Tripp-Lite Inverter Chargers?

bburrito · 05-11-2010, 07:54 PM

Im about to do a complete redo on the interior of my Sportsmobile changing it from the basic grey interior I have now to a tiki-surf style. Part of the changes is that I am going to add in some extras that it doesnt already have. Included in this is going to be the addition of a house battery system with a shorepower connection. I think I have most everything I need right now except for the inverter. I have been looking around and was thinking that I was going to have to spend $1500 but then I came across the Tripp-Lite Inverters on Inverters R Us. Their inverter/chargers are going for as low as $500-600. I understand they are modified sine wave inverters and that is OK for my application. It is mainly so I can have power to run things like a blender, AA/AAA battery chargers, laptop, and stuff like that. Can anybody think of any reason why these units would not work? After reading specs it looks like it is made for my application but the price disparity is throwing me off.

http://www.invertersrus.com/trippliteaps1250.html

charlie56 · 05-11-2010, 08:51 PM

FWIW
Your laptop isn't going to like a Modified Sine Wave power source. I plugged my old Sony Vaio laptop into my 1,000 watt MSW inverter on the last trip. It heats up both the AC - DC transformer and the MSW inverter. Its far better to buy a DC - DC step up transformer (a brick) and plug the laptop directly into your DC power source.

I have been told that anything that isn't a pure resistance load will have a hard time with a MSW inverter.

LenS · 05-11-2010, 09:22 PM

We use a Tripp Lite PV1000 and it works fine. Can charge our cell phones, cameras, Dell laptops, etc. Believe we got it on 2004 or 2005.

LenS · 05-11-2010, 09:50 PM

Well really we have a 1000 watt and 100 watt inverters. We use the 100 watt inverter when we are dry camping for extended periods of time to stretch house battery life. We have them wired in so that we can switch between them as needed. The newer Tripp Lites have remote control units you can get. Our 2004 or 5 unit was not available with that feature. So removed the controls from the face of it and put them on a panel. That let me bury the inverter in the back of a cabinet by the house batteries.

NRL · 05-13-2010, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bburrito

Im about to do a complete redo on the interior of my Sportsmobile changing it from the basic grey interior I have now to a tiki-surf style. Part of the changes is that I am going to add in some extras that it doesnt already have. Included in this is going to be the addition of a house battery system with a shorepower connection. I think I have most everything I need right now except for the inverter. I have been looking around and was thinking that I was going to have to spend $1500 but then I came across the Tripp-Lite Inverters on Inverters R Us. Their inverter/chargers are going for as low as $500-600. I understand they are modified sine wave inverters and that is OK for my application. It is mainly so I can have power to run things like a blender, AA/AAA battery chargers, laptop, and stuff like that. Can anybody think of any reason why these units would not work? After reading specs it looks like it is made for my application but the price disparity is throwing me off.

http://www.invertersrus.com/trippliteaps1250.html

Instead, I'd recommend these similar models of the powerinverters, like this one:
http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/mo ... delID=2939

I'd also take a look at the other more then 1000Watt ones too here:
http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/pr ... riesID=818
Unless you have less then 1000Watt needs, there are smaller ones..

I use it to charge an 8D Battery from shore power. It powers my notebooks, LCD/LED Monitors, PS3/Xbox, Microwave, and more for the last 5 years with no issues and still ticking... amazing.
Best $550 bucks I spent back then. It's tiny too. About the only thing is I think I've grown out of it and need more watts then 1250 and need the power to last longer..

The above is the 12V version but my McGuyver Buddy says that to really stretch it out is to go with the 24V version and hook up two 8D or 4D (12V) Batteries in Series.. .. morethen double the range was calculated.
That'll be someday..

I think there is even a 36V version that I'm thinking of testing out for the house UPS backup and energy saver with 3 8D AGM's and related Solar Panels.

bitburger · 05-15-2010, 08:40 PM

As a related issue, you may want to consider the Tripp Lite Service capabilities.

I'm up in the Pacific North West and thought I may be having some trouble with my charging circuit on my Tripp Lite 2000w inverter/charger. Specifically, I wanted to confirm that it wasn't overcharging my batteries since I was trying to debug an electrical issue that was cooking my AGM batteries every 3 months.

I called TL to see about authorized service providers in the area. None. They only do remove and repair back to the factory.
What would they recommend to help isolate (or vindicate) their inverter charger. Same response, "We don't provide any support outside the factory. Take it out and sent it to us and we'll take a look at it." They just didn't seem to care about my problem.

Given the lack of support, I won't use their product again and I'll replace it with a different brand if it fails outside warranty.

As always, your mileage may vary.