[C320-list] Freedom 20 Invertor

[Jeffrey Brown]

Doug,
Thanks for the feedback.  As I went on WestMarine.com <http://westmarine.com/> to purchase this unit it has horrible reviews…Of course I take my fellow C320 owners reviews more seriously, I will buy the West Marine warranty for peace of mind.

Jeff Brown
"Out of the blue" Dana Point, CA
Catalina 320, Hull 78
(949) 350-5123
oceanblues at mac.com





> On Sep 28, 2015, at 6:31 AM, Doug Treff <doug at treff.us> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> I had a similar dilemma when my Freedom 20 failed. I went with the
> HF1800 and it's been rock solid after 2 years. I did buy the 2 year West
> Marine extended warranty because I'd heard of some people having issues
> with the Xantrex warranty department. 
> 
> No complaints, other than the Freedom series does not have the ability
> to do an equalization charge. 
> 
> One thing to note, if you buy the HF series (1000 or 1800) is that the
> "handy" paper mounting template that comes with the inverter is not to
> scale. If you drill the holes using this template, the inverter will not
> fit. Check your template before relying on it! 
> 
> Because of the wiring locations, the HF1800 was a drop-in replacement
> for my Freedom 20. I was able to reuse all the existing wires without
> needing to extend or reconfigure the wiring layout. Just needed to drill
> new mounting holes. 
> 
> I used the included extender cable and installed the control panel by
> the Nav station and it it sure is handy to have the ability to monitor
> status and (digital) voltage of the bank right there. The only down side
> is that the control panel for the HF is smaller than the Freedom 20. I
> had to make an adapter panel out of sheet metal. I painted it black to
> match the HF control panel and it looks OK. 
> 
> ---
> Doug Treff
> doug at treff.us
> 
> On 2015-09-27 20:32, Jeffrey Brown wrote: 
> 
>> My batteries are only a few years old. However I've concluded I need to replace the inverter/charger. Dick said the Xantrex Freedom HF 1800 is what he replaced in his boat and it works great. Do others concur or have other suggestions?
>> Jeff Brown
>> 949-350-5123
>> 
>>> On Sep 26, 2015, at 2:18 AM, argates2nd <argates2nd at comcast.net> wrote: How old are your batteries? Rollie. #182 Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Jeffrey Brown <oceanblues at mac.com> Date: 09/25/2015 6:24 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Catalina C320 List List <C320-List at Catalina320.com> Subject: [C320-list] Freedom 20 Invertor Hi everyone I'm hull 78 and have been battling my Inverter for a few years. Recently I forgot to hookup shore power and drained the batteries. When I plugged in after a little while it blows the 25amp breaker on the dock. So in the past I discovered I should charge only one battery at a time. That seemed to work in the past. This time, even with both batteries shut to the off position the heart interface is flashing overloaded. I turn the switch off on the heart interface for a few minutes and then back on. For about 15 seconds it appears to start working then it clicks and goes back to the flashing overload.
>  The
> question I have is there some easy troubleshooting I can do, or do I suck it up and replace the 20 year old unit and if so, any suggestions. Jeff Brown 949-350-5123
>