Went to COSTCO today and found an XPower 1000 watts by Xantrex fo $49. I picked up one based on the price alone but I'm sure I'll find some use for it. This unit will power a small refrigerator, a 650 watt microwave oven, fans, powertools, TVs/DVDs etc. It comes with a wiring harness. This is obviously not marine rated but at that price you cannot go wrong. If hardwiring the unit a fuse of 150 Amps should be inserted (+)and the location should be in a well ventilated area close to the battery.
Interested in an inexpensive inverter?
- Thread starter Benny17441
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Benny
There is nothing wrong with these less expensive non-marine grade inverters. They work fine as I have used various el-cheapo's on my other boats. Be aware that these less expensive (sounds better than 'el-cheapo') units usually draw a lot of battery juice when on even though you dont have anything hooked up to it. Best thing to do is get in the habit of turning the unit on when needed and after using whatever it is that you want to use, turn off the appliance then turn off the inverter. I also do this when I have a propane stove/oven, I turn the gas on and off with a remote switch. Tony B
There is nothing wrong with these less expensive non-marine grade inverters. They work fine as I have used various el-cheapo's on my other boats. Be aware that these less expensive (sounds better than 'el-cheapo') units usually draw a lot of battery juice when on even though you dont have anything hooked up to it. Best thing to do is get in the habit of turning the unit on when needed and after using whatever it is that you want to use, turn off the appliance then turn off the inverter. I also do this when I have a propane stove/oven, I turn the gas on and off with a remote switch. Tony B
The other caveat
is that te output on the less expensive models is a modified square wave, not a pure sine wave, which can give rise to issues with sensitive electronics.
is that te output on the less expensive models is a modified square wave, not a pure sine wave, which can give rise to issues with sensitive electronics.
Just Got Mine
Just got back from Costco after purchasing my Xantrex XPower 1000 for $49.99. The specs say it is 90% effecent and has an idle current draw of < 0.3 amps. Thanks for your post. Chuck
Just got back from Costco after purchasing my Xantrex XPower 1000 for $49.99. The specs say it is 90% effecent and has an idle current draw of < 0.3 amps. Thanks for your post. Chuck
Costco Mistake
Picked one of these up here in Charlotte - tag on the shelf said $49.97, but it rang up at $69.99. Got into a pretty good arguement with them when they told me it was really $69.99. My response, of course, was that it wasn't my problem. Got it for the $49.97, and the guy promptly went back and changed the sign on the shelf...
Picked one of these up here in Charlotte - tag on the shelf said $49.97, but it rang up at $69.99. Got into a pretty good arguement with them when they told me it was really $69.99. My response, of course, was that it wasn't my problem. Got it for the $49.97, and the guy promptly went back and changed the sign on the shelf...
Cheap inverter issues..
You get what you pay for and sometimes it is good enough and sometimes it is not. You will only find out when either: A. the inverter fails or B. the device it is powering fails. A cheap square wave inverter may cause over heating issues to the internal power supplies of some products. My laptop power supply got so hot from running on a square wave inverter that I disconnected it from fear of failure. With most products being global today, designers are putting very specific power factor regulating controllers to meet tight European power quality standards. If your product has this power factor controller in it, you may kill your product. If you are running an appliance that is just a motor or simple load - go ahead with cheap power source. If you have sensitive electronic eqipment (read $$$)make sure it is still under warranty before you plug it in to your cheap square wave inverter.
You get what you pay for and sometimes it is good enough and sometimes it is not. You will only find out when either: A. the inverter fails or B. the device it is powering fails. A cheap square wave inverter may cause over heating issues to the internal power supplies of some products. My laptop power supply got so hot from running on a square wave inverter that I disconnected it from fear of failure. With most products being global today, designers are putting very specific power factor regulating controllers to meet tight European power quality standards. If your product has this power factor controller in it, you may kill your product. If you are running an appliance that is just a motor or simple load - go ahead with cheap power source. If you have sensitive electronic eqipment (read $$$)make sure it is still under warranty before you plug it in to your cheap square wave inverter.
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