Anyone familiar with Schneider Conext SW 2524 230 (PN 865-2524-61),

I’m looking for a split phase inverter to operate on a 24 volt battery system. Is this a good one?  Many thanks. Tom

Trace
Xantrex
Schneider
I say yes only because of the name. Trace was a superior US made brand in the early 90's. I have two SW4024s. Solid. They would have to be paralleled to run 220v to the house for which I have no need.
Canadian Xantrex bought Trace, kept the designs. Schneider bought Xantrex.
Decent place for more reading is diysolarforum.com. Lot more wisdom there for solar.
Good luck.

I have the Conext 4024, it's somewhat larger brother, and yes, it is a VERY high quality inverter. I have it installed in my workshop, where it runs all my 120V power tools. Mine is native 120/240V, so you don't need two.  I have run a cement mixer, a 1.6hp air-compressor, and a 7.5" saw all at the same time with this inverter.

Just to let you know though, there's a better deal out there right now, it's bigger, bigger brother, the XW-Pro 6848.  It's a VERY robust inverter, and might actually be cheaper than the 2524 right now.  I have the XW+6848, the model they made just before the XW-Pro, and I use that to power my 240V well-pump.  You will have to upgrade up to a 48V battery, but some of the savings from getting the 6848 could be applied to extra batteries.

Tom Moran wrote:I’m looking for a split phase inverter to operate on a 24 volt battery system. Is this a good one?  Many thanks. Tom

It is a good inverter but its getting pretty long in the tooth. It is still in production but is much more expensive then the newer all in one inverters coming out.  If you already have your charge controllers the price does not matter so much but if you are installing an array at the same time you will have to purchase them separately. The new all in ones have the charge controllers built in for less money than the stand alone schneider.  The Samlex or magnum  inverters are off grid inverters which are of equal quality and less money.  If its a deal it worth it but don't pay too much the market is being flooded with used 24 volt  inverters which were expensive when installed and I think are being sold at too high a price used. Unless you cannot rejig your battery bank for 48 volts there is no reason to go 24 volts so the market for 24 volt inverters is shrinking.
Cheers,
David

David Baillie wrote:
It is a good inverter but its getting pretty long in the tooth. It is still in production but is much more expensive then the newer all in one inverters coming out.

One critical issue with the newer, cheaper AiO units, is almost all of them are high-frequency transformerless units with little or no starting surge.  Starting surge is very important in the starting of motors that turn on under load.  Anything driving a motor connected to compressors, pumps, ect.  Your typical HF inverter may say it can surge to 200% wattage, but that lasts only for 8-16 milliseconds.  A LF inverter can surge for 5-60 seconds, far more than the 250-500 milliseconds needed to start a motor.

You really need to match the inverter to the application, and pay attention to parameters other than watts.  Most people never look past W/$ till it's too late, and they pay money for something that shuts down with an alarm when you attempt to turn on something it can't handle.

If all you want to do is run lights and a TV, an AiO is OK.  A big-ticket item like a submersible well-pump will just stop it dead.

Although I still have a 24V system in my workshop, I would agree that 24V is gradually being phased out, and the two remaining standards will be just 12V for small systems, and 48V for large systems.  For long-term whole-home systems, 48V is clearly the way to go.

Michael Qulek wrote:

David Baillie wrote:
It is a good inverter but its getting pretty long in the tooth. It is still in production but is much more expensive then the newer all in one inverters coming out.

One critical issue with the newer, cheaper AiO units, is almost all of them are high-frequency transformerless units with little or no starting surge.  Starting surge is very important in the starting of motors that turn on under load.  Anything driving a motor connected to compressors, pumps, ect.  Your typical HF inverter may say it can surge to 200% wattage, but that lasts only for 8-16 milliseconds.  A LF inverter can surge for 5-60 seconds, far more than the 250-500 milliseconds needed to start a motor.

You really need to match the inverter to the application, and pay attention to parameters other than watts.  Most people never look past W/$ till it's too late, and they pay money for something that shuts down with an alarm when you attempt to turn on something it can't handle.

If all you want to do is run lights and a TV, an AiO is OK.  A big-ticket item like a submersible well-pump will just stop it dead.

Although I still have a 24V system in my workshop, I would agree that 24V is gradually being phased out, and the two remaining standards will be just 12V for small systems, and 48V for large systems.  For long-term whole-home systems, 48V is clearly the way to go.

I would agree there if the unit will be starting large inductive loads the schneider, magnum or samlex are your best options. If you do go for an all in one you simply oversize it so a 6-8kW all in one would do the trick and still be less than the transformer based units. Another thing to consider is if you will be going with lithium batteries you are supposed to have 2 way communication with the inverter. at this time the schneider does not offer that so if its being inspected with lithium it wont pass...

David Baillie wrote: I would agree there if the unit will be starting large inductive loads the schneider, magnum or samlex are your best options. If you do go for an all in one you simply oversize it so a 6-8kW all in one would do the trick and still be less than the transformer based units. Another thing to consider is if you will be going with lithium batteries you are supposed to have 2 way communication with the inverter. at this time the schneider does not offer that so if its being inspected with lithium it wont pass...

My 1hp 240VAC Grunfos pump has a measured startup surge of ~9200W, so no, a 6-8kW AiO is very unlikely to start it.  I had this number in hand before I decided to purchase my XW+6848.  This I think points to a serious issue with many solar planners, the ignorance of what the actual demands on the system are likely to be.  Following preliminary research in the design of my own system, I purchased a clamp meter that could read inrush current.  Pricey, but produces numbers a regular meter can not.  I think maybe 80-90% of DIY solar planners really have no clue what electrical demands their property demands, until the "on" switch is flipped.

You gotta read the fine print.  SolArk's 12kW is actually only a 9kW (reading the fine print) and only 7.5kW in real-world testing.  The 6848 was very conservatively rated, and it really should have been called the 8548 (based on real-world testing). SolArk's claim that it can more economically outcompete a 6848 is a blatant lie.  Schneider should have sued them.

Michael Qulek wrote:

David Baillie wrote: I would agree there if the unit will be starting large inductive loads the schneider, magnum or samlex are your best options. If you do go for an all in one you simply oversize it so a 6-8kW all in one would do the trick and still be less than the transformer based units. Another thing to consider is if you will be going with lithium batteries you are supposed to have 2 way communication with the inverter. at this time the schneider does not offer that so if its being inspected with lithium it wont pass...

My 1hp 240VAC Grunfos pump has a measured startup surge of ~9200W, so no, a 6-8kW AiO is very unlikely to start it.  I had this number in hand before I decided to purchase my XW+6848.  This I think points to a serious issue with many solar planners, the ignorance of what the actual demands on the system are likely to be.  Following preliminary research in the design of my own system, I purchased a clamp meter that could read inrush current.  Pricey, but produces numbers a regular meter can not.  I think maybe 80-90% of DIY solar planners really have no clue what electrical demands their property demands, until the "on" switch is flipped.

You gotta read the fine print.  SolArk's 12kW is actually only a 9kW (reading the fine print) and only 7.5kW in real-world testing.  The 6848 was very conservatively rated, and it really should have been called the 8548 (based on real-world testing). SolArk's claim that it can more economically outcompete a 6848 is a blatant lie.  Schneider should have sued them.

Ouch. It was not personal.The 15kW would have been a better choice for your system or paired 12k's. Now,  the OP was looking at the SW which is a 4000 watt rated inverter. The 6-8 kW high frequency would be a good equivalent for THAT inverter. My mistake was replying to your post I should have attached it to the OP post.  I don't know if the DIY designer comment was a dig but I'm assuming it was not.
CHeers,  
DAvid

Thanks to all for the input.
I’m running lead acid industrial batteries, have a 1/2 go 110 v well pump. Can’t really afford to but 8000$ in new batteries, so I’ll be sticking with 24 volt.
I agree, high frequency units are out for me- I’ll see if an old magnum pae 4024 I have laying around will work ( magnum says “ it’s 10 years old- about their lifetime” - and it didn’t run when I tried it; they indicated that I should hold the reset down for a whole minute to reset, IF it’s resettable. I basically got it free).
I’ll keep looking for a 24 volt low frequency unit. Any recommendations appreciated.

Tom Moran wrote:Thanks to all for the input.
I’m running lead acid industrial batteries, have a 1/2 go 110 v well pump. Can’t really afford to but 8000$ in new batteries, so I’ll be sticking with 24 volt.
I agree, high frequency units are out for me- I’ll see if an old magnum pae 4024 I have laying around will work ( magnum says “ it’s 10 years old- about their lifetime” - and it didn’t run when I tried it; they indicated that I should hold the reset down for a whole minute to reset, IF it’s resettable. I basically got it free).
I’ll keep looking for a 24 volt low frequency unit. Any recommendations appreciated.

with those specifications the magnum will be tougher than the Schneider based on service calls. I have a 4024 MS dated 2007 still in operation. Magnum is correct try a hard reset see what happens.