Pure Sine Wave Converter Advice

[o1marc]

What can you guys tell me about this unit?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ADVANC...8AAOSweW5U87Fn:rk:1:pf:0&_trksid=bvizzzzzzOkz

 

[joeblack5]

looks good with me.. seems it has a remote on / off switch . wonder if the voltage display is the battery or output voltage. Did not see a switch to display power?

 

[ComfortEagle]

What can you guys tell me about this unit?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ADVANC...8AAOSweW5U87Fn:rk:1:pf:0&_trksid=bvizzzzzzOkz

A 3000 watt (6000W peak...?) pure sine wave no-name inverter for ~$180 off eBay???

"These units retail for around: $1,799.99 DON'T PAY RETAIL!!"

What else do you need to know? Buy now... Merry Christmas to you.

 

[o1marc]

A 3000 watt (6000W peak...?) pure sine wave no-name inverter for ~$180 off eBay???

"These units retail for around: $1,799.99 DON'T PAY RETAIL!!"

What else do you need to know? Buy now... Merry Christmas to you.

I need to know more than what the seller is lying about. I've looked and can't find any for sale at $1799, so that to me is a fictitious number like most "Suggested Retail Value" that the item is never sold for.
There is an optional wired remote switch sold separately for $25. I did buy this one, $211 shipped.

 

[Iceni John]

That looks like a generic Chinese no-name inverter such as are sold under a myriad of names by everyone and their uncle. It's a complete crapshoot buying something like that - at the very least, derate it by 50% to get a real-world usability and some semblance of reliability. In other words, if your actual electrical needs are for a 2000W inverter, buy a "4000W" Chinese one, then still start praying! The FETs are usually the first things to go, but if you're handy with a soldering iron they can be replaced.

Caveat emptor.

John

 

[john61ct-SKO]

Yes, price out say an equivalent Magnum, top-notch trusted brand.

Also Vanner, Victron, MasterVolt, Sterling, Outback, ProMariner.

Xantrex is good but terrible CS attitude.

Samlex and Tripplite solid middle ground. I've also heard Morningstar is good.

These generic Chinese units, hey, you might get lucky. Cheap enough to buy a spare. . .

Some say AIMS is good enough?

GoPower gets some kudos, decent CS rep.

 

[Iceni John]

The inverters made by Cotek in Taiwan are pretty good - Samlex, Go Power and others are mostly made by Cotek*, so just buy the least-expensive version and not pay too much attention to the name on it! Obviously they're more expensive than the mainland Chinese stuff, but they're cheaper than USA-made ones such as Magnum or Exeltech. However, a used Magnum can be a better deal than a brand-new Asian one - Magnums are fully field-serviceable and can be rebuilt to factory standards whenever needed, which shouldn't be too often.

Ya pays yer money and ya makes yer choice. What's cheap initially may sometimes end up costing you more in the long run.

John

* Just don't go bragging to your friends that you prefer to use Coteks . . .

 

[brokedown-SKO]

Moral of the story is that price is a bad measure of quality for inverters

I'm still happily rolling with my cheap 1000 watt Bestek. MSW inverter, they make a 2000W unit as well. Mostly I use it to run corded power tools, but I used it to run my freezer for over a year.

 

[2kool4skool]

My Xantrex 2000 has been running almost non-stop for 4 years. Powers fridge and sometimes Mary's hair curler thing.

 

[cadillackid]

I have a GoPower 1500. and it seems to get the job done.. n ever had any issues with it.. and ive run it close to its max 1500 continuous for hours at a time. without it flinching
-Christopher

 

[brokedown-SKO]

My HF heat gun still works if I put it on the 1500 watt setting. Not sure which of the chinese products is lying about their power! I should try my 1200 watt electric heater on it...

 

[PNW_Steve]

I have the Xantrex Prosine 1800/24 and have been happy with it.

I have used the Samlex inverter at remote communications sites and found them to be very reliable.

Here is a great read on inverter/battery sizing: https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/foru.../10394-inverter-size-vs-battery-size-tutorial

 

[Iceni John]

Here is a great read on inverter/battery sizing: https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/foru.../10394-inverter-size-vs-battery-size-tutorial

Whatever Sunking is smoking, I want some of it too. His comments about making cables are just delusional:
"A 12 volt 1000 watt inverter requires roughly 90 amps of current at full power. If you push the limit of copper cable requires a minimum of a #6 AWG conductor, in reality a #4 AWG or larger conductor. Well unless you have a $1000 special tool and training to terminate conductors for #4 AWG and larger is out of reach for most DIY. So 6 AWG and 90 amps is a limit you do not want to mess with. Once you get above 100 amps, you had better know what you are doing and have specialized training with a several years of supervised experience. Otherwise you are playing with Fire."

My FTZ 94284 crimper cost less than $200 - it produces consistently good circumferential gas-tight crimps on lugs as big as 250 MCM (the next larger size from 4/0), tin-plated 4/0 lugs are $2 each in bulk, and USA-made 4/0 welding cable is never more than $4 a foot from eBay. I've made all my heavy cables this way, and NONE of them get even slightly warm under load. So WTF is he saying about $1000 special tools and training??? And how exactly would "specialized training with a (sic) several years of supervised experience" help me?

I have 4/0 cables for my Magnum 2000W inverter, along with a 250A fuse to protect me from "playing with Fire", and all the house battery banks' cables are 2/0 or 4/0. My entire electrical system, like everything I make, is overbuilt and MUCH better than anything you'd find in a typical S&S RV, even one with an RVIA sticker on it. So, Sunking, get real, and stop trying to BS people.

If you want to read good sensible advice on RE matters, the folk on the Northern Arizona Wind & Sun forum know well of what they speak, and all their advice has been spot-on for me. NAWS also has good prices on most things, so they're a worthy company to support.

John

 

[PNW_Steve]

Yeah I agree..... $1000 for a crimper? Crazy!

Next thing you will be telling that professional mechanics spend $30-$110 for a single Snap On wrench.???

 

[john61ct-SKO]

Top quality crimping does require multiple tools costing hundreds yes even thousands.

But obviously only justified by professional use, where easily repeatable milspec gas-tight crimping is required.

The big advantage is that lots of training is **not** required, the repeatable reliability is built into the tools - and matched top-quality terminators let's not forget.

Cheap tools (under $500) will get you good-enough results for most use cases. But to ensure milspec gas-tight crimps, you'd need to test each one, you lose the easily repeatable reliability.

 

[john61ct-SKO]

I didn't know SunKing hung out here. Interesting member for a forum to host, let's say a very sharp double-edged sword.

Can't find any posts here, did he already get banned?

 

[o1marc]

It arrived today and is bigger than I expected. I'll hook it up temporarily in the bus and use it to do the build out with all my electric tool.

 

[joeblack5]

Try it first and then take the covers of and check the inside for quality. ee if you can find the numbers on the power components.
Here is mine 2500 watt pure sine. I like my layout, easy to get to the parts.

In the bottom of the picture you see the heat sink with and the four transformers that convert battery voltage DC to high voltage DC Then the high voltage DC gets chopped up into AC. That part is done by the top heat sink in a full H bridge. The surge current for motors and such is delivered by the capacitors.

As you mentioned these are pretty inexpensive so better get a spare.



Later J

 

[john61ct-SKO]

Maybe you'll be lucky. . .

https://youtu.be/9Sod6u37j7E

https://youtu.be/b686XhjQfdw

 

[o1marc]

Try it first and then take the covers of and check the inside for quality. ee if you can find the numbers on the power components.
Here is mine 2500 watt pure sine. I like my layout, easy to get to the parts.

In the bottom of the picture you see the heat sink with and the four transformers that convert battery voltage DC to high voltage DC Then the high voltage DC gets chopped up into AC. That part is done by the top heat sink in a full H bridge. The surge current for motors and such is delivered by the capacitors.

As you mentioned these are pretty inexpensive so better get a spare.



Later J

I was going to open mine up and shoot a pic for you to see, but my unit has a heat sink tube as the housing and everything gets slid into the tube and screw down and then end caps screwed on. I'm not disassembling to see anything at this point.