Shopping for inverter/charger
- Thread starter cajon409
- Start date
I had a freedom 2000 and went to a Magnum ME-2012. It is installed in a hunter 340 and has done a great job for us for the last 3 years. It will run the admirals hair curler and blow dryer ( not at the same time ) and runs all the day to day equipment with no problem. It will not run the a/c when out of the marina but we use a small Honda gen with adapters to the shore power if we need additional juice(rarely). I have it connected to 4-6v golf cart batteries for the house and 1-12v for the engine starter.
I have only had a problem with it once and it was pretty major. Apparently there was an issue which welded the contactor for the charger in the closed position. Magnum finally determined that it was"more than likely a power surge from the shore power that caused the issue". They then turned around and said that since it was not a sure thing that it was the issue, they went ahead and covered the problem under warranty. They completely rebuilt the motherboard and contractors for no charge (1 month befor the warranty was to expire). I didn't pay $1, just had to remove the unit and deliver to a certified shop.
I guess you figured out that I am now a big Magnum fan. I also installed the 450 controller and the multi bank switch. Just make sure the grounds are run properly (if they are not the state of charge will not reflect the correct voltage when charged with the engine). With that system I always know the state and draw on the batteries and never ran short on juice.
I personally don't think you can go wrong wth their systems.
Good luck.
I have only had a problem with it once and it was pretty major. Apparently there was an issue which welded the contactor for the charger in the closed position. Magnum finally determined that it was"more than likely a power surge from the shore power that caused the issue". They then turned around and said that since it was not a sure thing that it was the issue, they went ahead and covered the problem under warranty. They completely rebuilt the motherboard and contractors for no charge (1 month befor the warranty was to expire). I didn't pay $1, just had to remove the unit and deliver to a certified shop.
I guess you figured out that I am now a big Magnum fan. I also installed the 450 controller and the multi bank switch. Just make sure the grounds are run properly (if they are not the state of charge will not reflect the correct voltage when charged with the engine). With that system I always know the state and draw on the batteries and never ran short on juice.
I personally don't think you can go wrong wth their systems.
Good luck.
Last summer I installed a Magnum MS2000 and the RC50 control panel. I had a Xantrex 3000 watt previously. I love the Magnum, it is silent the Xantrex was loud and was a modified sine wave. The magnum is a sine wave inverter which seems to make the battery charger and other chargers (wall warts) much happier! It also uses a lot less energy at idle. Highly recommend!
Replaced our original 1991 1600 watt Heart Interface inverter/charger in 2003 when it was reaching the end of its life. I replaced it with a Xantrex Freedom 25 on Hunter Marine Customer Service's recommendation. Did the job myself following the manufacturer instructions. Bought the factory certified remanufactured unit from the Xantrex internet site for 50% of new. They just so happened to have a unit in stock. A few years later I installed a Link 1000 to monitor battery performance. Very pleased with the product performance over the years.
Went with a MS2012,took out the excessive wires with the freedom 2(blk box} and link 2000, my question is the pos cable from the old unit ran to the bottom of the inverter selector switch piggy back to the battery isolator then jumped of the the 2 house 8d's. I assume this can be rid of. Off of the isolator have wires to the starter battery from the alt.,looks like a lot of this is going to be redundant. Ya'lls opinion are welcome.
i'd recommend against master volt. they're very expensive, and my OEM master volt charger lasted only 3 years (of week end use with boat hauled 6 months out of the year...) the charger quit functioning because the 'computer controlled fan ' (worth about $5 i suspect) "could not be rebuilt..." I tried ripping it part myself to fix it and couldn't. $375 later, at 2 years of similar light use, the replacement charger is showing the same symptoms.. if the whole boat were not already wired for all OEM master volt diagnostic panels and gauge i'd switch battery chargers in a new york minute.
Don't get me started on mastervolt.
It is over-engineered, unreliable, overpriced junk.
There is only one consistently reliable vendor in the market right now, and that's Magnum.
Back when Xantrex made the original freedom stuff it was ok. Their customer service is now abysismal
It is over-engineered, unreliable, overpriced junk.
There is only one consistently reliable vendor in the market right now, and that's Magnum.
Back when Xantrex made the original freedom stuff it was ok. Their customer service is now abysismal
hey
and did i mention they want you to ship the part to AMSTERDAM Netherlands --and back ---if you're entitled to warranty service ???
YeS, forgot about that one.
Mastervolt is equipment designed for larger yachts where they have "systems" This gets very expensive , but on large yachts you don't tend to mix & match stuff. You find one company who supplies all the components.
With mastervolt, they don't have a consumer product which easily integrates a charger & inverter & switching into one tidy box. It's all components which attach across their proprietary bus.
Their batteries are hugely expensive.
Mastervolt is equipment designed for larger yachts where they have "systems" This gets very expensive , but on large yachts you don't tend to mix & match stuff. You find one company who supplies all the components.
With mastervolt, they don't have a consumer product which easily integrates a charger & inverter & switching into one tidy box. It's all components which attach across their proprietary bus.
Their batteries are hugely expensive.
I have had a Mastervolt Combi, shunts, and remote monitor. I've been very happy with the system and the ability to control, and monitor functions. They have been owned by the same company the owns Marinco for some time. They also are under common ownership with Blue Seas, Ancor, etc.
https://www.mastervolt.com/about-mastervolt/
Their Lithium Ion Battery systems are extremely expensive. It is high tech stuff. I couldn't bring myself to even consider them at that price. (I just bought 2-300 amp hour Relions to replace my Lifeline AGM's after years of experiencing declining durability of their batteries.
Mastervolt's Lithium Ion batteries and systems are used on a number of vessels, including the Volvo around the world racers. Those guys could use ANYONE's systems without regard to cost.
Having said that, I don't know the "value proposition" of the Xantrex or Magnum off-the-shelf makes it worth it for many boaters.
I'd buy the Mastervolt again.
https://www.mastervolt.com/about-mastervolt/
Their Lithium Ion Battery systems are extremely expensive. It is high tech stuff. I couldn't bring myself to even consider them at that price. (I just bought 2-300 amp hour Relions to replace my Lifeline AGM's after years of experiencing declining durability of their batteries.
Mastervolt's Lithium Ion batteries and systems are used on a number of vessels, including the Volvo around the world racers. Those guys could use ANYONE's systems without regard to cost.
Having said that, I don't know the "value proposition" of the Xantrex or Magnum off-the-shelf makes it worth it for many boaters.
I'd buy the Mastervolt again.
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