# Which inverter would you chose?



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I'm looking at a few inverters that I may be able to pick up at a good price.
I would like to pick up a couple for trading after TSHTF 
But I have a few options,,, 

3000/6000 watt inverter 110 volt output ,,,, Would you get the 24 volt or the 12 volt input? 

Which do you think is more popular?


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Are you looking for pure sine wave or modified sine wave?

For a pure sine wave Magnum 4024 with 4000 watts and it also makes 240v
Outback makes some very good roughly 3000 watt 120v inverters but a bit more expensive for the power.
I went with the Schneider 6848 because it can handle 6800 watts with a 12,000 watt 60 second surge.

For a modified sine wave inverter I'd just use Amazon Reviews to help you select one.

Actually for that size power I'd consider using a 48v battery bank.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

24 VDC input can be built up with half the size wire to feed it. So less expensive installation.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Personally I suspect that there are better lower cost trade items out there. A solar panel is probably a better trade item choice if you're into energy but BIC lighters will probably be the best bang for the buck trade items and they're EMP proof.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

I think the most popular voltage will be 12 volt.... it is what most RV stuff is built for

and on another note.... I think it is a good target to try and get tings converted, as much as possible, to 12 volt - that way you do not need a converter or a step down


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

FoolAmI said:


> Are you looking for pure sine wave or modified sine wave?
> 
> For a pure sine wave Magnum 4024 with 4000 watts and it also makes 240v
> Outback makes some very good roughly 3000 watt 120v inverters but a bit more expensive for the power.
> ...


I have already found the inverters and yes they are pure sound wave.
I was just trying to decide which one to go with 12 volt input or 24 volt input they are 3000 watt 6000 surge


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Maine-Marine said:


> I think the most popular voltage will be 12 volt.... it is what most RV stuff is built for
> 
> and on another note.... I think it is a good target to try and get tings converted, as much as possible, to 12 volt - that way you do not need a converter or a step down


I'm pretty well set up for myself, I have 12 volt lights in every room, A 12 volt water system and a 1500 watt 
inverter that handles the rest. 
I'm thinking of the guy that That didn't get ready and needs it after TSHTF

He might have some good stuff to trade 
I have panels and cheap controllers put back


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## quinnbrian (Mar 6, 2014)

The higher the volts the more store cap you can have. the more lines/row of batteries you can have. 
E.G. if you have a 24 volts system, with 4 string of batteries ( I think that's max on most systems) or a 48 volt set up with 4 strings of batteries. The 48 volt set up will out power and out last ( length of time) over a 24 or 12 etc.
If I'm wrong please correct me. That is what I was told when I bought my system.
But if your going to be looking for appliances...etc then there is alot of 12 volt RV stuff (used) out there, but you could also step your voltage down to 12 volts if needed.
Cheers
Brian
And if you can afford it , you can always buy a bigger inverter ... it'll cost more to buy two smaller ones....one now and one later.
I'm running a Magnum 4448 inverter/charger , the inverter is 4400watt @48 volts and the charger is a 3 stage charging system, has worked great for the last 4 years. It has 120 and 240 volt out put.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

quinnbrian said:


> The higher the volts the more store cap you can have. the more lines/row of batteries you can have.
> E.G. if you have a 24 volts system, with 4 string of batteries ( I think that's max on most systems) or a 48 volt set up with 4 strings of batteries. The 48 volt set up will out power and out last ( length of time) over a 24 or 12 etc.
> If I'm wrong please correct me. That is what I was told when I bought my system.
> But if your going to be looking for appliances...etc then there is alot of 12 volt RV stuff (used) out there, but you could also step your voltage down to 12 volts if needed.
> ...


Correct but a thought. The fewer strings the better. The more strings the more uneven your battery charging so you never want more than 3 strings and if running the batteries in parallel (pos to Pos,,, Neg to neg maintaining voltage while increasing amperage) you never want more than 4 batteries in a string. If you run in series (increasing voltage while maintain amperage) you can use more than 4 batteries in the string. Uneven battery charging is a great way to kill an expensive battery bank prematurely.

example: on the 48v battery bank I'm currently building (batteries deliver tomorrow) I'm using eight 6v batteries in series building the voltage to 48v while maintaining the battery's original amperage of 370 amps. I've ordered eight 370 amp 6v batteries (cost $2350).

The Magnum 4448 (makes 4400 watts at 120 and 240v) pure sine wave Inverter in the example above costs about $2200. A truckstop 4000 watt modified sine wave inverter costs less than $400 and will run most things in your house. Or live large with a cheaper 2000 watt inverter that will run a large microwave or toaster oven, just not both at the same time.

The Context 6800 watt pure sine wave inverter I hung tonight (heavy bastard at about 180 lbs and I now want Advil) cost me $3090. Great inverter when there isn't a crisis while installing but in a SHTF situation most people would be thrilled at running a fridge and having few lights. Keep in mind that a microwave is a very energy efficient way to cook.

The original question was dealing with post SHTF trade items. As I said before I don't believe inverters will make a good trade item. But if you insist I'd instead suggest an inexpensive 2000 watt modified sine wave inverter ($250) which can run most refrigerators and 90% of the stuff in your house. Quality large pure sine wave inverters cost a fortune and require a large (as measured in amps) battery banks. Don't forget to stock some battery cables.


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## quinnbrian (Mar 6, 2014)

FoolAmI said:


> Correct but a thought. The fewer strings the better. The more strings the more uneven your battery charging so you never want more than 3 strings and if running the batteries in parallel (pos to Pos,,, Neg to neg maintaining voltage while increasing amperage) you never want more than 4 batteries in a string. If you run in series (increasing voltage while maintain amperage) you can use more than 4 batteries in the string. Uneven battery charging is a great way to kill an expensive battery bank prematurely.
> 
> example: on the 48v battery bank I'm currently building (batteries deliver tomorrow) I'm using eight 6v batteries in series building the voltage to 48v while maintaining the battery's original amperage of 370 amps. I've ordered eight 370 amp 6v batteries (cost $2350).
> 
> ...


Yup those 6volt batteries aren't cheap!! And I need more then Advil after unloading them out of my truck...LOL @ 110 pounds a piece, there not on the small size. But I guess if it was a SHTF thing, I would...uses 12 volt, with a little or no inverter, there is alot of 12 volt things out there that work well. In alot of the cases...older( much older ) is better. The saying " they don't make it like that anymore" sometimes/most of the times rings true.
My old Lister generator is one of [email protected] 1800 rpm's and will run on just about anything. Or an old lawnmower engine with a car alternator will do the job, just fine, for charging batteries on a cloudy day.
Man when you sit there and think about it....how prepared are you....Hopefully we'll never have to know.


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## Dirk (Mar 4, 2015)

paraquack said:


> 24 VDC input can be built up with half the size wire to feed it. So less expensive installation.


Indeed, I believe if you go for 12V you will loose relatively more voltage over the lines. The higher the voltage the less you relatively loose. Or indeed you need thicker cables which are more expensive


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

FoolAmI said:


> I went with the Schneider 6848 because it can handle 6800 watts with a 12,000 watt 60 second surge.


What kind of battery bank do you have it on? I'm looking at either the XW 6848, or an older XW 6048, I have 8.4KW of panels that normally only put out 7.9.

*Rancher*


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

azrancher said:


> What kind of battery bank do you have it on? I'm looking at either the XW 6848, or an older XW 6048, I have 8.4KW of panels that normally only put out 7.9.
> 
> *Rancher*


I went with the XW 6848 with it's 30 second 12,000 watt 30 second surge. At 7.9 kw panel output what charge controllers are you using? I went with the Conext XW MPPT 80 amp, 600 volts DC charge controller since it accepts higher voltages making panel wiring easier.

Please realize that while I've recently purchased the parts it will be several weeks before I complete the installation. I'm doing the work myself to save the $ and really understand my larger system (I already have a smaller system).


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