Excellent and very thorough video, one of the most comprehensive explanations I have ever seen, and trust me, I have seen plenty of inverter videos. Very odd there is no grounding lug. Every inverter I’ve seen in videos, and the 3 in person has a lug. I’m still confused on if you need to ground it or not, because some say you need to ground to an RV, others say not. How can we find out, 100% for sure?
A GFCI does *NOT* need a ground. Your GFCI *tester* does need a ground. A GFCI simply compares current on the hot and the neutral lines. If those lines do not carry the same current, there is a Ground Fault allowing some current to bypass the neutral and the Circuit will be Interrupted. This works so well that the National Electrical Code allows for 2 prong outlet to be replaced with a 3 prong GFCI when a ground is not available. The GFCI is similar to, if not actually more safe, than having a ground. This is probably how the inverter is designed. Your tester needs the ground path which bypasses the neutral in order to safely create a ground fault for the GFCI to detect while testing.
Also, there are high frequency and low frequency inverters. I read that if one wishes to power an induction load, like a pump motor, one should choose an inverter with low frequency. I'm not an electrician, so I can't say why. When in doubt, check! Another thing, for that size inverter, 3500w, one might consider a 24v system, or even better, a 48v system. It would run cooler, and the wires would not need to be so thick. You save money.
I agree that a 48v system would be more efficient. In some cases, people need a 12v system with this wattage, though. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏻
can it work for a LEVOIT LV600S Smart Warm and Cool Mist Humidifiers for Home Bedroom Large Room, (6L) 753ft² Coverage, Quickly & Evenly Humidify Whole House, Easy Top Fill, App & Voice Control - Quiet Sleep Mode I NEED to KNOW if it will work on it or will i NEED to buy a bigger one that cost more money
It really depends on your overall setup. The fuse size is usually stated in the manual and some inverters already have built in fuses/breakers. The rule of thumb that here would be “Continuous Watts / Battery Voltage times 1.25, for example a typical 1000W 12V inverter draws up around 83 continuous amps and we would add the 25% safety factor which comes out to 105 Amps, so we would recommend a 150A fuse. Thanks for watching and commenting
Thanks! I bought 2/0 awg wire and in the middle of hooking up the wires with a 300A ANL inline fuse. I also got 250A fuses in case 300 was too much. I need 2 more 2/0 terminal ends to connect the cable from the inline fuse to the battery. I came to this conclusion from reading somewhere I saw online. Like I said I have to wait for these terminal ends to get here to finish the installation. So hopefully the 300A or 250A fuses isn’t too much.
One thing for future reference with the tester though is I've never found an external GFCI tester that will trip a non grounded GFCI outlet. Note that a ground is not required for a GFCI outlet (non grounded GFCI are approved by nec). All a GFCI does is monitor for any differences between the hot and neutral and trips if they are imbalanced
I was seriously considering trying this inverter for a single reason. The Renogy 3000 watt inverter had a struggle to start my 16,000 btu air conditioner on my boat because of the surge. In fact, I watched the whole video waiting to see just that, but it never came. I ended up buying a 4000 watt Giandel and it handles the load just fine and runs quite a bit cooler and quieter than the Renogy did. I also find it only draws about 5 watts when idle as well. I am very leary about specifications on just about anything these days because companies just flat out lie. I only purchased the Giandel because Will Prowse tried one and could not kill it. I also bought mine second hand for $250, so it was just a bit better of a deal. So far, 4 months into cruising in the yacht, it has not given me one bit of trouble and it so quite, I don't even know it's there. In fact, the cabinet cooling fans are most of what I hear.
Man, great video. Im brand new to this and you did a great job explaining everything. So it looks like a 12v invertor will run off of a 12v truck battery. Im trying to figure out how to run a fridge (to keep it cool during power outages from a hurricane etc) without a generator or a huge solar array and setup. I think i can run a small solar panel from HF to charge the truck battery and then use the invertor. Im not sure how long the battery will last while fridge is running etc though. Trying to figure out something that's just the right size without over spending
I would get a couple good used solar panels, charge controller that can charge both LifePO4 and Lead Acid batteries. and a decent sized inverter. That is very affordable. I would also recommend some inline fuses and safety disconnects. Hope that helps.
Have a 2500 watt vevor. Died after 1 1/2 year. A pain, I have to disconnect and remove and buy new inverter. Maybe fuses? they sent spares with unit but no instructions. Seems like most cheap ones have fuses soldered to the board. Also, their units don't have cooling fins which could have contributed to failure. You get what you pay for. I am not a fulltimer, used on camping trips. Cannot recommend brand.
Even though this is not the inverter I was looking up. This guy is pretty thorough. Even gave me some information I didn't even know I was looking for at the moment. What I was actually trying to find was a video on BENTISM Power Inverter Modified Sine Wave Inverter 5000W DC 12V to AC 110V w/LCD
Honestly, It's getting about cheap enough to buy a portable power station for that type of setup. Plus you can just unplug it and use it anywhere. The flexibility of those things are impressive.
well its been 9 months and the website still says GFCI. two probable conclusions: 1. they properly grounded the circuit. or 2. they do not watch your videos
Thank you for uploading this information about this inverter. I'm upset because I spent $300 on a Kreiger 2000W PSW unit and had it for only13 months and it just died. I never ever even used it on ANY household loads. I paired it with two Redodo 100AH batteries as an emergency backup 300W solar system and only turned it on weekly to charge up some power tool batteries. Went to charge up some batteries and it failed to turn on. I paid $60 to ship it to NC for warranty repair or replacement and now USPS has no clue where the heck it is! Glad I insured it for $300 but man this is so frustrating. Kreiger is supposed to be reliable from all the reviews too. I may just go with a Vevor 2500W unit.
Good idea! I might have to do that in some future videos. Thanks for watching and commenting! Would love to have you part of my www.diysolarbuilds.com community. It's free to register, and I am looking for new people who love solar as much as I do.
I have that same inverter, and I get similar numbers on idle. I did some testing when I got it and was shocked that it pulled under 5 watts at idle. And if you're careful about what all you turn on at once, it runs everything in my house that runs on 120 just fine. I have breakers arranged that hook both legs of the house together and to that inverter. A few weeks ago, we had a 92" TV, a 73" TV, normal lighting in use (all LED), and a couple of ceiling fans running while we microwaved dinner. It handled it like a champ. The lights didn't even flicker when the microwave kicked on. I highly recommend this inverter.
👍👌❤️🇨🇦, thanks for the review, butI would run away from tgat inverter, cipper clad aluminum cables, makes me think what else thet cheaped out on on the inside
My 3500 Edecoa is just like this. I grounded my unit to earth ground through my house wiring. I just pulled one fan guard screw out a few turns and used a stack on crimp terminal. Second, if you buy one of these, throw the cables in the trash. You will need heavy 4/0 copper. With properly crimped ring terminals. 3500 watts x 12 volts is 292 amps. If you're pulling max amperage, those cables can get stupid hot. Great video bro.
Thanks for watching and sharing your experience. Yeah, I agree toss the cables that come with it and get quality windy nation cables. Can't go wrong with 4/0
I've been trying to figure out what kind of generator to buy when my power goes out during a hurricane, I have 3 Econoline vans and an expedition, and I thought maybe I can buy one of these instead of a really expensive gas powered inverter generator, I thought I already have the engines, so basically with this unit you're showing here, I want to power a full size fridge, a midsize fridge, 3 window a/c's, 3 flat screens, and a few small devices like router and a laptop and charging phones, I figured I would need about 3000 to 3500 watts, amps I'm trying to figure out, but will this be able to power what i need? Connected to my van? Meaning I would put gas in the van to power this inverter
What is the voltage between hot and ground? I have found that many of the cheaper inverters (without GFCIs) have 70V between Hot and Ground, 70V between Neutral and Ground, and 120V between hot and neutral.
I will have to dive deeper into the GFCI on this unit but I still believe it was being advertised on this unit when it was meant for another model. Thanks for watching and commenting! 👍
The battery cable is probably going to be replaced with a proper gage copper battery cable and it was the rated one in the specifications for the device. You mentioned that it came with a copper wrapped aluminum one. T. V. Set comes with a DVD , CONSOLE , ??? , so you probably placed a larger load on the converter than those, Just have a solar panel and it has a add on panel for an extra power. No battery or inverter yet, I am so confused about which way is for me. Want to use power tools and a camp full of utility gear needing power. Portable and powerful enough to work at night while cooking dinner! Rockhounding and I really don't want to pack a lot of host rock than I have to!
I have that inverter and it's a workhorse, the fan rarely comes on and it burns about 7w at idle. I have the terminal block connected to my sub panel with 10awg Romex wire and 4/0 welding cables going to the batteries. The remote control is too bright and doesn't accurately read the correct voltage, but the inverter itself is unbeatable for the price.
I am looking for a power source like this for my mobile set up (van detailing), if I get that how can I charge the battery, quick and safe? Anybody knows?
I bought the 3000w unit and the manual does not show where the fuses go I’ve contacted vevor and still can’t get an answer of the location If it’s inside then I’d void the warranty by opening it to change the fuse Do you have any idea where the fuse is? They send a bag full for a reason
Can you operate an air compressor with this one Inverter? I would like to see you test one. And thank you for the details not everyone is as clear as you are. Thanks Justin.
That little plug-in tester is not checking for the inverter being staked to the physical ground. What it is looking for is being able to pass current between the hot pin to the earth pin in the socket. Some inverters do not actually have the earth pin at 0 volts relative to the live pin, nor the neutral pin. They are at 50% voltage. The plug-in tester may not think this is right and indicates a fault. This doesn't mean a GFCI will not detect an appliance internal earth fault when connected to this inverter. Plug-in a portable GFCI and use a plug-in GFCI tester to see if it can be tripped. A proper tester is really needed to ensure the GFCI will trip within the allowed time but they aren't cheap. There's a lot more that can be said about how GFCIs work and how to hook up this inverter and determining if the inverter is even suitable for such purpose but that's a little beyond this humble comment. That said, 300A through those gauge CCA wires? They are certainly going to get hot and the voltage drop across them isn't going to be all that flash either.
Well said and I appreciate the comment. I love learning from you guys and getting comments that get my brain's gears spinning. Do you think a Klein Tools RT390 would be a good tool to thoroughly test the GFCI function on these types of units? Thank you for watching and commenting! 👍
@@JustinsProjectLike you, I doubt the inverter itself has GFCI function built in especially when there isn't any test and reset buttons. I guess I wandered a bit there but it was more of an explanation of why your tester may be indicating the open earth pin, ie it may really be open, or it may be at 50% voltage. Whip the top off and take a look at the back of the sockets and check for a wire on the earth pin going to the board in the inverter. If there isn't one a plugin GFCI will not trip on a live to appliance chassis fault, nor will your tester trip the plug in GFCI, and you can be confident the inverter does not have GFCI function built in too. Keep in mind that with no earth pin and the inverter and/or the AC coming out of it not earthed it is technically impossible to get a shock from this situation anyway without a double fault - eg first fault takes one live or neutral to the physical earth and the second fault is you getting between the physical earth and the other wire, say wire to chassis of a tool you are holding, so current can flow across you.
Can u run a inverter off being plugged in a outlet in the house instead of a battery? I have a ac unit in my shed that won't come on cause not enough power from extension cord from 20amp plug
I don't understand why people don't open these inverters up and see how they are really made? Many of them are using the case for a heat sink etc. If you are going to do a review why not go the whole way as there are so many fake inverters out there,
I agree with the wiring pure copper should be used. For gfci since you could just wire in a pony panel and run a gfci off of it. It would not really make a difference if they had one but the false advertisement needs to be dropped about it. The remote not matching up with the screen seems to happen with most inverters I’ve used before. So long as it’s close it’s not a problem. The ground is a big one but however you can still wire ground through the negative. This is normal for DC current. Besides that you should always use a capacitor in between your inverter and battery. If done properly it should increase the life of your device since it won’t have to work as hard and if your battery is full it will use the power from the capacitor first and charge it first so that your batteries don’t get touched as much when charging on solar during the day.
3500W at 12V that is 300 amps. such a high current over thin copper-coated aluminum cables? With 24 volts input that's still 150A. then you can adjust the cable cross section. Pure copper cables do not have to be as thick as aluminum cables.
Those are the cables that come with it. I would upgrade them to larger pure copper if I were going to use this for anything more than testing. Thanks for watching and commenting! 👍
Great video, awesome information. 3500 watts is a bit much for me. Do you feel that their 300watt or 2500 watt inverters would be the same quality. Thanks
Great information! Subscribed! How long until the battery gets depleted? & What’s a good way to charge the battery after usage? Will definitely be surfing your channel.
How long it takes to deplete a battery depends on the capacity of the battery and the amount of watts being consumed. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏻
Well made video Justin. If you can walk through a configuration to connect to a set of solar panel that's be great. Especially when the inverter works just at 12V while solar panels can easily connect in series to 100V or more to reduce DC current going through. With that in mind what's the best way to link up high voltage solar panels to 12V 3.5kW inverter in parallel to a 12V battery? Thank you so much
I will have to work on doing a video on that sometime. You would need a charge controller in between the PV panels and the battery. Then the inverter would be connected to the battery. Thanks for watching and commenting. 👍
👍 much appreciate that Justin. Make sure I'm not affecting any of your plan. It was just an idea that's all. That idea comes from my earlier experience connecting four 24V PVs in series to make up 96V DC panel fed into a charge controller to step it down to 24V DC to fit my battery (in parallel to my 24V inverter). In one sunny day the battery was charged up and the BMS inside shut down the battery, leaving the inverter alone to be fed with whatever the charge controller pumps. That controller probably thought the inverter could accept much higher voltage so I watched the charging voltage shooted up to 50+ V. Some little explosion and smoke came out of that inverter in a few minutes time and I have to cut the power from the inverter immediately. From that point on I don't know what configuration to use, or should I add some voltage-monitor to cut off PV input. I understand I can connect the PVs all in parallel instead, but aside from there fact that more wire would be needed in that case, the panel voltages might not be high enough to pump into a 24V battery. That's still a mystery to me, but you don't need to answer that if it's not relevant to your plan. Thanks again for your video
I would recommend considering the terminal blocks with an inline breaker and an AC disconnect. But keep in mind that it is rated at 25amp. 25a x 120v = 3000watts. 80% of that is 2400watts. The front plugs on the unit are rated at 15amps. 120v x 15amps = 1800watts max. But if you take into consideration the 80% rule, that outlet is 1440watts max. That's why the terminal block is there. To handle a little larger load. Hope that was helpful. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏻
It was very quiet, actually. I don't think it would disturb your sleep at all. I'm a fairly light sleeper, and I don't think it would bother me at all. It is that quiet. Thanks for watching and commenting! Would love to have you part of my www.diysolarbuilds.com community. It's free to register, and I am looking for new people who love solar as much as I do.
Thanks for the video, question for you tho, would you run that brand of inverter in semi, i use it for microwave, keurig and charging power tool battery and maybe an airfryer. Thanks Mate.
Yes, it is definitely capable of running a microwave, keurig, air fryer, and chargers for your tools. Just be sure that the BMS on your battery will allow for larger amp discharge and size your wires appropriately. Oh, don't forget to install all the recommended protections like inline fuses and breakers to protect your system and, most importantly, your semi. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏻
@@JustinsProject Thank you! I've got all the wiring,fuse allready in, had a inverter in before , died, i'm looking for a good replacement inverter! Thanks again!
You have to have the inverter grounded for the GFCI to work. Sadly, Renogy phone support said in a camper you don’t but in researching, that’s incorrect. Think about it, I think it’s no way for it to work if not grounded. Most inverters instructions I have seen mentioned grounding on camper or earth ground.
I am a total novice at this. I just bought a Honda Pilot that has the 2 12v gigarette outlets. I will go camping and I may want to use a computer or other small appliances off of the gigarette outlets. What would you recommend I get? Is there any negative effect to the car battery or its electrical system when using these devices? Thank you
It really depends on how you are looking to connect everything. For a total novice, I would recommend a portable power station. It makes things so much easier. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏻
It is capable of 3500w continuously. 1800w would not be an issue. You would need a decent sized Ah battery if you are going to be pulling that type of load. I would recommend a 12v 200ah LifePO4. I have a couple of links I could share with you if you are interested in those. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏻
Here is are two reasonably priced 12v 200Ah batteries. If you use coupon codes I provide each link on either brand it will save you a little money. Power Queens version: ipowerqueen.com/products/power-queen-12v-200ah-plus-lifepo4-battery-built-in-200a-bms?ref=diysolarbuilds Get 4% off the Power Queen by using coupon code: JustinPQ LiTime's version: www.litime.com/products/litime-12v-200ah-lifepo4-lithium-battery?ref=diysolarbuilds Get 3% off the LiTime by using coupon code: diysolarbuilds I have tested both brands on my channel and can confidently recommend either one. If you need more compacity then both brands have larger batteries sizes for the 12v versions in the 300Ah and 400Ah ranges. Hope that helps you out.
Would it be the same battery if I get the vevo or another one called jupiter . I was thinking in getting a 5000w instead of the 3500w. What would you recommend? I will be using it often for small pop up events to use my heat press. I was also curious on how long can I use it for during a day? Or how many hours? I just want to get something that will be long lasting for my equipment and not be able to damage them. Thanks so much👍
@merchforsuccess Yes, those batteries would work with almost any power inverter. I would also recommend starting a conversation on this topic over on the forums diysolarbuilds.com hope to hear from you over there.
@DIYSolarBuilds I would try running a ground wire from the batterys (-) pole to the inverter case itself.Make sure to put a small amp fuse in line for safety measure. BETTER YET, use a volt meter to see if any voltage is back fueding.If there is voltage,then the inverter is internally wired wrong and do not run that wire--A long time ago there was such a critter called POSITIVE GROUND. (bad idea).
Can someone tell me why when I do a continuity check between the 4 ac outlets that every other outlet tones opposite between hot and neutral and also to the hardwire contacts
No I took the box off exposing the board and on the 15 amp outlets there are no wires between the hots and neutral just heavily sautered boards from the output wires red will supply the first hot bus then go over to the neutral on the next outlet and so on back and fourth the 25 amp hard wire terminals have the red supply wire going to the hot and black as the neutral with the green and yellow as ground bonded to the case there is a reason that they didn’t put a ground stud on that thing any where because if you ever tried to wire it into a panel an a cabin or house some where the neutral and ground are bonded that would light up your life in a red hot hurry I am not using the 15 amp outlets but cut up a triplex dog bone adapter cord and wired it to the 25 amp ac output terminals I will then just run loads from that
I like the video but I just got one of these and there are no markings on the hardwired terminal for positive neutral ground. I'm trying to hardwire my RV plug into this now 😤
