12v Pure Sine Wave inverter

Submitted: Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 13:42
ThreadID: 109590 Views:3431 Replies:8 FollowUps:2
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Time for a bigger inverter, 150W doesn't cut it anymore but seriously confused about what brand, warranty with eBay inverters, safety approvals etc.

Looking back at old posts, there doesn't seem to be any information on pure sine wave inverters for a few years now.

Has anything changed recently with these? There seems to be a lot of brands out there that I have never heard of before and therefore am slightly nervous about spending my hard earned on an unknown.

What have you guys got, are you happy? Oh yeah, I am thinking I need 400W max.
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Reply By: Amacca - Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 13:52

Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 13:52
I won't ever buy an eBay one again after last time. First time I went to use it and it didn't work and the seller said it only has a 3 month warranty. Of course in his fine print he was right.
AnswerID: 539427

Reply By: Member - Rosco from way back - Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 14:33

Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 14:33
I bought a Projecta 600W jobby which seems good so far.
Like you, I was a tad sus about getting a no name brand from eBay.
Bought it from one of the reputable Aus mobs selling on eBay.
AnswerID: 539428

Reply By: Member - wicket - Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 14:49

Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 14:49
Bought one from Jaycar several years ago, had plenty of use with no issues, would not hesitate to buy another.
AnswerID: 539429

Follow Up By: Bob Y. - Qld - Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 18:02

Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 18:02
Bought a 300w sine wave from Jaycar, about 10 years ago.

It works okay, and haven't had any dramas with it.

Bit OT, but some years ago was driving a truck that had a Projecta 2000w inverter set up in one of the dog boxes. Used to boil a jug (2400w load) each morning for brekkie, but the overload switch would drop out before the jug boiled. Still it was always hot enough for coffee. :-)

Bob

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FollowupID: 824073

Reply By: Pathmaster75 - Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 15:23

Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 15:23
Has anyone used a Good Kit one?

They are advertising 12v pure sine wave inverters in the 4WD action magazine. I rang them up and they said they have a 2 year warranty so that has got my attention.
AnswerID: 539430

Reply By: MEMBER - Darian, SA - Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 17:03

Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 17:03
I bought a 600W pure sine wave unit from Derek at ABR ( here ). Reasonable price.....I like the features.....works fine...quick delivery. I use it for a 240V soldering iron and for charging a variety of small appliances that we take away with us. Packaging could have been better - had a broken small outer part on arrival, but that was soon sorted via the phone.
AnswerID: 539437

Reply By: Wayne's 60 - Wednesday, Sep 24, 2014 at 00:38

Wednesday, Sep 24, 2014 at 00:38
Greetings PM 75

Some good info has been provided in regards to your initial question, though there is some info missing to qualify your question.

Before I get side tracked TOO much... we run a 1000 w (2000 w surge) pure sine wave inverter. It was bought to satisfy (possibly) our power needs while on the road. We do have 12 v power supplies for the two laptops we carry. 12 v chargers also run the battery chargers for our digital camera equipment and phone chargers.
The inverter was bought off Ebay, through an Australian distributor and (we believe) complies with Australian regulations. It cost us around the $140.00 mark.
So why have an inverter that big??
Well.....
It will run my (non electronic) electric drill.
The soldering iron.
It will (we trust) run the computers, external hard drives and TV without issue.
It will also with a bit of protest, run our small toaster :-)
It should also be pointed out that there are three fairly heavy duty batteries to run this in the first place. These also run the lighting and water pumps in the camper.
As indicated in a previous post, we have two 1000CCA CAT batteries under the hood to provide vehicle starting power and to power up the 110ltr Waeco.

So from there, back to original question answers................

What do you need a bigger inverter for?
Quote .... "Time for a bigger inverter, 150W doesn't cut it....."
FWIW ...A bigger inverter is all well and good.... what battery back up do you have to run this? As this will be a major factor.

Will dedicated 12v power supplies be a better long term investment?

There WILL be numerous answers to this and pretty much everyone will have a slight variation on a theme.

We hope this helps a little.

Cheers,
Wayne & Sally.







AnswerID: 539469

Follow Up By: Pathmaster75 - Friday, Sep 26, 2014 at 09:05

Friday, Sep 26, 2014 at 09:05
Thanks Wayne's 60,

Just got phone service again.....

Yeah I did actually consider getting 12 volt adaptors for everything but I think the cost of doing this can be about the same as getting one decent inverter.

I don't like the idea of cheap adaptors off the internet and then plugging it into my expensive laptop.

At least with an inverter, the power is further filtered through my genuine Toshiba power supply, so on and so forth.

My wife uses a hair straightener every day and it uses 150W on it's own, as well as our little TV, laptops etc. Our current unit keep switching off all the time so I had to do something.

So I've ordered a 600W from Good Kit. It's only $150 so worth it I think.

Thanks again.

Pathy
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FollowupID: 824184

Reply By: Mazdave - Friday, Sep 26, 2014 at 15:55

Friday, Sep 26, 2014 at 15:55
I bought a 1000w inverter off Ebay for $70. Primarily to run a 750w electric toaster ($7.50 from Kmart) This was the only toaster I could find under 1000w and it happens to be probably the cheapest. Anyway works a treat, however you do need a reasonable battery bank. I run 2 105amp Century Marines. Jurys out on how long either will last, but I haven't outlayed a lot of money to keep the missus happy!
AnswerID: 539558

Reply By: Pathmaster75 - Friday, Oct 03, 2014 at 10:13

Friday, Oct 03, 2014 at 10:13
Just if anyone is interested, I received the 600W pure sine wave inverter from Good Kit the other day. Works as expected on the switch mode power supplies etc. for my laptop and LCD TV and yes it runs the wife's hair straightener :)

I think this is all I will need for the immediate future.

The more of this gear I have, the more it makes me want to go off the grid altogether. Wouldn't it be nice to just have 12 volt solar powered everything and not worry about the $1500 per quarter power bills?
AnswerID: 539852

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