xantrex pro-sine 1800 24v

[birdhouse]

hello all-
picked up a xantrex pro-sine 1800 used on ebay the other day and finally got to test it out.  the unit is for 24 volts and has 1800 watts continous and 2900 watts surge (for five seconds). 

i paid 500.00 USD and am very happy with it.  the only thing i have run off it as of yet is my worm drive bosch circular saw.  (similar to a skil saw mag 77 , blade on left because where else would it be better?)  these are power hungry, burly saws, and honestly i was surprised the inverter kept up.  cut a few boards and pushed the saw through hard with a semi dull blade and had no issue.   

the best part, is it has a power saver mode where it will "go to sleep"  and only draw 1.5 watts until is is woken back up via plugging something into it. 

i have no long track record with this inverter, but from initial use, i find it to be superb!  and would recommend it to anyone! 

adam

[SparWeb]

I have some indirect experience with a Prosine 1800.  Someone I know through work was trying to keep a refrigerator running with one.  Despite readings on all meters that even start-up demands were less than 1800 Watts, it still could not get the refrigerator to start on the inverter.  Plugged directly into AC "shore power" it worked fine, but running solely off batteries, no good.  Adding batteries to the system did not help.  Increasing wire gauges and making sure the inverter's DC feed lines were "twisted" didn't help either.  He eventually gave up, bought another inverter, and everything worked fine afterward.  The new inverter's specs didn't differ much from the Prosine's.  But for compressor motor starting, the new inverter won hands-down.

He probably paid a lot more than 500 dollars for the new inverter, though.

[birdhouse]

spar- 
that's odd.  this inverter seems to have as much if not more umph than any standard 15 amp receptacle, though i do know compressors have some high start up surges. 

i kept an eye on the inverters read out just as i pulled the trigger on my saw, and at one point saw 122 amps (24 v bank).  the inverter was only temp wired with two #10 per side.  i was pretty stoked! 

question:  do you think this inverter will run my porter cable pancake compressor?  it has a nameplate stating 10 amp draw @ 120v.  much lower amp rating than the saw (15 amps) though it is a compressor, which i understand can be hard to get going. 

through the specs of the inverter it should do it no problem, but specs and real life can vary wildly!

adam

[ghurd]

I recall someone (RC Pilot?) smoking at least one of the yellow ones, maybe 2, trying to get his fridge to work.

If it gets much below maybe 25F or 20F, my little oiled hotdog compressor won't even start on the 20A grid wire.
G-

[birdhouse]

ghurd-
yea, those oil bathed pumps get very cranky when it gets cold out.  my pancake is the newer (though probably not better)  oil-less type. 

i really don't want to fry this inverter.  it seems they would have ample protection built in for themselves, but apparently not.  been thinking about buying a different circular saw that only has an 11 amp sticker on it to use less juice and not push this inverter so hard.   

in theory:  to cut a 2 x 4 it takes probably 4 seconds.  with an 11 amp saw including surge this probably uses around 6600 watts during those four seconds, or 1650/second average.   i have 400 watts worth of solar.  lets say i was working around solar noon.  does this mean after one cut, it would take my system around 20-30 seconds (assuming some losses) to replace the power i just used? 
i'm trying to figure out if i can do small slow paced construction work during the solar heart of the day. without killing my battery bank (225ah @ 24v)

thanks
adam

[ghurd]

I went with oil filled because people who know about them than I do said it would outlast me.
The last gas station with "free air" started chaging 75 cents, so I got a compressor that did not run on 12V and fit in my coat pocket.
It is the Best 2HP 120V 14A oiled unit money can buy... if you only have $59, a rebate form, and a coupon for Pep Boys. 

"in theory:  to cut a 2 x 4 it takes probably 4 seconds"
Might try that with a stop watch!  I can't see it taking more than 2 seconds.
I have seen people do it with hand saws faster than... 5 seconds?

Not sure about saws and surge.  My personal opinion is no 2 are the same.  Your 1650W sounds a bit too high (120V x 11A = 1320W).  I think many saws are rated at more amps than they actually use, so they can claim a bit more HP rating. 
The surge is still the inverter killer.
I believe it is good to let the saw get up to speed before jambing it into a 2x4.

With decent sun, or semi-reasonable sun, pretty sure the solar will keep up.
"the solar heart of the day" is maybe 10:30AM to 2:00PM?
20-30 seconds, say 25 seconds, is 504 2x4s in 2.5 hours.
Are you really that organized?  God bless you if you are!

I believe it is more efficient to start working Before solar noon.
I figure with 400W going into 225AH at 24V, the batteries are usually up to regulation before solar noon?
Then a lot of the available power is not being harvested, or stored for later use.
If you can work fast enough to keep the batteries down to 25V then the efficiency (solar available vs power out of the battery) will be higher.
I would not bother slowing down until the batteries were standing at 24.35V (if I could work fast enough to accomplish it).
I would want them above 24.5V a while before sundown.

Postponing a major project for weeks because I am worried it may shorten the working life of $300 worth of batteries by 20% is not something I do (any more).
Some people don't worry about burning gas in a genny, oil changes, tune-ups, noise, etc.
I don't worry about golf cart batteries in some situations.  They take a lot of abuse and seem no worse for the wear.  Even if they were being damaged, it still works out cheaper than the combined genny costs!
G-

[birdhouse]

ghurd-  that is exactly the reply i was looking for, and thanks for the time to put it together!    in my mind it makes sense, but my mind doesn't always make sense.     from the sounds of it, i should be able to run my air compressor, and circ saw (not at the same time) so long as i don't work too quickly. 

THIS IS MUSIC TO MY EARS!!!  literally...  means i can work off the inverter while the sun is peaked, and still hear the radio due to the noisy genset being out of the equation!

still thinking/wanting another four trojan t-125's, and now would be the time to do it seeings how the existing set (4) was purchased last august.     

also might have a lead on some additional used, but never used panels. 

i may actually have a worthy system in not too long.  something i've dreamed of for years!

thanks again, and i would also like to thank the site, for without it, i wouldn't be near this far!  i keep forgetting to donate, gonna do that right now.

adam