Victron Pheonix inverter

[unbusted67]

Anyone used one of these? Reviews comments?
http://shop.pkys.com/victronphoenixinverter12180-120v60hz.aspx

[AdriftAtSea]

While I haven't used that particular piece of gear, I would say that Victron's equipment is generally well made and well-regarded.  

However, I would highly recommend avoiding using Peter Kennedy Yacht Services, as he is an incompetent crook.  The reason I say this is simple... Peter Kennedy is a man who can not be trusted to keep his word or stand behind his work.  See my blog post HERE.

Here is a photo of the $40 masthead light bracket that he made and installed on my boat...




Note, the bracket was being held in by silicone sealant.  The bracket is an unfinished bar of aluminum scrap that is probably worth $0.50 or so.  It doesn't even have the edges ground to a smooth finish.  The bar was not wide enough to properly seat the masthead light, so two of the screws holding the masthead light in place are primarily held by the silicone sealant there.

This is how he drilled the GPS bracket mount.  



Note that he only drilled THREE of the four holes that are required and that he placed one of the holes so that the screw ended up digging into the delrin nylon bearing surface that the mount is supposed to rotate on. The screw holes are spaced so that they could be fit without damage to the bearing surface had more care been taken in drilling them?I know because I was able to do so myself.

Edited, CapnK: Fixed Link Syntax

[unbusted67]

I am sorry for your mishap, What does that have to do with the inverter?

[AdriftAtSea]

If you read my previous post, you'd see that I replied that Victron is normally considered a fairly decent brand and their equipment is well regarded.  I was just warning you about the vendor you had linked to.  If you don't mind supporting unethical business people, then by all means, go ahead and purchase it from his company, but good luck getting support or service from him should you have any issues.

[unbusted67]

Ahhh I see. Thanks for the heads up. While we are at it never order anything from RV Fun Products, those guys swore at me on the phone.

[AdriftAtSea]

BTW, Victron was the OEM maker of several of the Xantrex battery monitors.  The Xantrex XBM was essentially a Victron BMV 600 unit re-badged.  Their customer service is better than Xantrex's as well from what I've seen.

If you are looking to get this inverter to power a laptop computer, I would highly recommend getting a DC-to-DC power supply for it instead.  The iGo units are quite nice and also offer the ability to re-charge a cellular phone, MP3 player or other small electronic device at the same time.  The DC-to-DC adapters are going to be more energy efficient than the inverter is.

[Auspicious]

Victron doesn't seem to be widely available in the US. PKYS is the only source that popped up on a Google search. I believe Chardonnay Boatworks installs Victron. Scott Berg there ((301) 576-1843) can probably sell you one. Scott thinks highly of Victron (and incidentally Mastervolt, Magnum, and Outback) and I defer to his extensive experience.

Most of Victron's reputation is based on their larger inverters which allow power sharing (pull power from the batteries to avoid tripping breakers on the dock during start-up loads on things like A/C) and synchronization (allowing multiple inverters to be paralleled for greater capacity). I didn't know they even made one as small as 180 watts.

180 watts seems low for a general purpose inverter. There are inefficiencies with oversizing an inverter. Regardless, for general use, I'd get a 400 to 600 watt inverter. That should cover just about anything except heaters, coffee makers, and hair dryers.

I would avoid Xantrex due to both customer service and fabrication issues.

If you're principal load is a laptop and you can get cables to charge your cell phone and MP3 players from USB then a DC-to-DC converter is a good solution. Kensington makes reasonable units with interchangeable charging tips. I have had failures due to overheating at connectors on iGo and Lenovo converters.

Some of the converters can be set up to run off aircraft-type power connectors (increasingly common on commercial aircraft and some trains).

[AdriftAtSea]

Auspicious?

I wouldn't get an aircraft type adapter for a boat, as the aircraft systems are higher voltage than the 12 VDC you'll find the boat.  IIRC, the aircraft adapters use 17-18 vdc...not a 12 VDC based system. Apple sells an aircraft adapter for the MacBooks and it will not work in a car or boat, even though it does fit into a standard 12VDC accessory plug.

[Auspicious]

Several "power bricks" have quite broad input voltage ranges. The Lenovo brick I'm running on now is rated for 10.5 - 18 VDC. The cigarette lighter connector is a clever bit that comes apart to expose the aircraft connector. I've seen similar gear from Apple, Kensington, and Dell.

[matt195583]

Adrift can you send me a blue print for that mast head light bracket ...... at $40 each I think I will go into production  ;D

[AdriftAtSea]

True, but some are not so adaptable.  BTW, the MacBook?s Airline Adapter is not a power brick, as it provides nothing in the way of voltage conversion or stabilization, it is just a power cord.

Several "power bricks" have quite broad input voltage ranges. The Lenovo brick I'm running on now is rated for 10.5 - 18 VDC. The cigarette lighter connector is a clever bit that comes apart to expose the aircraft connector. I've seen similar gear from Apple, Kensington, and Dell.

[CapnK]

Adrift can you send me a blue print for that mast head light bracket ...... at $40 each I think I will go into production  ;D

Here ya go, Matt. I do hope you can understand technical drawings.

[AdriftAtSea]

CapnK?

There's just something wrong about you... I'm not sure what...but I like it... :) 

[Auspicious]

Several "power bricks" have quite broad input voltage ranges. The Lenovo brick I'm running on now is rated for 10.5 - 18 VDC. The cigarette lighter connector is a clever bit that comes apart to expose the aircraft connector. I've seen similar gear from Apple, Kensington, and Dell.

True, but some are not so adaptable.  BTW, the MacBook?s Airline Adapter is not a power brick, as it provides nothing in the way of voltage conversion or stabilization, it is just a power cord.

The Apple Magsafe airline adapter doesn't even let you charge a laptop battery. There are several alternatives, including some that modify the Magsafe to boast the output voltage from an airline jack back up to the spec'ed input voltage for the Macbook so you can run the laptop AND charge the battery.

Even Apple drops the ball sometimes.

[CapnK]

There's just something wrong about you... I'm not sure what...but I like it... :) 

Oh, I know what it is! I was wrong to forget to tell Matt prior to his looking at them that the fee for viewing the copy of those drawings is US$200.00...

It ain't easy, that's fer sure.

;D

[Tim]

Ahh come Capn, sell him a study plan set for $25

[AdriftAtSea]

True, but some are not so adaptable.  BTW, the MacBook?s Airline Adapter is not a power brick, as it provides nothing in the way of voltage conversion or stabilization, it is just a power cord.

The Apple Magsafe airline adapter doesn't even let you charge a laptop battery. There are several alternatives, including some that modify the Magsafe to boast the output voltage from an airline jack back up to the spec'ed input voltage for the Macbook so you can run the laptop AND charge the battery.

Even Apple drops the ball sometimes.

No argument there.

[Captain Smollett]

Ahh come Capn, sell him a study plan set for $25

Okay, CapnK's picture was phunnie, but this is hi-larious!

Grog to you sir, for one cool laugh out loud.  (Okay, to Kurt, too, for providing the hanging curve ball for this one...)

[CapnK]

Funny? I was only trying to deduce what the plans must have looked like, for that guy to have made that, um, 'thing' that he put Drifty's masthead light on...

Musta been at the Clampett Boteyard and Vessile Works, is my guess.  ???

But, Yes, that were a good one! Tim does have quite the twisted and devious mind. (Fits right in with the rest of you deviants...)

[Tim]

Hey CapnK, you are the artist, I just draw the mustaches on ;)

Could you do a cartoon version of a "western union splice"?   ;D