Let’s talk inverters

So we just picked up out first travel trailer and it’s equipped with a 200w solar system and is prepped for an inverter. So we are looking at possibly adding one, my question is which one do we need to run off battery sometimes? I kept reading about renogy but can’t figure out which one I would need

$360 Renogy 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter 12V DC to 120V AC Converter for Home, RV, Truck, Off-Grid Solar Power Inverter with Built-in 5V/2.1A USB, AC Hardwire Port, Remote Controller

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Inverter-Converter-Off-Grid-Controller/dp/B096MKPQ1M

or

$602 Renogy 3000w Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger 12V DC to 120V AC Surge 9000w for Off-Grid Solar RV Boat Home w/LCD Display, Auto Transfer Switch, Compatible with Lithium Battery

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-PCL1-...mzn1.fos.ac578592-0362-4e0a-958c-0f2dd61d30d4

 

Sub'd... I was just looking at those the other day for my enclosed trailer. Pure sine wave is the way to go, IMO.

Giving the two a cursory glance, I see the second, more expensive option to function as a charger when connected to shore power. You may or may not have that function already built in to your current system, but most travel trailers already do. That would put the less expensive option as possibly the better option.

 

Is the solar system (already equipped) charging a battery? If so you just need an inverter rather than an inverter /charger. You really only need the charger part if you're charging a second battery or something that doesn't match the chemistry / battery capacity of your solar system. The charger would be a good way to go if you don't have a "shore power" input already to charge your solar system. I guess details on the existing equipment are in order.

 

So my passport is equipped with solarflex 200 which told me does charge the batteries

 

Depends on how you want it to function. Do you want just an inverter? A inverter / charger / MPPT charger combo? Inverter charger /MPPT combo + automatic transfer switch (ATS)? Will you be upgrading and adding batteries? Will you be increasing solar? Upgrading shore power charger? There are a ton of ways to do it and all at different price points. At a minimum id say a 100ah lithium iron phosphate battery, inverter, smart shunt, and ATS. The more “all in one” you go the more expensive it gets

 

I looked up the Solarflex 200 and it looks pretty basic. What you want to do to it is going to depend on your usage. Personally I would get the charger version and a 100 or 200ah battery because it allows you to plug in to shore power. You might not need shore power.

 

well to be honest after thinking about it more and more and knowing how my wife is i may not even worry about it. Cause i seriously doubt my wife will ever want to go anywhere with out hook ups lol

 

The only time I've ever used the inverter in our trailer was to keep our plug-in drink cooler cold when the power went out at the campground.

 

But the places without hookups are the best places to camp!!

I'm just guessing here, but unless you have a pretty good sized battery bank (Like 300-400 Ah of Lithiums) you won't be able to run anything with a big enough load (microwave, AC, etc.) to justify a 3000W inverter. And if your trailer had a battery bank that big it would have more than 200W of solar.

That being said, Renogy is decent quality. If I were spending that much for a 3000W Renogy inverter, I'd spend a little more and go Victron.

Figure out what you'd be running off an inverter and calculate the load(s). You might be just fine with a 500-1000W inverter.

I have 600W of solar feeding 200 Ah of lithium batteries, and I'm fully charged by noon most days. But still take my generator to MW my bacon and in case I need to run the air.