Xantrex HF 1000 Inverter/Charger Efficiency and Customer Service

[unbusted67]

Xantrex Technology Inc. - Recreational Vehicles - Freedom HF Inverter/Chargers - Product Information

I know I sort of broached this in another thread but I didn't get a lot of hits. Does anyone own one of these that can weigh in?

I am mostly concerned about inverter efficiency and customer service. I am sure there are a lot of Xantrex owners out there but I would really love to hear specifically from people who own this unit.

[djmarchand]

Xantrex customer service is one of the worst in the marine industry. The specs give the efficiency- 82% at full load, more at lower loads.

David

[tallyhorob]

There was a write up in PR just this month on inverter/chargers

[unbusted67]

what is pr?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

what is pr?

It could be “PowerBoat Reports”, a sister publication (Belvoir Media Group) to “Practical Sailor”.

➥ Powerboat Reports is the independent product test report for powerboats.

➥ Practical Sailor

[unbusted67]

Does anyone have a link to the actual review? It would be much appreciated.

The problem I am running into is that there just isn't really a product that is comparable to this one. It is small, it is cheap, it has a detachable display, and you can plug a regular edison cable into it to charge.

Please show me something else that fits even a few of those criteria (particularly the cheap part) and I would gladly consider it.

[s/v Jedi]

Cheap normally means it will not score high in reviews. I don't understand what you want... cheap and top specs & quality? Sure, I would want that too, but nobody can tell me the brand either. So, after a lot of consideration I went for quality (Victron Energy).

If you don't need the charger-part (just inverter), I can recommend Synergex.

cheers,
Nick.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Cheap normally means it will not score high in reviews. I don't understand what you want... cheap and top specs & quality? Sure, I would want that too, but nobody can tell me the brand either. So, after a lot of consideration I went for quality (Victron Energy).

If you don't need the charger-part (just inverter), I can recommend Synergex.

cheers,
Nick.

I know I sound like "that guy". I work in the audio field and people are always buying cheap consumer crap and wondering why it doesn't work well. So I should rephrase.

I have a small boat so my needs are small. I do not need a huge inverter with 4000 watts that can only be tied in via a 30 amp connector that will also need to be installed. I don't need a something that can tell me battery temp, amp hours, and record my efficiency.

I do need a small unit, that I can plug in with a regular Edison cable and that can charge my batteries over night and power a laptop and a few cell phone chargers with a moderately efficient inverter, that is about it. But if you look around there really aren't that many units that offer that. That's one of the reasons these things are so back ordered.

I would also love to pay less than $500 for that unit and not have it be completely wracked by problems. If that does not exist then so be it. I won't throw a snit or anything. Totally cool.

If I can not find that maybe I would do well to buy a separate inverter and charger. Would you agree? If so can anyone recommend a good combo for a small sail boat? Think minimalist pocket cruiser.

Thanks guys.

[s/v Jedi]

When you want to charge cellphones and laptops you really want to use a sine inverter, not a modified sine inverter. This means it costs more but it won't ever damage your phones or laptop. A small 400W to 600W model will be fine and Synergex has that.

For a charger you can buy one anywhere, your favorite hardware store.

cheers,
Nick.

[RHough]

Originally Posted by djmarchand

Xantrex customer service is one of the worst in the marine industry. The specs give the efficiency- 82% at full load, more at lower loads.

David

I agree. Xantrex "customer service" is a joke. The product works well enough, but heaven help you if you have a warranty claim.

Short version:
MS3000 failure reported in January 2010
Xantrex replaced with SW3000 after several months
SW3000 was recalled before new unit was installed
Xantrex would NOT exchange NEW unit for one that did not need recall
Xantrex required that I send the NEW unit back to the US for the recall
Xantrex screwed up the paperwork and I had to pay tax to "import" the repaired unit
Still have not gotten a refund of the tax I had to pay for their error ...

13 months and counting

R

[senormechanico]

I agree on the customer "service".
Also see:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...but-52383.html

[Rhythm]

Do yourself a favor and get the Magnum MM1212 instead. I made the mistake of getting the HF1000 for the same reasons you are (it's soooo cheap!) then found out that it is not only very poor at charging, but makes so much noise that you may as well put a small screaming child in your boat... even if it's float charging at just a few amps. If you have a strict budget, get a simple quality charger instead and get a cheap separate inverter when you need it.

[s/v Jedi]

one word: Victron.

ciao!
Nick.

[jlrubin83]

I purchased one yesterday from West Marine. My original Freedom 10 on our Catalina 30 was dying a slow death, it would only manage about 12- 12.5 volts. I am not a huge AC power user while underway as we only have 2 Group 24 batteries, mine are new and wet cell. I have never installed one of these things but it was fairly straight forward. My old unit had the battery cables hard wired to it so I also replaced them with new 2 guage wire and ends that I made to length at West Marine. The AC input and output wired push into the front of the unit with the help of a small slotted screwdriver. This was not quite as easy as it sounds as the guage of the Romec on the C30 was to large so I had to downsize. Mounting the unit and the battery cables is very easy as well as the ground. Mounting it myself seemed like a good idea as now I am very familiar with the system. It took about 30 seconds to power up and I got a green status light, green is good. I immediately had 13.25 volts across the terminals that built to 13.5 within an hour. I read some of the negative comments so I bought a 3 year warranty from West Marine. As for the fan running, its not loud, its a small computer fan that runs when the unit is working hard. If it ran 24/7 it wouldn't be bad. I read bad reports on all of these units, not just Xantrex. I'll let you know how it works in time. People do such a bad job installing or misusing things that I hope this is the case here. They are very specific about mounting and wiring, I read all the directions and it turned right on, lets hope it lasts!

[senormechanico]

Purchased a Magnum MS4024 for our home's solar array.

The solar system is an Enphase grid intertie.
I added "Y" connectors on each panel which, combined with schottky diodes tofeed a 700 aH LiFePo4 bank through a Midnite Solar MPPT controller when the grid is down.

The inverter/charger is only used during power outages which are frequent in the winter, but it's a very high quality built unit, and very programmable with the optional display.