Author Topic: Samlex inverters  (Read 17896 times)

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Offline tomw

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #15 on: March 25, 2012, 12:26:02 pm »
Ralph;

Not sure on 2 Mates but if you could you would need a hub and some method to make one the "master". Some of the folks here used to be with Outback so maybe they know? I am sure a quick question to their support email would yield an answer.

Tom
Do NOT mistake me for any kind of "expert".

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24 Trina 310 watt modules, SMA SunnyBoy 7.7 KW Grid Tie inverter.

I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise, We climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies

Offline DBCollen

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #16 on: March 25, 2012, 12:53:45 pm »
The Hub has ports labeled 1st mate and 2nd mate, but they never got around to implementing the software to enable the 2nd mate function. I am also a big fan of Outback, they are very easy to work with, and really stand by thier products. They send you parts and a video, and still stand by the warranty even though it wasn't repaired by an "authorised repair center" although I guess they "authorised" you to repair it  :)
Dustin.

Offline ksouers

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #17 on: March 25, 2012, 12:58:34 pm »
Thanks for the endorsement, Tom.

I don't mind (too much) paying more for high quality. It's usually cheaper to buy quality in the first place than to keep buying cheap crap over and over again.


Kevin
As far from the city as I can get but still keep my job.

Offline Rover

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #18 on: March 25, 2012, 01:14:01 pm »
After all of this, thinking I'll probably just go with  a MSW that fits my needs. I like the Outback. But I'm not ready to shed out that kind of $$$ , along with my intended periodic use.

Shame for now about Samlex.

Rover
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Offline ghurd

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #19 on: March 25, 2012, 10:52:39 pm »
The Xantex ProSine line is looking real good, too.

Myself, I am not impressed with anything Xantrex.
They were fine for a while when they were still basically Trace units, but they went down hill fast after Xantrex.
IMHO, they went down hill fast (again) after Schneider became involved.

Xantrex was running on Trace's reputation.
Schnider is running on Xantrex's reputation.

Really, would Trace have made a 100W 'pocket inverter', or the xpower series?
I think not.
G-

Offline Wolvenar

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #20 on: March 25, 2012, 11:53:07 pm »
I must agree Xantrex ( Schneider Electric) had gone WAY down hill.
When I purchased this Xantrex which was nothing more than a rebranded Trace.
I think I was getting the end of the good stuff. Trace most certainly ranked up there in my books.
I recently purchased this Schneider Electric C-60 charge controller, I was actually sent the C-40, but got that swapped with a local dealer..
This thing looks very cheaply built circuit wise, in the nice casing Xantrex used.
It's most certainly not the machine that Xantrex was .

Looking at the quality of this, I will never be buying another, or any other Xantrex product again.
Outback might be my next avenue for any new products I need, after reading this thread.
Trying to make power from alternative energy any which way I can.
Just to abuse what I make. (and run this site)

Offline striider

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #21 on: April 05, 2012, 04:07:50 am »
I have been running a 12 volt ProSine 1800 for 3 years on weekends, and so far so good.  Hopefully I got the last of the "good stuff" too, but I have been on the prowl for a deal on a backup/spare.

Offline luv2weld

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #22 on: April 05, 2012, 09:36:27 am »
Hey Eric,
How ya doing???
After the experience I had, I would recommend anybody but Xantrex. Since it's been 3 years, is your warranty gone??

And let's talk about Xantrex service.
They have an authorized service place in Colorado Springs. I took my PS2524 there when it took a surge from a nearby
lightning strike. He said it needed 2 circuit boards. OK, I kind of figured that. Then he said it would cost $2485.00 for the 2 boards!!!!!
I think that's more than I paid for it new!!!! I said "NO WAY!!!!"
By the way, he said that Prosines were made for mobile applications (RV's, motor coaches,etc.) and they are not repairable.
He said he cannot get parts for them.

Compare that to what Tom said about his experience with Outback and getting parts to repair it!!!

Ralph


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I wouldn't need to manage my anger if people would learn to manage their stupidity!!

Offline tomw

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #23 on: April 05, 2012, 10:20:20 am »

Compare that to what Tom said about his experience with Outback and getting parts to repair it!!!

Ralph

Well the complete board set of 3 boards was going to be about $400 but due to the shipping delay they refunded the charge.  The inverter sold originally  for about $1800+ new I think. The 70# transformer is about all the internals that did not get replaced in that swap. Rebuilt / repaired boards but they worked. Still do. 24/7.

Just to clarify.

Tom
Do NOT mistake me for any kind of "expert".

( ?° ?? ?°)


24 Trina 310 watt modules, SMA SunnyBoy 7.7 KW Grid Tie inverter.

I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise, We climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies

Offline ghurd

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #24 on: April 07, 2012, 02:11:18 am »
he said that Prosines were made for mobile applications (RV's, motor coaches,etc.) and they are not repairable.
He said he cannot get parts for them.

Considering Prosines are their top-of-the-line INVERTERS...
Doesn't sound like Schneider is very serious about stuff we can use.

Also a bit of coincidence, googling xantrex a week or 2 ago took me to Schneider Elec with 3 major subdivisions, but now goes to xantrex.
Tonight, xantrex is almost a hidden footnote on the Schneider site.

Some of their new GTI stuff looks ebay-ish (S elec).
I can't even find the Prosine on their site (x-site).

Looks like the xantrex name is up for sale to the higherest qualityedness Chinglish-speaking bidder?
G-

Offline birdhouse

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #25 on: April 07, 2012, 11:22:26 am »
i've got a 24V prosine 1800 that i bought used on ebay for $500 and LOVE IT! 

it runs anything i plug into it except for my millermatic 135 mig welder...  it will run it, but just not if the dials are cranked to 11.  it also won't run my harbor freight electric log splitter.  but aside from those two items, it handles my pancake air compressor, chop saw, portable table saw, or worm drive circular saw with ease (not at the same time). 

the only funny thing i've noticed about that inverter, is if it goes into shutdown mode, it doesn't like to restart if there are even tiny loads on it. 

the dollars per satisfaction of that inverter blow me away on a regular basis, though i did purchase it before schneider elec purchased xantrex. 

adam

Offline striider

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #26 on: June 25, 2012, 05:45:45 am »
Howdy Ralph - doing great, thanks.  Lots of improvements up my way on the "Manor", you still gotta swing by sometime.  Had a well drilled, great water, now it's almost septic time for us.

Sounds like I am lucky I have not had to get my Xantrex serviced.  I will step up my efforts looking for a backup though, as I would hate to be broken in the boonies, and back to the dino-fuel gen!

Offline striider

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #27 on: February 12, 2014, 01:42:04 am »
I know this is an old post, but in the interest of reviewing the product, I thought it may be worth resurrecting.

The 12 volt Xantrex 1800 Prosine started pulling a bunch of power all the time, even with no load on it.  It still produced power, and was not in any fault status, but was eating up my battery.  I thought my battery was going bad, but noticed large arcing (as in heavy current draw) when troubleshooting it.  Didn't think to put a meter in circuit to measure draw until after I replaced it with my backup.  I have not opened it up to see if there are any obvious signs of component failure, and honestly don't know where to start troubleshooting it other than to look for bad capacitors or discolored components.  If anyone has tips in this regard, I am all ears.  No warranty, as I bought it used.

i am now using this one: http://www.safety-devices.com/xp3000.htm  Also an older vintage (manufactured in 2008), but the price was right ($130 on CL) and it has been working for close to a year now flawlessly.  It barely breaks a sweat (fan rarely turns on due to internal heat), even when running a coffee maker or the refrigerator kicks on.  The Prosine fan came on any time a load was introduced, even before heat was generated.  Oh- forgot to mention that the fan stopped coming on, even when under heavier loads towards the end of use I had to go tap it to get the fan to go.  With the 3000, especially when first turned on and cold, my CFL's make a slight buzzing noise since this one is modified sine, but other than that, I have had no other adverse affects on the TV or other devices.

As a side note: How many years of service should I expect from these mobile style inverters?

Offline MadScientist267

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Re: Samlex inverters
« Reply #28 on: March 18, 2014, 05:37:35 am »
 Strider -  Define "bunch of current"... ?

I recently acquired the same inverter...  There's a sleep mode that's disabled by default whenever the 12V source is disconnected/reconnected. Not sure if this is what you're seeing. And yes, there's quite a "pop" when you first complete the 12V side when the caps inside draw their initial charge.

To enable/disable sleep, turn the inverter on, watch the display, and when it says something to the effect of "power save disabled", turn it off for about 3 seconds, then back on. The display should now say it's enabled when it goes by.

After a few seconds with extremely low or no load, it should enter a sleep state, drawing only a couple of watts. It sends out "feeler pulses" every couple of seconds, and if there's a sufficient load there, it powers up to feed it.

The no-load draw without the sleep mode engaged is in the 20W range (ammeter on the display on mine teeters on the edge between 1 and 2A). In sleep mode its something like 100mA. Also, the at-a-glance giveaway that its snoozing is the backlight for the display turns off (the display itself still has info on it).

As for operating life expectancy, jury is still out on mine and probably will be for a while... It's not quite in service yet, waiting on other things. I've done some basic testing and that's it.

Hope that helps....

Steve
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