronenergy.com

Also note that the 1.2 kVA only does 1 kW of power.
 
Good to know. Thanks.

I’m trying not to go overboard here. A little emergency station at home for lighting, phones, and fan. Couple of panels and small MPPT.
 
Bluedog225 said:
I’m trying not to go overboard here. A little emergency station at home for lighting, phones, and fan. Couple of panels and small MPPT.
Click to expand...
After building my crazy complex Victron ESS setup, I can appreciate the simple "It just needs to do this" approach.
Plus it gives you some redundancy for quick little things that need power right away.
 
ricardocello said:
Did you know that they've dropped the "Phoenix" designation? Maybe a trademark issue.
They are now just called Inverter VE.Direct (which sounds boring).

Inverter VE.Direct - Victron Energy

Inverters allow you to power domestic equipment - requiring 230V/120V AC - using 'leisure' or 'automotive' batteries rated at 12V, 24V or 48V DC.
www.victronenergy.com www.victronenergy.com

Also note that the 1.2 kVA only does 1 kW of power.
Click to expand...
It really depends on temperature. I was able to pull 1150 watts from this unit for over an hour during bench testing.
 
I am using this one, of the 3 I tried including a Renogy, this one is fantastic for a cheap china's finest.
Right now it is $159

Limited-time deal for Prime Members: OLTEANP 2024 New Upgraded 2200 Watts Pure Sine Wave Inverter, 12V DC to 110V AC Power Inverter with 4 AC Outlets, USB Port, Type-C Port for Truck, Vehicle, Power Outage, Remote Control with LCD Screen https://a.co/d/iT5BnUT
 
dktool said:
I am using this one, of the 3 I tried including a Renogy, this one is fantastic for a cheap china's finest.
Click to expand...
You know, for occasional use, these el-cheapo ones may be worth it.

Just don't push them anywhere near their rating, and they probably will work fine.
So the 2200W rating really should be 1100W, if you want it to last.

Thanks for the link, I wouldn't mind having one for backup purposes.
 
I love these little 12V 1200W Giandels for around half the price of the Victron.
I just upgraded my crate portable system to one (ditched the 1000W Samlex).
I also use one to back up a sump pump.
I have a 24V version on standby in case my Victron 24/1200 bites it someday.

Bonus is lower idle draw than the Victron too.

 
Bluedog225 said:
I want a little 12 volt, pure sine, inverter.

I’ve got one of these victron units. No complaints.

It’s about $330.

Is there any real competition at a better price? Samlex?

Or am I done?

Thanks

View attachment 228979
Click to expand...
You've come to the correct choice. I was using my 48/1200 to power all my house base loads including fridge freezer and two other freezers, internet etc.
 
Be aware there are two versions, one is ul 458 and has dual GFCI outlets, the regular one has single outlet and no UL, if that matters to you. personally I don't want GFCI to trip and cut off my loads, can always add a dongle if needed later.
 
ricardocello said:
You know, for occasional use, these el-cheapo ones may be worth it.

Just don't push them anywhere near their rating, and they probably will work fine.
So the 2200W rating really should be 1100W, if you want it to last.

Thanks for the link, I wouldn't mind having one for backup purposes.
Click to expand...
I have this in my RV to power all outlets when needed, what I found with this which I never intended an inverter to be used for is that it starts the 12k roof top a/c and will run upwards of 1800 watts without issue.
The other 2 would immediately fault when the a/c was switched on.

This is unlike the others in terms of the remote, it displays useful information and not just a colorful bar representing battery voltage.
 
Brucey said:
You've come to the correct choice. I was using my 48/1200 to power all my house base loads including fridge freezer and two other freezers, internet etc.
Click to expand...
I can second that sentiment since my 24/1200 is the main inverter for my backup power plan. I’ve run my full sized fridge, boiler and pumps, lights, fans etc with it. Certainly capable and reliable.

@Bluedog225 are you looking for validation of the 12/1200, or for a cheaper alternative because you can’t spare it for this new build?
 
Bob142 said:
I can second that sentiment since my 24/1200 is the main inverter for my backup power plan. I’ve run my full sized fridge, boiler and pumps, lights, fans etc with it. Certainly capable and reliable.

@Bluedog225 are you looking for validation of the 12/1200, or for a cheaper alternative because you can’t spare it for this new build?
Click to expand...

Just making sure I’m not doing something dumb. I like the Victron stuff. Never had an issue.

A 48/1200 Victron and a rack battery at home would be a nice little power station.

Thanks all!
 
It's a sad thing that a 16s battery and 1200w inverter is "small". You could have a 300Ah battery and a 1Kw inverter using a Licitti box or the like and have a MUCH smaller footprint.
 
All I can say is the victron 12/1200va is awesome. Runs anything I want to throw at it.
 
I’ve ran a Mr. Cool 12k mini split off my 12/1200 pheonix with no problems. I’ve sent spikes up too 1500 watts without it overloading. The thing is awesome for the price. I now use it to supplement a victron multiplus 12/2000.
 
I have been happy with my 24/1200 Victron, except I cannot charge my EV at 10A. I get that it's over the 1KW rating (1.2KW), but for others running theirs for an hour at 1150W, in my case it is only for about 10 seconds at 1200W.

One nice thing about the Victron too is the low fan noise. I'm pulling 600W charging my EV capped at 5A, and the fan is barely audible.

I wish we could parallel these like inverter generators are easily paralleled today without even using any sync cable. If I were super bored and had $330 to burn, I'd see if I could figure out how to do just that with these 24/1200 inverters.
 
AlpineJoe said:
I have been happy with my 24/1200 Victron, except I cannot charge my EV at 10A. I get that it's over the 1KW rating (1.2KW), but for others running theirs for an hour at 1150W, in my case it is only for about 10 seconds at 1200W.

One nice thing about the Victron too is the low fan noise. I'm pulling 600W charging my EV capped at 5A, and the fan is barely audible.

I wish we could parallel these like inverter generators are easily paralleled today without even using any sync cable. If I were super bored and had $330 to burn, I'd see if I could figure out how to do just that with these 24/1200 inverters.
Click to expand...
It's only currently available in 12V in the US but you can parallel the 12/1200 Multiplus. Around $480 including 50A charger.
 
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