Charging Sorein from truck inverter outletUpdated 30 minutes ago
Some trucks have 120-volt AC outlets, powered by inverters on the truck, but many of them cannot be used to charge a Sorein power station. This is for three reasons:
- The truck (inverter) power outlet may supply "modified sine wave" output, instead of "pure sine wave". Modified sine wave power is not suitable for appliances that require an extremely stable power supply, which includes microprocessor-controlled devices like power stations. This is a limitation of the truck's inverter, not the power station.
If the Sorein does not power up when plugged into an outlet from a truck or a generator, and you've confirmed that the outlet is live (~120 volts AC is detected with a voltmeter), then the inverter's modified sine wave output is likely the issue.
A few trucks do supply pure sine wave power at their inverter outlets. Check your Owner's Manual or ask the dealer for confirmation. - The Sorein Power Station will draw up to 1800 Watts when charging from a wall outlet or truck inverter outlet. Many inverters installed on trucks cannot supply that much wattage, so they will overload. Check your truck Owner's Manual to confirm that the outlet can supply up to 1875 Watts.
- Some truck inverters have very sensitive Ground Fault Interrupter (GFCI) circuits, and will trip off when connected to a portable power station. This is a limitation of the truck's inverter, not the power station.
Because there are many different arrangements offered by truck manufacturers, AIR GEAR does not guarantee that a truck inverter outlet can be used to charge the Sorein Power Station.
Our recommendation
We recommend charging from the truck using a DC-to-DC charger such as those made by Redarc, Victron, and Renogy. You can charge via the Sorein's XT60 input, up to 1,000 watts. Using a DC charger is also more efficient, since it avoids the power losses associated with inverting and converting power from DC to AC and then back to DC.