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Need new inverter
#1

We have a Heart Heart Freedom 25 94K1 inverter/(I think it is a charger also) and it seems to keep the batteries charged fine. The problem is that if we lose 110volt power the inverter does not switch to 12volt battery power (with the inverter switch turned on) and the inverter light will go out on the panel.  
I would like to have an inverter that would work with a solar panel array on the roof and not sure if this one will work.  2500 watts seems to be enough for us but we have not boondocked a lot (yet) but I would like to be prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse... Any ideas?


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Karen & Adrian Abshire 
1998 2 slide 45' Newell Coach 498 
Prior: 1985 Foretravel ORED 35, 1988 38' Foretravel U280, 2000 Foretravel 42' U320, 1990 Bluebird Wanderlodge WB40
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#2

I strongly recommend going with a pure sine wave inverter. Newell has installed Outback inverters for years.

Michael Day
1992 Newell 43.5' #281
NewellOwner.com
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#3

Karen and Adrian:

I'm not sure what you mean by  "an inverter that would work with a solar panel array".......all the inverter does, as you know, is invert 12 V to 110 VAC.  The solar panels convert sunlight into 12 v which is stored in your house batteries.  Any inverter will work with a solar array.  I have  a Heart Interface 2000 watt inverter (installed after market by first owner), and there is no conflict with my solar array.  The power comes into the batteries from one side, and goes out the other side into the inverter.  Mine is not pure sine as Michael recommends, but after a few hundred hours of usage it has not damaged any of my electronics.  Admittedly my 1982 Newell is very low tech and there is not much to harm except for the TV's, and my laptop, which have done fine.  In my particular situation my Heart Inverter is just an inverter......I have a separate converter/charger (Progressive Dynamics), which I prefer.  If you have the all in one (charger/converter/inverter) and one component goes bad you basically have to replace the entire unit.....quite expensive.  That's how mine was wired, and I have left it that way.  There may come a time when I switch over to the 'all in one', but everything works well the way it is right now.

All that being said, it may be that the inverter portion of your Heart Interface has ceased working, which is what you are apparently surmising.


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Clarke and Elaine Hockwald
1982 Newell Classic, 36', 6V92 TA
2001 VW Beetle Turbo
Cannondale Tandem
Cannondale Bad Boy
Haibike SDURO MTB
http://whatsnewell.blogspot.com
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#4

I have a magnum pure sine with the ACD control panel. Wires right into the old heart setup and same size panel. The ACD controller plays really nice with solar or other sources in addition to battery.

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
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#5

Thanks Richard, I will look at the Magnum, I've heard people talking about them on the forum. I don't know what I was thinking about this morning... Of course the inverter is only for 12v to 110v conversion... Too little coffee at that point me thinks... Lol
The other issue I forgot to mention is needing battery backup UPS and line conditioning for my audio system (Sonos PlayBar and 55" LG OLED TV (coming soon) along with a home theatre server that runs VMWare ESXI. This equipment costs enough that I want good/great UPS coverage on it. I definitely want pure sine wave and will research what I have to see if it is worth the replacement. I don't need any additional wattage out of the inverter just want my equipment covered in case of electrical problems.

Karen & Adrian Abshire 
1998 2 slide 45' Newell Coach 498 
Prior: 1985 Foretravel ORED 35, 1988 38' Foretravel U280, 2000 Foretravel 42' U320, 1990 Bluebird Wanderlodge WB40
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#6

The Freedom 25 is indeed a combination inverter/charger. The manual states that the power switch should be OFF at the unit if the remote panel is used (it is) so I will see what that does if anything.
What started this whole thing was the power going off this morning. We are on 50amp power and have had it go off a few times (just our site).
I went to reset the breaker to see what the amperage draw at the pedestal was (we have a Progressive Systems PT50C EMS on the parks 50 amp pedestal). After resetting the breaker the amperage was right at 50amps. When I went inside I noticed the switch to the charger on the Heart Interface remote panel was on at the same time as our AquaHot 110/240 volt system. It looks like both the inverter/charger are on the same power leg and combined are over 50 amps. Nearly 20 amps when charging the batteries - is this a normal amperage draw for charging? I don't want to have to switch them on/off in order to not overdraw the breaker but is there maybe something either set incorrectly or wrong with the inverter (maybe)?
Amperage Draw (includes 'ghost' amp draws of about 3amps):
-No inverter/charger or electric AH: leg 1: 3amps
-Charger only: leg 1: 21amps
-110/240volt Electric AH only: leg 1: 36amps leg 2: 21amps (wow)
-tile floor heat: leg 2: 7amps
-under sink instant hot water heater: Leg 1: 10amps
-microwave: leg 2: 19amps
-110volt heater in closet: leg: amps
-110volt heater in toilet: leg: amps
-110volt portable heater:

Karen & Adrian Abshire 
1998 2 slide 45' Newell Coach 498 
Prior: 1985 Foretravel ORED 35, 1988 38' Foretravel U280, 2000 Foretravel 42' U320, 1990 Bluebird Wanderlodge WB40
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#7

Adrian,

When the charger is pulling 21 amps, what does the panel show as charge amperage to the batteries? I don't know what the efficiency factor is but that would be close to charging at over 200 amps VDC. The electrical boyz will weigh in on this. Is it possible that the breaker tripped some time ago and you ran off 12V inverting power till the low voltage cutoff on the inverter kicked in? That would explain the heavy charge going into the batteries.

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
Reply
#8

That would be my guess also Richard. Although I think the max charger output of the 2500 was about 130 amps DC.

OK, just found a copy of the manual, using "Dual Inputs: You may feed the internal battery charger separately from the transfer input which feeds the AC loads. In this case, connect one 30 Amp feed to the charger pigtails and another 30 Amp feed to the transfer switch input. The advantage is to balance the AC loads when 2 legs of incoming AC power are available. These two feeds can be in or out of phase. Transfer will only occur when power is applied to both inputs. The charger can draw up to 27 Amps on one leg of power and the transfer switch can pass up to 30 Amps from the other leg of power".

So the charger can draw up to 27 amps.

http://www.xantrex.com/documents/discont...manual.pdf

Michael Day
1992 Newell 43.5' #281
NewellOwner.com
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#9

Thanks for looking that up Michael... I have to admit I get overwhelmed in the electronics department...
We woke up this morning to no 50amp power and the the breaker blown at the pedestal. I turned off the 50amp breaker waited about 10 seconds and then flipped it back on. Nothing. My EMS showed nothing. So I jiggled the shore power line connector in the 50 amp socket and the EMS showed signs of life with the red LEDs blinking on/off. I pulled the 50amp socket out and pushed it back in and the power came back on. I think the 50 amp breaker needs replaced (weak) and I'm going to put some dielectric grease on the 50amp connector prongs to try and get a better connection. On the bright side the AquaHot stayed running and I did notice that when the AH goes to 'Low' the heat exchanger fans start rattling. Since I replaced the hose and radiator cap I have not noticed that at all until this morning. The rattling did wake me up so that will be a good indicator of something being wrong in the future.

Karen & Adrian Abshire 
1998 2 slide 45' Newell Coach 498 
Prior: 1985 Foretravel ORED 35, 1988 38' Foretravel U280, 2000 Foretravel 42' U320, 1990 Bluebird Wanderlodge WB40
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#10

Is it recommended to go with a separate inverter and charger? I like the 'component' idea...
I am comparing: All prices from Amazon (Prime)
-Xantrex Freedom SW 3012 $1656
-Xantrex Remote Panel: 809-9021 $162
-Xantrex Auto Generator Start: $157 (shows discontinued?) - have to buy cabling separately $
VS.
-Magnum Hybrid Series 3000 $1840
-Magnum ARC50 remote panel $152
-Magnum ME-AGSN Auto Generator Start: $275 - starts based on temperature inside coach! Keep the dog cool!

Karen & Adrian Abshire 
1998 2 slide 45' Newell Coach 498 
Prior: 1985 Foretravel ORED 35, 1988 38' Foretravel U280, 2000 Foretravel 42' U320, 1990 Bluebird Wanderlodge WB40
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