Stacking Inverters

[davevancat]

my catalina 30 has a xantrek 1000watt invertor onbaord which works for most things but am curious if i could stack another 1000 somehow and get closer to 2000 watts as the 1000 just isnt quite big enough for my microwave. is this easily done is it as simple as hooking up another 1000? thanks

[S/V Illusion]

Rhetorical question - How would you plug one microwave into two inverters?

[davevancat]

the way it was explained to me was you take a lead off of 1 invertor 1 off the other invertor and connect them to a single plug. now i dont know if you need a specific type of invertor to do this or if this will work. any invertor genius's out there have any ideas. tanks

[Bash]

Rhetorical question #2: How would you get the two inverters to be in phase with each other?

[Rick]

Inverter stacking requires that they be designed to do so from the factory in order to phase them under all operating conditions. Yours will not do that.

Regardless, your inverter should be capable of driving any microwave on the market because the power versus time capability before overheating is about two-plus kW down to about 1kW over a 15 minute to 30 minute time span. If yours will not do this it is because the input voltage is too low when your unit "kicks out". Your battery bank and wiring should be such that the voltage at the INPUT of the inverter is equal to or greater than 12.0 Volts at the end of about 10 minutes of continuous (100%) use. If not, your setup is deficit.

Measure the volage while under load, not after the microwave turns off.

[idpnd]

Take a look around on the victron site, I was searching for a manual the other day, they have a document describing how to do that - apparently you can link any number of theirs (but theyre pricey)

[skipmac]

With a 12V DC battery you can connect 2 100 amphour batts in parallel and get 200 amphour capacity. The capacity of the two batteries adds together.

AC doesn't work that way. AC = alternating current. In the US that current alternates from -120V to +120V 60 times a second (60 Hertz). To connect two different sources of AC you have to make the + and - cycles of the different sources synchronize so both go the same way at exactly the same time. In electronic terms that is in phase.

To do this takes a special circuit which is not part of most AC inverters. The only one I know of which was mentioned already is Victron. They are very good but not cheap.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by skipmac

The only one I know of which was mentioned already is Victron. They are very good but not cheap.

Outback is also stackable. I think Magnum can be stacked, but I'm not positive.

Mark

[St. Elsewhere]

I have stacked Trace 4024 inverters on my boat. Trace was bought by Xantrek and they are still selling and supporting such units. I do not know if your models have that functionality or not. I also think that "stacking" may serve a different purpose than you intend.

With one inverter you would get 1 KW of 120v power available. With two stacked inverters you would get 2 KW of 120/240 volt power. The stacked system enables serving a panel like those in our homes where two pole breakers give you 240 volts and single pole breakers supply 120 volts. For your purpose you could simply add a second inverter and run additional 120 volt breakers from it.

If you are supplying a 120 volt panel from your inverter, you would be better served to replace your 1 KW unit with alarger one instead of adding a second unit. The second unit would have to supply a second panel. The inverter outputs can not be connected in parallel.

[davevancat]

thanks everyone my microwave is a m/w convection oven combo styel ive only tried this once but when i try to start the convection oven it just kicks out the invertor

[DeepFrz]

What is the current draw from your batteries when it kicks out and what is the voltage input to your inverter?

[White Feather]

It seems to me that there is to much technical gargon involved. Just replace the 1000 with a 2000. Sell or store the 1000 in case of a 2000 failure. Maybe even add a battery or two in the supply bank. Another thought... deep six the microwave. My solution is to just to use the genset. Running a microwave is done for very short intervals. Use the generator.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by White Feather

It seems to me that there is to much technical gargon involved. Just replace the 1000 with a 2000. Sell or store the 1000 in case of a 2000 failure. Maybe even add a battery or two in the supply bank. Another thought... deep six the microwave. My solution is to just to use the genset. Running a microwave is done for very short intervals. Use the generator.

how does a generator replace a microwave's function?

[Olorin]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

how does a generator replace a microwave's function?

You balance the can of beans that you want to heat up on the generator's housing and turn on the generator. If the can doesn't vibrate off the beans will be hot in about an hour.

Note: Only works for beans in cans with sticky bottoms.

[White Feather]

You got it Olorin, Works every time. Don't forget to poke a hole in the tin or it will cover the generator room with beany's.