Would you run 220V in your van even in the states?

[leblancexplores]

I recently purchased a 3000W 24V 110VAC PowMr hybrid inverter/charger and playing around with it it doesn't quite give me enough watts for what I'm after so I started doing some research to see if there was say 5000W 24V 110VAC inverter/charger.

3000W 110Vac 24Vdc All In One Inverter Charger

PowMr 3000Watt All In One Inverter Charger 120Vac 24Vdc with 60A MPPT Solar Charge Controller PV 100V for lithium/lifepo4 Battery And Lead Acid Battery.

powmr.com

I then stumbled on this unit which seems newer and smaller for 220VAC and it had me thinking would it be easier to spit the phases of this or step down to 110VAC and use this? I'd also get the bonus feature of being able to charge at a L2 charger if I was willing to wire that up ?

4500W 220Vac 24V All in One Inverter Charger

4500Watt pure sine wave inverter charger with 150A built-in MPPT charge controller convert DC power from PV up to 450V into 220Vac or 24Vdc power.

powmr.com

 

[justinm001]

Europe uses 230V like this. Its not split phase 240V US but single phase 230V so will not work at all in US

 

[justinm001]

To answer your question yes defiantly it makes sense to get 240V split phase if you could easily. Victron makes an inverter specifically designed for this. Allows you to use single or split phase inputs (120v or 240V) so you can plug into EV or 50amp RV spots and get the full charge instead of just using 1 leg of the 50a or 30a. When you're on split phase it'll passthru the splitphase to the outlets so you can use 240v appliances or just normal 120v but when inverting or on 120v it'll connect both legs together.

MultiPlus-II 2x 120V - Victron Energy

The MultiPlus-II 2 x120V is the perfect one-box mobile solution for standard North American 50A 120/240VAC split-phase applications.

www.victronenergy.com

 

[efficientPV]

I run a 500W 220 inverter in my garage. Why such a thing is even made, I don't know. But, Have you priced transformers lately!

 

[HarryN]

Well - two different things going on IMHO.

Good quality Inverters in the 2 - 3000 watt, 120 vac range are really only slightly stronger than a 20 amp outlet in a home.

If you put a lower end / entry level inverter in a van like the ones that you linked to, then it might make more sense to just have it all on one phase / 120 vac feed.

If you are using something like a victron quatro 5000 / 24, then it might make sense to wire 220 vac but I am still not sure. To my mind, it mostly makes sense to do that in a vehicle if you are buying an air conditioner that requires it.

 

[time2roll]

I would sooner figure out how to get by on the 3000 watts.

 

[Aussieguy]

what are you doing with it?

and is it worth the effort not being able to plugin to a outside power source

 

[Rednecktek]

Oops, wrong power style!

Back to OP, if I were in Europe I would run 230v because everything is 230v. In the US it wouldn't be worth the hassle because it's so much easier to get 120v appliances and inverters here than it is to get a transformer involved to step down to 120v. About 3Kw on the Growatts is about all you're going to find for 24v though.

<RANT> I can buy an Aimes 6000w 12v split phase inverter any day of the week, but nobody makes an AIO over 1Kw for 12v? WTF y'all! </RANT>

 

[justinm001]

Again this isn't split phase 240v but euro 230v single phase. 2 wire not 3 wire.

The benefits of 240v split phase is you get twice the power input. I don't think there's any plug larger than 50a so you get 12kw instead of 6kw. So if you have a large battery bank and want to stop and charge for the least amount of tike (ev charging station) 240v makes a big difference

 

[MisterB1959]

In the UK it's the norm for 220/240v appliances to be supplied via 12v/240v inverters in campers, caravans.

I have a 300Ah lithium battery and a 3000w Renogy inverter feeding 240v oulets and appliances, makes off gridding so much easier!

 

[Rednecktek]

Again this isn't split phase 240v but euro 230v single phase. 2 wire not 3 wire.

Oops, my bad. Not enough coffee yet. Post has been retconned. ?

 

[Hedges]

"Splitting phase" from 240V to 120/240V requires a low-voltage transformer, which is heavy if delivering 3000W or more. Maybe the little auto-transformers sold for inverter use give a decent surge to start motors, haven't tried. For a van, I assume your loads are heating appliances including microwave oven, which may not be as difficult as a motor.

There are 120/240V split-phase inverters. Some contain two separate 120V inverters, in which case you get half the power on each phase. Some may contain an auto-transformer.

The 240V (or 220V) inverters are usually European models. They probably don't support 120V shore power. May have L & N inputs, not sure they have the 2-pole relay needed for US 240V input, and then there are issues with using auto-transformer to establish neutral on vs. off grid.

You need an inverter able to supply whatever 120V loads you have. You may do better with a 48V battery unit.

5000W 120V

Midnite Solar DIY Series Inverters

NEW from Midnite Solar - the DIY Series off-grid inverter/chargers. Affordable and simple, with excellent surge capability for demanding loads of off-grid cabins or homes.

www.altestore.com

7000W 120V or 120/240V

MidNite Solar Rosie 7048RE 7kW Hybrid Inverter

MidNite’s Rosie is a 7kW hybrid inverter and 48V battery charger with intelligent customizable grid connection features and incredible 20kW surge capacity.

www.altestore.com

 

[justinm001]

"Splitting phase" from 240V to 120/240V requires a low-voltage transformer, which is heavy if delivering 3000W or more. Maybe the little auto-transformers sold for inverter use give a decent surge to start motors, haven't tried. For a van, I assume your loads are heating appliances including microwave oven, which may not be as difficult as a motor.

There are 120/240V split-phase inverters. Some contain two separate 120V inverters, in which case you get half the power on each phase. Some may contain an auto-transformer.

The 240V (or 220V) inverters are usually European models. They probably don't support 120V shore power. May have L & N inputs, not sure they have the 2-pole relay needed for US 240V input, and then there are issues with using auto-transformer to establish neutral on vs. off grid.

You need an inverter able to supply whatever 120V loads you have. You may do better with a 48V battery unit.

5000W 120V

Midnite Solar DIY Series Inverters

NEW from Midnite Solar - the DIY Series off-grid inverter/chargers. Affordable and simple, with excellent surge capability for demanding loads of off-grid cabins or homes.

www.altestore.com

7000W 120V or 120/240V

MidNite Solar Rosie 7048RE 7kW Hybrid Inverter

MidNite’s Rosie is a 7kW hybrid inverter and 48V battery charger with intelligent customizable grid connection features and incredible 20kW surge capacity.

www.altestore.com

Didn't think you could easily use a 230v euro 50hz with us power grids. Would think op would need a Transformer before and after the inverter making it completely pointless

 

[Hedges]

Pretty pointless. But a bunch of people have bought them for use here, and there are a couple of threads on that with auto-transformers.
Whatever people thought they could do with common neutral or "isolated" derived neutral and grounding, I found ways it might electrocute them, or it tries to re-balance the power grid as one of the You-tubers showed with an ammeter.

Victron has an auto-transformer that comes close to doing what's needed, with breaker for 30A on neutral while passing 100A on hot legs. I thought it needed relay rewire to avoid being paralleled with grid. Growatt has an auto-transformer with breaker to protect it and simultaneously disconnect downstream loads so they don't lose neutral.

I thought I could feed a 3-phase 120/208Y inverter setup with 120/240V split phase. 120V input worked, but using transformer to make "vectors" from 3-phase to split-phase drew excessive current.

I thought I could repurpose grid transformers for step-up or auto-transformer use, but they draw excessive idle current. I have to run them at about 50% rated voltage (and therefore wattage) to make them well behaved. That means a 25 kVA 250 lb transformer can only convert 12.5 kVA.

If OP wants to spring for Rosie, he can have 7kW at 120V, or 3.5kW + 3.5kW 120/240V split-phase. Only 43 lbs., < 1/3 the weight of my 6kW Sunny Island, so good for a van.

 

[Rednecktek]

Pretty pointless. But a bunch of people have bought them for use here, and there are a couple of threads on that with auto-transformers.

There was a time when AIO's were really only available in EU power, so people who wanted to play with them HAD to get autotransformers involved to make them work. That's not so much a problem anymore.

 

[HarryN]

What I do for customers is to use separate inverters and chargers.

That way they can use the appliances that they are used to using the power type that makes sense for them locally.

Dedicated chargers can be purchased to plug into where ever you are locally and some support multiple voltages and frequencies exactly for this reason.

It also provides some electrical isolation in case the outlet that you plug into isn't wired the same way as your vehicle. Worst case it blows out the charger, but at least not everything else.

It isn't as efficient as a pass through design of course.