Combination inverter/charger

[Fulltiming Felines]

Are these a good idea? Here's a PDF from Sterling Power.

How is this charging functionality different from the stock charger that comes with say, a 1991 Hymer?

Does the solar controller wire into this charger?

Thanks for humoring a newbie.

 

[funflair]

I don’t think the solar goes through it.

It will be a better charger than the original with more battery type settings and multistage charging. The inverter side is something additional that didn’t feature in your original set up and gives you mains power from your batteries, better if it’s the pure sine wave.

Martin

 

[Wissel]

Sterling products are generally quite high quality, so probably a reasonable inverter and 240v charger.

Just a 240v charger though, so won't charge from solar or when driving. Highly likely to be a way better EHU charger than in your van currently.

 

[Fulltiming Felines]

If I have solar, then the solar setup will include a MPPT controller that charges the batteries, so then will I have a need for this inverter/charger?

Can the MPPT controller also handle EHU?

 

[peterc10]

They are not cheap top buy or fit.

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[deleted-member02]

What would be a suitable battery and solar set-up to make the invertor useable (say minimum spec 2500w model)?

 

[peterc10]

What would be a suitable battery and solar set-up to make the invertor useable (say minimum spec 2500w model)?

Depends what your use will be like and how often you will be driving. The more electricity to use, especially 240V, the more batteries and solar you will need. The solar generates the electricity and the batteries store it. No point in trying to store more than you can produce.

 

[mitzimad]

i think your getting carried away with gadgets wait till you use the van see what you need we have an invertor and seldom use it do you realy need it?

 

[peterc10]

i think your getting carried away with gadgets wait till you use the van see what you need we have an invertor and seldom use it do you realy need it?

Agree with that.

We have an inverter which is only used for drying my wife's hair when we are not on EHU. Everything else electrical we use (TV, computer, ipad, 2 phones, razer, etc) is run off of 12V.

 

[pappajohn]

If I have solar, then the solar setup will include a MPPT controller that charges the batteries, so then will I have a need for this inverter/charger?

Can the MPPT controller also handle EHU?

No, you will have no need for the charger as long as you can guarantee 18 hours a day of solid sunshine as without sunshine your solar panel is nothing more than a heavy pane of glass.
The MPPT charger is for solar charging only.

The inverter charger is a mains charger to charge your battery from the 230v mains and in the absence of mains electric it can be used to convert your 12v battery power to 230v mains power to run mains powered appliances.

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[mitzimad]

No, you will have no need for the charger as long as you can guarantee 18 hours a day of solid sunshine as without sunshine your solar panel is nothing more than a heavy pane of glass.
The MPPT charger is for solar charging only.

The inverter charger is a mains charger to charge your battery from the 230v mains and in the absence of mains electric it can be used to convert your 12v battery power to 230v mains power to run mains powered appliances.

No, you will have no need for the charger as long as you can guarantee 18 hours a day of solid sunshine as without sunshine your solar panel is nothing more than a heavy pane of glass.
The MPPT charger is for solar charging only.

The inverter charger is a mains charger to charge your battery from the 230v mains and in the absence of mains electric it can be used to convert your 12v battery power to 230v mains power to run mains powered appliances.

thats true but the do use a lot of battery power which you then have to replace not always easy

 

[pappajohn]

thats true but the do use a lot of battery power which you then have to replace not always easy

Very true, but you then have four options...
1..Solar if the sun shines long enough...
2..Split charge if you drive far enough.
3..Hookup if you don't have the other options.
4..a combination of the above.

But yes, inverter should be a last choice if possible.

 

[autorouter]

My view would be, if you definitely want an inverter, and you are going to buy a new charger anyway, then an inverter/charger combination is a good idea. It will have little extras like automatic hookup/inverter changeover, which can be useful for example if you have a compressor fridge that runs from the mains. But fitting an inverter requires a good well-considered plan to make sure the batteries, charger and solar are suitable.

If you're not too fussed about an inverter, then just getting a Sterling charger would be a good option. You can always add an inverter later.