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cgi2099 avatar image
cgi2099 asked

Inverter Charger decision help or something else?

Hey all starting to set our truck camper up.

The plan right now is to have a 400ah lithium bank (EG4 LL)

A Victron 12v DC-DC 30 amp from the truck.

A 50a solar MMPT.

3000w Generator


Devices:

12v A/C - 30-60a (Treeligo)

12v Refrigerator

12v Pump

12v Lights

120v TV

Misc. 120v items

Gas instant water heater


The plan was to get a 3000w pure sine wave inverter / 50-100amp 12v charger combo.


So my question is there a charger inverter that will pass 120v while also charging the bank plugged into the grid or generator?


I only want one 120v circuit in the camper for simplicity, I guess what I'm asking is can I connect the load & critical load together and still get 12v charger while passing 120v?

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1 Answer
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snoobler answered ·

In inverter/charger does what you want. The Victron Phoenix line is inverter only. The multiplus line is inverter + charger - plug into shore, and you get 120VAC passed through to the loads and 12V charging.


I would size your inverter for about 30% of the typical 120VAC load. A 3000W inverter will consume excessive power and operate very inefficiently at lower power levels.


If you have low 120VAC requirements, a small inverter and a separate converter may be more cost effective.

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cgi2099 avatar image cgi2099 commented ·
Thank you so much for the info! Is there an inverter that will allow shore power? I thought I read somewhere that I could not have the out of the inverter on the same circuit as shore power?


I was originally looking at a Phoenix 12 50a charger and a 1000w inverter separate. But thought I read thebabove and thought I'd have to do a multiplus.


So the multiplus's inverter will consume battery even if there is no load?

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snoobler avatar image snoobler cgi2099 commented ·
You would place the multiplus between shore and the van, i.e., when you plug in shore, you are plugging in the input of the multiplus to shore. The output of the multiplus will be to the AC panel or equivalent.


This is not the same as having the inverter out on the same circuit as shore power.


When shore is plugged in, the shore is passed through to the loads, and the multiplus uses surplus shore for 12V charging. The inverter is not inverting in this case. It can only charge or invert - not both at the same time.


When shore is unplugged, the 12V powers the inverter. All inverters consume power when on without loads. Turning it off will terminate 120VAC output and terminate consumption.


Here is a schematic. It looks horribly complicated, but study and reading the text in the boxes really helps.

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cgi2099 avatar image cgi2099 snoobler commented ·

Thank you so much!

I don't see a diagram on the above post

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