Bargain Inverter

[Tykster]

I was just searching around the net for a Pure Sine Wave Inverter, and came across a site that seems to have some really good deals. <br><br>I was specifically looking for a 1500w capacity, for the most part they were priced at around ~ $350 elsewhere, I saw one here much cheaper&nbsp;:<br><br><A href="http://www.gogreensolar.com/products/powermax-pmi-1500ps-1500-watt-pure-sine-inverter" target=_blank>http://www.gogreensolar.com/products/powermax-pmi-1500ps-1500-watt-pure-sine-inverter</A><br><br><br>I was skeptical, so I called and asked them why so cheap and the gentleman said something along the lines of having a good relationship with their suppliers ( fair enough I suppose ), he seemed informed about the product too, and was inquiring about my intended use - making sure I was buying the right tool for the job, so I feel that it wasn't shifty outfit - hopefully I'm correct <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br><br>I'm not affiliated with this company but thought I'd pass on a good customer experience...<br><br>

 

[Tykster]

Yes it is. However, the transaction didn't go through, they cited "unforseen circumstances"...the price was published in error. I thought it was too good to be true!<div><br></div><div>I got a call from the same guy I was talking to initially and he apologized and said that they'd sell to me at cost ($300) because "he feels bad". I informed him that not getting an approximately 50% discount made me feel worse <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></div>

 

[Tykster]

See! This is why I joined this forum, thank you. Having read a few more posts I decided that a "pure" sine wave inverter was overkill for what I forsee my needs will be, so I have opted for a modified sine wave, this one :<div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.invertersrus.com/pwrinv180012w.html" target="_blank">http://www.invertersrus.com/pwrinv180012w.html</a></div><div><br></div><div>Cheaper, lower idle draw, and better suited, so again thank you.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>

 

[Tykster]

I will be installing a battery isolator to separate my battery systems, and when at home I'll just leave my deepcycle batteries hooked up to my charger...<div><br></div><div>When my batteries run down while I'm out and about I'll recharge them during the day with my generator ( Honda E2000i, with extended fuel tank )</div><div><br></div><div>I may look into some solar options later on, but as I'm not a full timer, I might not need to go that route...</div>

 

[Tykster]

I did miss your point, now I get what you're saying, thank you. And I'll certainly have to consider doing what you've done with yours..<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[Simran]

See! This is why I joined this forum, thank you. Having read a few more posts I decided that a "pure" sine wave inverter was overkill for what I forsee my needs will be, so I have opted for a modified sine wave, this one :<div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.invertersrus.com/pwrinv180012w.html" target="_blank">http://www.invertersrus.com/pwrinv180012w.html</a></div><div><br></div><div>Cheaper, lower idle draw, and better suited, so again thank you.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>

<br><br>I have to agree with you. After all my research into this area; everything I've read says a modified sine wave is the only practical choice in a motor home/van situation. The ones I've looked at were %90 percent efficient and will run anything except some computer printers. I think a laser printer. I don't foresee having one of those anytime soon. I could use the savings to put towards a solar panel.<br><br>gus<br>

 

[VanTrekker]

<p style="margin: 0px;">There is only one reason I would go pure sine instead of modified sine:&nbsp; CPAP.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and modified sine will toast the motor...&nbsp; No biggie though - I use a 12V adapter to run the CPAP directly off the house batteries most of the time.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">For AC, I'm running a cheapie Cobra 2500 watt inverter... All it powers is the&nbsp;LED TV and Blu Ray player (as well as misc. battery chargers and an LED night light).</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">If I was going to do it again, I'd choose maybe a 300-600 watt pure sine inverter but certainly most applications do just fine on modified sine.&nbsp; </p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Medical equipment and laster printers are about the only reasons you'd want to go pure sine... Well, flourescent lights might be another reason... CFL bulbs get pissy and flicker when I run them from the Cobra.</p>

 

[Simran]

I haven't experienced the florescent light issue. I'm currently&nbsp; using a Fleet Farm 400W inverter. I'm sure&nbsp; it is a modified sine wave inverter. Something to watch for though I suppose. Immediately upon buying this van I put a 3' florescent light in it; seemed like a no brainer because they draw such a small amount of juice. I'm not real wild about the light they put out but until I can save enough to put my solar upgrade in; this is what I'll use. By then I'll probably be used to it.<br><br>gus<br><br>

 

[romani10]

I bought this 750 watt inverter/charger from Amazon for about $350. It is a Tripp Lite model. I have gone through some cheap MSW inverters, and they never last. I have found this is sufficient for our needs. We do not have solar yet, and primarily boondock and plug in somewhere once a week or so. If I run down the agm batteries to 50 percent capacity, the fan on the charger stays on about 2 hours. I have 570 amp hours to play with, not including my 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series, which provide an additional 270 amp hours. Most times it takes over a week to knock the batteries down 25 %. &nbsp;The agm batteries are 12 volt wired parallel, &nbsp;and are huge 8D monsters. We run a 32 inch LCD tv about 3 hours a day, my laptop about 4 hours a day, regular incandescent RV type automotive lights 3 hours a day, and charge my kindle once in a while. We hardly ever use the fluorescent lights, because of a ballast issue...<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qdhn45t4jkw/T0OXGWEz6vI/AAAAAAAAAOM/aGH0ugmnVxQ/s1600/inverter.jpg">

 

[Simran]

That's a good model.... Im with you on MSW inverters. &nbsp; Ive had too many ruin small electronics, so pure sine (for me), is the only way to go...<div><br></div><div><br></div>

<br><br>What kind of small electronics have been ruined as a result of the use of a MSW inverter? Also what size MSW inverters have you been using?<br><br>gus<br><br>

 

[Simran]

I wonder what's up here because I've run these things for a very long time. I work out of my car; sometimes 12 hours a day during peak construction season. I've left laptops plugged into these MSW inverters for days on end without problems. Multiple brands of laptops @ that; even a Motorola Xoom I've had for a year.<br><br>There are two differences that I can see with what little information has been shared.<br><br>1) You are using deep cycle batteries; I am not. All I've powered from is a car battery.<br><br>2) Both the inverters you had trouble with were very large. I think my biggest one is a 700W.<br><br>Make no mistake these I have get used a lot. I put 75K- 90K per year on my car; all the while with a laptop, MP3 or my Xoom plugged in. So it is not like I'm an occasional user.<br><br>I've no doubt you have had trouble. I just wonder what the cause of the trouble IS exactly.<br>The cost of a PSW over a MSW makes the question worth asking I think. it would be interesting to see what other variables are at play.<br>If anyone else has had trouble burning stuff up; please chime in.<br><br>BTW, I was an electronics trouble shooter for nearly 20 years; please bear with me. I can't let something like this lay; I gotta play with it.<br><br>gus<br><br><br>

 

[VanTramp]

Gus, I think the thing that should be mentioned is that it isn't all small electronics that are sensitive. Probably there is a pretty high percentage that are fine with MSW. There are definitely quite a few that are not though. I have had laptops in the past that were a bit flakey on MSW. The adapter cords got a lot hotter as well. I have heard that microwaves cook slower on MSW, but I haven't tried testing them on anything but pure sine which they run fine on. For most things I think you are right that MSW is probably fine. There is a question about the future of that statement though. As electronics keep getting more and more complex, who knows how well they will deal with MSW. If clean sine waves are required to get the designed capabilities to work well, I would say they would favor that over the ability to run on cheaper inverters.<div><br></div><div>You made this statement in a previous post:</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; ">everything I've read says a modified sine wave is the only practical choice in a motor home/van situation."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; "><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; ">The "only practical choice" is a pretty strong statement and one I completely disagree with. They are a reasonable choice but far from the only practical choice.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; "> &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">

 

[Simran]

<div><br></div><div>You made this statement in a previous post:</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; ">everything I've read says a modified sine wave is the only practical choice in a motor home/van situation."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; "><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; ">The "only practical choice" is a pretty strong statement and one I completely disagree with. They are a reasonable choice but far from the only practical choice.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; "> &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">

<br><br>Admittedly; that statement was a judgement call by, shall we say, a cheap skate. Yup; that'd be me. Although there is plenty of stuff on the web that would agree with it; it doesn't make it any more accurate I must admit. Of course you can find pretty much anything written in stone on the internet it seems.<br>&nbsp;That said there is something to be said about your argument concerning the future &amp; current advancements in electronics. As both batteries and electronics become more sophisticated; we may have fewer and fewer options available to us to run these fancy contraptions. I was just reading an article the other day about an advanced battery with electronic components built right into it.<br><br>As you said VanTramp, these pure sine wave inverters are are getting more inexpensive as time goes on as well. I've noticed that waiting and making due has always been in my favor when it comes to buying technology. Maybe this is one of those times. It is amazing what a difference 6 months makes in the price of some of this stuff.<br><br>Thanks too, for pointing out the heat issue with power transformers. That is something I've never paid much attention to. I mean all that stuff gets warm so I guess I've never given it a second thought; but I will. It'll be interesting to see.<br><br>Thanks for taking the time to travel this trail with me for a piece.<br><br>gus<br>

 

[VanTrekker]

<p style="margin: 0px;">I've been doing some surfing for a reasonably priced pure sine wave inverter... One thing I noticed is how the really cheap units are often less efficient - the more expensive ones are&nbsp;usually more efficient...</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">It's more than just a concern about wasted amps... (Which is a concern)</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Less efficient means the power is going somewhere... <b>HEAT</b>.&nbsp; What happens when things get hot?&nbsp; They crap out.&nbsp; Many of the Chinese transformers and MOSFETs (transistors) have piss poor reliability, particularly at the low end of the dollar spectrum.&nbsp; I used to deal with a lot of poor quality parts as an electronics tech for Rockwell from '86 - '98.&nbsp;&nbsp; ugggg...&nbsp; </p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">That's just my two cents.&nbsp; I think you do get what you pay for.&nbsp; I'm still thinking about replacing the honking big Cobra MSW inverter&nbsp;with a pure sine 300 watt model at some point but want to make sure I get a good one.&nbsp; The Cobra would be a nice backup.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I forgot to mention this... The Haeir microwave HATES the MSW.&nbsp; The cooker will heat up okay but the motor makes the most awful sound... It's sort of like two thousand pissed off bumblebees making a menacing buzzzzzz&nbsp; at the same time.</p>

 

[Simran]

Mike,<br>I've made a small informal study of the running temps on some of my power supplies plugged into a modified sine inverter vs commercial power. I have to admit there is a noticeable difference in the temp on all of them. Funny I never noticed it before your pointing it out; I'm usually pretty observant of this sort of thing.<br>I' m not going to press my luck any further; I think I'm going to invest in a pure sine wave inverter for, at least, my small electronics for now. Eventually I'll need a larger one I suppose. But then again maybe not as most everything runs on 12V or gas thus far.<br><br>gus<br><br>