3000 Watt Inverters

TampaSteve

2018/2019 Unity CB
Lots of good articles on 3000 watt inverters here. I am in the early stages of researching 3000 watt inverters. To be sure, I don't NEED a 3000 watt inverter. My 1000 watt is fine for my usage, mostly TV streaming and charging the electric toothbrush. The only reason I am seriously considering it is that I want to redo that whole area now that I have 600 watts of solar and lithium. It doesn't make much sense to me to upgrade to 2000 since it will be just as much work.

To start the research I wanted to at least consider the 4 top names that I could think of right away:

WhatPriceSizeWeightWarranty
Xantrex Freedom SW3000$1,40011.8 x 17.1 x 20.5”74 lbs
Xantrex Freedom XC PRO 3000 Pure Sine Inverter/Charger$1,29915.4 x 10.8 x 4.9 in18.6 lbs2 years
Victron Energy MultiPlus 3000 Watt 12 Volt Inverter$1,28414.3" x 10.2" x 8.6"40 lbs5 years
Renogy PCL1-30111S 3000 Watt 12V DC to 120V AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger$70220.1 x 9.7 x 7.6 in64 lbs
Magnum MSH3012M 12V Hybrid Inverter/Charger$1,70013.8 x 12.7 x 8.055 lbs3 years

So I selected the main criteria that is important to me, which is mainly size and weight. I also wanted a built-in charger, and I excluded a whole page full of Amazon ones. Normally I love cheap Chinese stuff but here I want to go quality and proven track record.

There are other important factors obviously but for me the size and weight is really critical.

Based on this my first impression is that the Xantrex may be my first choice. The weight looks almost like a typo, and the size is reasonably compact for these in fact at only 5" wide I may have more mounting options.

The Xantrex also seems to have a nice feature set, 150 amp peak charging, and a bluetooth monitor you can mount or read from your phone. Not quite as slick as the Victron which would tie into my venus for remote internet management, but not a deal killer for me.

Am I missing anything big from this admittedly preliminary analysis?

Edit: Added Xantrex Freedom SW3000
 
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Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
I bought 3000W pure sine inverter for $100 on ebay.
Never hooked 3000W static load to it, but running 3.5HP shop vac come with no problem.
I put some heavier loads on it and main problem is inverter overheating. I have it mounted in compartment above water tank, with limited ventilation, so if you really plan to use more than 2000W - you better mount it in the open.
 

OrioN

2008 2500 170" EXT
Lots of good articles on 3000 watt inverters here. I am in the early stages of researching 3000 watt inverters. To be sure, I don't NEED a 3000 watt inverter. My 1000 watt is fine for my usage, mostly TV streaming and charging the electric toothbrush. The only reason I am seriously considering it is that I want to redo that whole area now that I have 600 watts of solar and lithium. It doesn't make much sense to me to upgrade to 2000 since it will be just as much work.

To start the research I wanted to at least consider the 4 top names that I could think of right away:

WhatPriceSizeWeightWarranty
Xantrex Freedom XC PRO 3000 Pure Sine Inverter/Charger$1,29915.4 x 10.8 x 4.9 in18.6 lbs2 years
Victron Energy MultiPlus 3000 Watt 12 Volt Inverter$1,28414.3" x 10.2" x 8.6"40 lbs5 years
Renogy PCL1-30111S 3000 Watt 12V DC to 120V AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger$70220.1 x 9.7 x 7.6 in64 lbs
Magnum MSH3012M 12V Hybrid Inverter/Charger$1,70013.8 x 12.7 x 8.055 lbs3 years

So I selected the main criteria that is important to me, which is mainly size and weight. I also wanted a built-in charger, and I excluded a whole page full of Amazon ones. Normally I love cheap Chinese stuff but here I want to go quality and proven track record.

There are other important factors obviously but for me the size and weight is really critical.

Based on this my first impression is that the Xantrex may be my first choice. The weight looks almost like a typo, and the size is reasonably compact for these in fact at only 5" wide I may have more mounting options.

The Xantrex also seems to have a nice feature set, 150 amp peak charging, and a bluetooth monitor you can mount or read from your phone. Not quite as slick as the Victron which would tie into my venus for remote internet management, but not a deal killer for me.

Am I missing anything big from this admittedly preliminary analysis?
The heavier ones are 'transformer' based, designed stronger for heavy duty use, and therefore will last longer.

The Xantrex Freedom SW 3000 is the comparable model to the Victron and Magnum:

 
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msmolow

2019 Unity CB / 2018 Chas
I've had the same overheating issue as Kajtek1 with heavier loads. The inverter is located in one of my lower storage bays which I did vent. I've had the most issues when the morning sun is shining directly on the bay while I'm making breakfast. When it has overheated my solution was to keep the bay door open and that solved the problem. One of this spring/summer projects will be to mount a 12 v temp activated fan to one of the vents.

I have a 3K Victron. In large part the 3K makes life more convenient that the 2K. I use my toaster oven and run the single serve coffee maker at the same time rather than stagger them. I know, I'm a wuss. Other than the higher standby power draw I can think of no other disadvantage.
 
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TampaSteve

2018/2019 Unity CB
The heavier ones are 'transformer' based, designed stronger for heavy duty use, and therefore will last longer.

The Xantrex Freedom SW 3000 is the comparable model to the Victron and Magnum:

I totally missed the SW 3000 in my first search. I'll have to add that to my table.
 

TampaSteve

2018/2019 Unity CB
I've had the same overheating issue as Kajtek1 with heavier loads. The inverter is located in one of my lower storage bays which I did vent. I've had the most issues when the morning sun is shining directly on the bay while I'm making breakfast. When it has overheated my solution was to keep the bay door open and that solved the problem. One of this spring/summer projects will be to mount a 12 v temp activated fan to one of the vents.

I have a 3K Victron. In large part the 3K makes life more convenient that the 2K. I use my toaster oven and run the single serve coffee maker at the same time rather than stagger them. I know, I'm a wuss. Other than the higher standby power draw I can think of no other disadvantage.
I added put a big temperature activated fan in that same bay you have. I only have an 80 amp charger in there, but the fan does seem to do a great job of dissipating the heat.

I'm already close to or at max weight which is why I place such emphasis on weight. If I get rid of my current Magnum and the 80 amp charger the XC Pro 3000 will save over 10 lbs while tripling the inverter and doubling my charger size. Not bad. Edit: Probably won't realize that much as I'll need some heavier wires, but at least this project won't add much if any weight.
 

OrioN

2008 2500 170" EXT
I totally missed the SW 3000 in my first search. I'll have to add that to my table.
It is the one I have. At the time, 13 years ago, there were only two players in the market for heavy-duty use, Magnum being the other. My buddy was a CDN supplier, so I opted for the Xantrex. Couple with its Xanbus System Control Panel (SCP) & Automatic Genset Control, it has serviced me well as a full-timer.
 

TampaSteve

2018/2019 Unity CB
It is the one I have. At the time, 13 years ago, there were only two players in the market for heavy-duty use, Magnum being the other. My buddy was a CDN supplier, so I opted for the Xantrex. Couple with its Xanbus System Control Panel (SCP) & Automatic Genset Control, it has serviced me well as a full-timer.
Thanks, I'm only part time, but I'm not convinced the XC Pro won't have a good service life. I don't think its been around long enough to know for sure. Sounds like you have had an incredibly long run with yours thats impressive.
 

OrioN

2008 2500 170" EXT
Thanks, I'm only part time, but I'm not convinced the XC Pro won't have a good service life. I don't think its been around long enough to know for sure. Sounds like you have had an incredibly long run with yours thats impressive.
These 'transformer' types are designed for industrial and fuller-time use, like ambulances, service vehicles, etc., and have a longer service life which most likely exceeds a seasonal booners' needs.
 

Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
I did have Xantrex inverter/charger 2600W in my previous bus conversion.
Used it for about 10 years and sold with the coach. It had very nice charging characteristics as in 10 years, the 4 golf cart batteries needed water only twice, but when I was using it for running 15k AC in 100F weather, the overheating was an issue.
 

rjmh

Member
I believe the Victron 3000 is 2400 watts. It is 3000 VA which is 2400 watts continuous at 25C/77F, per the data sheet on Victrons website. Just FYI
 

SSTraveler

2014 LTV Unity Murphy Bed
I picked the Xantrex Freedom XC Pro 3000w with Bluetooth Remote Panel for my installation because it is smaller, easy to program, and has super features, particularly with the Bluetooth Remote Panel. I will be installing it in my exterior compartment next to the door. I'm going to create an inverter compartment similar to what Leisure does today in new Unity's. I certainly plan on good ventilation, but will also add some installation to the front door to try and reduce radiating heat for times when the sun shines on that external area.
 

TampaSteve

2018/2019 Unity CB
I'm thinking for my usage I'm going to make the same decision, but I wanted to at least take a cursory look at everything else. Amazing how quickly I am running out of carrying cargo weight as each upgrade whacks some off. Have you found the spec on this unit for idle current? That would be my one concern with large inverters. II'm actually experimenting with a 120 watt inverter for items like my toothbrush charger and the like so I could leave them on all night without a potentially large drain.
 

SSTraveler

2014 LTV Unity Murphy Bed
No, but I'm guessing it's less than the Multiplus 3000, which I believe DiverBob and Ivuman say is around 3a. I have seen videos that show 1a base draw on the Older Xantrex 3000 models. So I'm hoping it's really 1a for the XC Pro 3000. I'll let you know when I have mine installed, should be a couple of weeks.
 

lvuman

Active member
I'm thinking for my usage I'm going to make the same decision, but I wanted to at least take a cursory look at everything else. Amazing how quickly I am running out of carrying cargo weight as each upgrade whacks some off. Have you found the spec on this unit for idle current? That would be my one concern with large inverters. II'm actually experimenting with a 120-watt inverter for items like my toothbrush charger and the like so I could leave them on all night without a potentially large drain.
We installed this small, 120 watt, pure sinewave inverter several years ago. At the time, before my Lithionics lithium battery upgrade, we needed a small inverter to charge our computers, iPhones, etc. We installed it on the top shelf to the right of the TV cabinet (2015 Murphy Bed model) and wired it to the red switch next to the entryway door. It's been very dependable and used far fewer amps in the idle state than the 600w Magnum inverter.
 

OrioN

2008 2500 170" EXT
I'm thinking for my usage I'm going to make the same decision, but I wanted to at least take a cursory look at everything else. Amazing how quickly I am running out of carrying cargo weight as each upgrade whacks some off. Have you found the spec on this unit for idle current? That would be my one concern with large inverters. II'm actually experimenting with a 120 watt inverter for items like my toothbrush charger and the like so I could leave them on all night without a potentially large drain.
I use a Xantrex SW600 (600W) for 95% of my daily usage of running at a minimum a 27" monitor and workstation laptop up to 12hrs per day. Ideally, I would/could use a 300W one. Either way, I save a substantial 2-3aH per hour of use over the SW3000. During the winter no solar months, I use a 14" Lenovo Yoga and all is on 12V 98% of the time.....
 

DiverBob

2018 Unity TB
No, but I'm guessing it's less than the Multiplus 3000, which I believe DiverBob and Ivuman say is around 3a. I have seen videos that show 1a base draw on the Older Xantrex 3000 models. So I'm hoping it's really 1a for the XC Pro 3000. I'll let you know when I have mine installed, should be a couple of weeks.
I just checked my setup, right now the Victron 3K inverter is running about 1.5 amps with the microwave as the only thing plugged in. I have the inverter power saving mode enabled.
 

TampaSteve

2018/2019 Unity CB
We installed this small, 120 watt, pure sinewave inverter several years ago. At the time, before my Lithionics lithium battery upgrade, we needed a small inverter to charge our computers, iPhones, etc. We installed it on the top shelf to the right of the TV cabinet (2015 Murphy Bed model) and wired it to the red switch next to the entryway door. It's been very dependable and used far fewer amps in the idle state than the 600w Magnum inverter.
One question is how the Xantrex manages no-load or low-load power savings,
 

OrioN

2008 2500 170" EXT
I just checked my setup, right now the Victron 3K inverter is running about 1.5 amps with the microwave as the only thing plugged in. I have the inverter power saving mode enabled.
Bear in mind, there are two things under consideration. One is no load/idle/load sensing, the other is load/low load efficiency.

A 150W load on my 600W unit consumes ~160W and ~190-200W on the 3kW unit. That's ~2.8A more.
 
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Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Larger inverters have higher amperage usage if left on without a load. Since I do not live full time in the van, I quickly learned to turn off the inverter when I do not need 120 volt AC power. Just a waste of battery capacity when I leave it on. Inverter does have a low power idle mode but that makes a noise every time it searches for a load so that is disturbing when trying to sleep.
 

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