Inverter Swap 1000 for 2000watts

[landlordy]

I have a fried 1000watt inverter/ charger, and I am wondering if I can swap it w a 2000watt one without any other changes to my electrical system.? They are the same brand and are the same exact unit, wired the same and everything. Even the control board is the same, the single only difference is the one puts out 2000watts and the original 1000watts. Thanks for yout help

[landlordy]

I hear you roadrunner. My rv is a 97 (20 years old) and the freedom 10 in it was perfect until I fried it. I can only hope this one I have now lasts as well and that they are reliable for the most part. I do know what you mean on the internal pass thru though. This would have been so much easier to troubleshoot and repair if I had had a way to check the transfer relay/switch and swap it out without tearing apart my entire setup and then the inverter itself.

[road-runner]

I sure learned a lot from this thread. I've always been under the impression that for MSW inverters the freedom is among the best, and it has a great charger. And my negative opinion about the internal transfer relays is reinforced. Besides being difficult to replace, I'm guessing the pressure to keep both the case size and cost down leads to use of a less robust relay. The new things I learned are:

1. There were 2 generations of freedoms.

2. The 2nd generation heart and xantrex versions are the same. (Don't know this about the first generation).

3. The first generation does the inverting at battery voltage and uses a big honkin' transformer to step it up. The 2nd generation also has a big transformer so it's "probably" the same in this regard.

4. First generation has standard 6 foot battery cables which are apparently difficult to switch out.

Searching for info revealed that a lot of the freedoms have failed in the area of the AC input. Not knowing how many haven't failed makes it hard to form a good opinion of the reliability. I did get the sense that they're generally held in high regard.

[landlordy]

LOL roadrunner

1. the original freedom 10 is not working it is sitting torn apart in my garage w what i assume is a bad pass-thru relay.

2. the freedom 20 I got off ebay amazingly came w what seems like the exact same issue (ac will not pass thru) as my broken original freedom 10. The seller has agreed to refund me and let me keep the thing.

3. I never bought another freedom 10 I bought a control panel for $20 off ebay (for a desperation test) and asked the guy I bought it from which unit it came off. He replied "a working freedom 10 which you can have free if you pay for the shipping". This is the unit that arrived yesterday and I installed and it works perfect. Freaking incredible!

4. I spliced the negative cable as mr. wizard told me to and the spliced part is actually inside the rv dry and safe. I realized both cables on the old freedom 10 were spliced so I didn't feel to bad about it. For the positive cable I was able to just move my 200amp battery fuse a little bit under the rig and make it reach with no splice.

5. I did NOTHING to repair any of the freedoms LOL.

In the end I actually feel like I did a better job w the install than it was stock thanks to all your guys help and the fact that I had learned so much about what the hell was really going on in and under my rig lol. I noticed right at the end my battery isolater connection nuts are rusted bad and now I feel the need to repair that too lol. I can't thank you enough man you helped me out so **** much on this nightmare lol. I need to start a new thread on the propane system and if I should keep my stock fridge or not now! This forum has amazed me and now I'm going to move onto the fun stuff that I was planning to do before I fried the thing!

[road-runner]

Since I can't keep everything straight, could I ask?

1. Is the original freedom 10 working or not working?
2. Same question for the freedom 20.
3. Same question for the freedom 10 you bought.
4. Did you splice the battery cables?
5. Did you do anything to repair any of the freedoms?

I need to know this for closure! Thanks.

[landlordy]

I can't believe this I have everything put back together and everything works perfectly. I actually moved a few things to make the install better than it was. All charging systems and appliances and everything are working perfectly. The guy on ebay has agreed to refund on the freedom 20 so my entire investment to fix it was $6 for a meter at harbor freight $20 for a control panel on ebay (free shipping) and $25 shipping for the freedom 10 he gave me free. A whopping $51. Absolutely incredible after hitting my rig with 220 and hearing the damage that could have been done. I also feel like I gained about a million dollars of valuable experience and rv knowledge, maybe this was a blessing in disguise for my trip this winter. I am convinced it is the transfer relay in the old freedom 10 that is the culprit. I CAN NOT THANK THE MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM ENOUGH OMG THANK YOU!!! I could not have done this without you, and I probably would have paid an arm and a leg to some shop for repair and learned none of what I did. I owe all you guys a beer some day!

[time2roll]

landlordy wrote:
I can not believe it seems true now that the freedom 20 i got off ebay actually had the same **** issue as the original freedom 10 I was trying to replace. The chances seem one in a million but I guess not.

My Xantrex Prosine 1800 did the same. I moved to GoPower.

[MrWizard]

LL
Good deal on getting a working unit and control panel
The problem solving part is over, just need to get you cables hooked up

[marcsbigfoot20b]

SidecarFlip wrote:
Don't get the buy ready made cable thing for any application. Copper stranded welding cable is readily available and so are copper lugs and crimp tools inexpensive. Been making up my own cables including automotive battery cables for a while now.

Same here, had to make my own for a battery box extension. It was easy with 1/0 welding cable, 1/0 crimp lugs with a hammer type crimp tool and then solder and heat shrink.....cant get any better.

for $20 Indent crimp tool

[time2roll]

Looking at the interior picture.... are the 12v cables bolted to the transistor heat sink area? I would try to unbolt those from the non working unit to discover how hard they really are to remove. If it is easy make the swap. Not so easy... take it down to a battery dealer and have them cut and splice the old unit to the working unit.

Or genuinedealz can make up a cable with the proper butt connector to crimp onto your cables and the proper battery terminal on the other end.

[MrWizard]

Just splice them
Do it like a real electrician
Goto home Depot, and buy two "split bolts"


Clean wires really well, place in side bolt and tighten really good,
Wrap in 3m self vulcanizing silicone rubber tape

You will never have a problem

[landlordy]

So my only thing to do now is hook it up exactly as it was from the start, and unfortunately my battery cables are not long enough. As stated by mr wizard the batt cables go stright into the unit and are a pain in the ass to change. Stupid design imo. I have to either mess w the inside of this working unit to swipe them, or I need to splice a bit of extension wire onto the existing cables. Where can i get these parts and the crimp tool if I go that route?

[landlordy]

OMGGGGGG So i installed the new freedom 10 just 1/2 ass right on the floor of the rv and only to one of the batteries just to test it quickly because i was dying to and the battery cables on it are not long enough to do proper install. Well guess what boys IT WORKS PERFECTLY!!! Everything thing on my rig is working perfectly. Pass through ac is working perfectly. Batt charging and interver all seem to be working perfectly when switching from shore back to battery etc exactly like when I bought it!. Omgggg im freaking out. I can not believe it seems true now that the freedom 20 i got off ebay actually had the same **** issue as the original freedom 10 I was trying to replace. The chances seem one in a million but I guess not.

[time2roll]

Is the 2000 removed? I would bench test it with a single battery and a simple 60 watt incandescent lamp as a load. Sometimes there is too much going on and connected to verify proper operation. See how it works with and without incoming 120v power. Then connect the remote and see if it continues to operate as expected.

If all is well only then should it be installed. All three units can be tested the same way.

[SidecarFlip]

Don't get the buy ready made cable thing for any application. Copper stranded welding cable is readily available and so are copper lugs and crimp tools inexpensive. Been making up my own cables including automotive battery cables for a while now.