Inverters you have owned over the years

[hugemoth]

I bought my first inverter around 1987, a 60 watt Tripp light square wave inverter. Not a modified sine wave but an actual square wave inverter that used TO3 power transistors. Not enough peak voltage to power the auto degousing coil in my 13" CRT TV.

A series of modified sine wave inverter s followed, some of which have survived. Here is the list.

60 watt Tripp lite square wave
140 watt Radio Shack
175 watt Statpower
700 watt Statpower
1300 watt Powerstar
70 watt Vector (2) (1 still in use)
1000 watt Xantrex (2) (1 still in use)
3000 watt Vector
175 watt tiny inverter can't remember the brand (still in use)
225 watt Vector (still in use)
3000 watt can't remember the brand
3000 watt smaller Vector
750 watt Harbor Freight (still in use)
140 watt Schumacher (still in use)
3000 watt Aims (still in use)
1000 watt Renogy sine wave (in use)
300 watt Bestek sine wave (in use)

What inverter have you owned over the years.

 

[user 423]

400w Cobra (MSW?) Used for about 10 years starting in '06. Laptop,batteries,13"TV,drill,jigsaw.
1000w Bestek MSW I use only occasionally for power tools.
400w Bestek bought off Amzn that was defective. Full refund.
(2)120w EverStart (Walmart). One powers an anti-mice strobe light the other is used for charging small batteries.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Lost track. Lets just say MANY.

A few of them died with a pop, or a bit of smoke, some just kept blowing fuses, others simply die a quiet death. Some still work but are no longer in use, some have been sold off, others are buried in boxes or totes.

I still have a couple of 700 PSW inverters that just keep 'going and going'!

Seems like the Samlex, GoPower, and Renogy have been long lasting. The off-brands seem to be the ones that are short-lived, under-powered, or defective from the start.

 

[frater secessus]

(2)120w EverStart (Walmart). One powers an anti-mice strobe light

I am imagining a flashmob of mice with tiny glowsticks dancing under their strobelight.

 

[AmargosaWayne]

Only after the NIMH staff has gone home.

 

[hugemoth]

The 1000 watt Xantrex modified sine wave inverter that I bought in the early 90s has been the most reliable by far. It has run 24/7 for most of the time since the early 90s and still works fine. It'll power my Kenmore washing machine where the new Renogy 1000 watt sine wave inverter will not. The only thing I dislike about the old Xantrex is that the cutoff voltage is precisely 15 volts, a voltage that is exceeded often by the solar charge controller.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Had a 150? watt Tripplite before I understood the whole sine wave thing.
It worked fine on weekend car camping trips in my Subaru. Powered my laptop and a couple things.
Harbor Freight forget the exact model 750 watt. Think this was modified sine, which is just as bad as square wave.
It would power my water kettle but not for long. I'd have to limit the amount of water to exactly how much it takes to make my coffee. It it ran a minute too long it would thermal shut down. The kettle was 600 watts IIRC.
I never trust the watt ratings on anything made in China.
Renogy 3000 watt. So far it's been dandy, but it doesn't like my 750 watt heater. I think this may have to do with how much current it can pull from the battery bank though. I'm going to double the size of the bank and upgrade the inverter cables. It better behave after that.
(I only use the heater on this inverter on very rare occasions)