Xantrex MS2000 Inverter / Charger - 6 amps when No Load !?

[bene505]

Does anyone have an MS2000 out there? I just bought a used one and it works perfectly except when no load is connected to it, it pulls 6 amps out of the battery. Yes, the fans are running. I set the load sense at 50 watts and still no good.

Is this normal, or it my MS2000 defective?

Regards,
Brad

[s/v 'Faith']

Just a SWAG, but can you be missing a decimal?

Many inverters have a no-load draw, but it is normally more like a fraction of an amp... I know my link monitor has thrown me for a loop when I missed the .

[senormechanico]

I vote defective. Fans are usually thermostatically controlled.
The six amps is probably going into a shorted transistor or similar.

I had a brand new Xantrex Prowatt 2000 do the same thing.
It gave a different error message each time I turned it on.
Sent it back for a refund.

[St. Elsewhere]

It's probably time to try this: Overview

[djmarchand]

I have an MS2000 but it is almost 3,000 miles away from me right now. The MS does draw a lot of current when idling. I don't remember 6 amps but it sure was a lot, maybe 3 amps. The fan runs full blast when it is on.

There is a way you can put the inverter in a low power standby mode and it waits for a load on the AC circuit to start up, but I never tried that. I just shut the inverter down using the remote panel when I didn't need it. It draws less than an amp in shutdown mode.

David

[capnorv]

As a boat and off-grid houseowner, I always make sure I can shut off my inverters, because of their "ghost loads". One winter we left our cabin for a week without shutting off our inverter and returned to dead batteries! 1780 amp hours down the drain. There is a price to pay for all that convenience, and as I recall the MS 2000 isn't the most miserly of standbys, install a disconnect is my suggestion and just turn it on when needed. It becomes second nature after a while.

[bene505]

Good feedback. Thank you.

I'm worried about the same thing captorv faced, only at 6 amps standby (if that is correct), our two 4D gell batteries would be drained in a day. The fridge would stop too. That's if there was no wind for the wind generator.

So I'd like something that is a true sine wave, that have very low standby current when in sense mode. Any suggestions? (I may have to go with a separate inverter and charger to get that, but would rather have all in one.)

Regards,
Brad

[GordMay]

Have you perused the Manual?
➥ http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Dis...Artwork%29.pdf

Inverter standby/idle load should generally be under about 1 Amp.

[PamlicoTraveler]

Is something wired outside of the breakers? We have an AC TV antennae that draws power even when it's off if it is still plugged in and the inverter is on, and it's draw stumped me for a while.

[bene505]

Originally Posted by PamlicoTraveler

Is something wired outside of the breakers? We have an AC TV antennae that draws power even when it's off if it is still plugged in and the inverter is on, and it's draw stumped me for a while.

I tested it on the top of a table, with car jumper cables going to a car battery. It's 6 amps with nothing connected to the 120v outlet. When I added a light as load, it went up the right amount. Just the 6 amp base doesn't go away.

Is this normal or do I have a defective unit here?

Regards,
Brad

[senormechanico]

See post #3.

Everybody says their refrigeration is the biggest draw, which is true for most boats.

If your inverter with no load is NOT defective, and it's drawing 6 amps 24/7,
it's using more than twice the amp hours per day of my boat's refrigerator.
Admittedly, it's only apartment size, but it is 40 degrees in the fridge and 12 degrees in the freezer.