Upgrading Inverter charger, seeking advice

[Barman]

I am interested in upgrading the inverter /charger in our 2006 Roadtrek. It came with a Tripp-Lite RV750ULHW. This is a 750 watt unit. I am thinking of moving up to a pure sine wave 2000 to 3000 watt unit, and would like to hear comments from people more knowledgeable than I on how to properly select a good reliable replacement unit. Also any dos and don'ts or pit falls. I want it to fit in the same space where the current one is located, and hopefully it would not require a complete re-wire. I am hoping that it could be as easy as remounting as needed and taking the wiring off of the old and fastening them to the new one. All of my current equipment is in fantastic shape, this is just an upgrade, not replacing because of any defects. When looking at inverters online it is pretty over whelming there are so many choices. I'm not really sure how to properly select the right one. Any advise appreciated.

[markopolo]

Not trying to pry but can you tell us what you'd use the 2000 watt or 3000 watt inverter for?

The Tripp Lite RV750 unit you have has some unusual features that are impressive.

Continuous Power: 750 watts
OverPower™ Peak Surge Power: 1125 watts (up to 1 hour)
Double Boost™ Peak Surge Power: 1500 (up to 10 seconds)

If you'd just like to run your microwave oven for example I think it would work using the OverPower™ feature if you upgrade the wiring* and the DC circuit breakers on that line.

*I think you'd need to upgrade the wiring. Your 2006 might have higher capacity wiring than the 2004 RT I had. Mine had 6 gauge wire and 30 amp and 50 amp DC breakers in the mix. 50 amps DC multiplied by 12 volts only equals 600 watts. There was just no way to take advantage of the OverPower™ & Double Boost™ options with the existing wiring and breakers in my RV. You might need to increase the wire size to 2 gauge.

Note: Your Tripp Lite is an Inverter and it is also your battery charger. It might take two units to replace it or maybe even three if you want to keep the inverter automatic transfer switch option. (nice option)

Another option would be to add a second smaller pure sine wave inverter for sensitive electronics.

I like the idea of using pure sine wave inverters for everything but they get expensive when you need 1500 watts and up. You could look at Xantrex, Samlex & maybe Tripp Lite. You could phone Randy at Best Converter and see what he recommends: http://www.bestconverter.com/ Ideally you'd find a unit that combines a pure sine wave inverter plus a smart battery charger plus an inverter automatic transfer switch.

Booster is also researching this: http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/vi...hp?f=12&t=2859