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Old 26-12-2012, 19:57   #1
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Inverter

Inverter crapped out, thinking of buying this one from westmarine (link below). Does anyone have any experience with this inverter? Got any feedback before I shell out over $100?

WEST MARINE Slim 1000W Inverter at West Marine
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Old 26-12-2012, 20:10   #2
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Re: Inverter

looks similar to the one i bought, although mine is only 750 watts. be sure to use a heavy guage wire from the batteries to the inverter. i also installed a large fuse and a large switch between the batteries and the inverter. i've had mine seven years now, but use it only intermittenly, such as for the vacuum cleaner once a week.

one thing i did do. i'm not sure how well protected they are against salt air corrosion, so after i bought it i opened up the cover and sprayed most of a can of boeshield t-9 (or some other electrical protectant like corrosion-x, not sure which) all over the internal parts. hopefully it protects the little bits from corrosion.
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Old 26-12-2012, 23:07   #3
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Re: Inverter

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Originally Posted by onestepcsy37 View Post
looks similar to the one i bought, although mine is only 750 watts. be sure to use a heavy guage wire from the batteries to the inverter. i also installed a large fuse and a large switch between the batteries and the inverter. i've had mine seven years now, but use it only intermittenly, such as for the vacuum cleaner once a week.

one thing i did do. i'm not sure how well protected they are against salt air corrosion, so after i bought it i opened up the cover and sprayed most of a can of boeshield t-9 (or some other electrical protectant like corrosion-x, not sure which) all over the internal parts. hopefully it protects the little bits from corrosion.
Thanks for the tip about the protective spray. My own electrical needs are very small so I'm sure this model will more than do the job I want but I always like to get first hand experience if possible.
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Old 26-12-2012, 23:31   #4
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Re: Inverter

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Inverter crapped out, thinking of buying this one from westmarine (link below). Does anyone have any experience with this inverter? Got any feedback before I shell out over $100?

WEST MARINE Slim 1000W Inverter at West Marine
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Old 27-12-2012, 00:51   #5
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Re: Inverter

Some inverters are very loud when they're working. You might want to check to see if there's a spec for how loudly it hums. Our old Heart Inverter/Charger is a noisy old bugger.

Fair winds and calm seas.
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Old 27-12-2012, 07:47   #6
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Re: Inverter

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Some inverters are very loud when they're working. You might want to check to see if there's a spec for how loudly it hums. Our old Heart Inverter/Charger is a noisy old bugger.

Fair winds and calm seas.
Yep. That's why I thought I'd ask here. See if anyone had one and if it was loud. I don't use mine much so it won't be a big hardship if it's loud but I'd prefer a quiet one, obviously.
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Old 27-12-2012, 08:40   #7
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Re: Inverter

The Xantrec 1000w of mine, you cant even hear it run. That's one reason I went to a 2000w for an up grade.
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Old 27-12-2012, 09:10   #8
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Re: Inverter

Keep in mind the inverter you chose is a modified square wave type. This means it is going to be electrically noisy with some AC electronics. It may not work at all with with some AC loads or may not work very well.
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Old 27-12-2012, 09:37   #9
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Re: Inverter

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Keep in mind the inverter you chose is a modified square wave type. This means it is going to be electrically noisy with some AC electronics. It may not work at all with with some AC loads or may not work very well.
Anything with electronic circuitry will most likely not work at all on a modified sine wave. It depends in the transformer inside the unit and how it's routed.
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Old 27-12-2012, 10:25   #10
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Re: Inverter

The west marine inverter is a rebranded Wagan model. May find it slightly cheaper on amazon. I have the 750 watt version. The fan runs all the time but its not too loud. About 90% efficiency. I use it to run the fridge and power the netbook and USB charged items. Mine's worked quite well for over two years.

I do keep a spare available. It does not seem that electrically noisy, unlike my charge controller...
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Old 27-12-2012, 15:17   #11
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Re: Inverter

@sailorchic34, you're right I had found it cheaper on Amazon but was thinking that, if I got it from WM, I could just walk into any store if it broke. Whereas, with Amazon, I'd have to ship it. Got any thoughts on that?

@ Delmarry & David M: tech question for you. Do you think it's likely (or possible) to damage the inverter if I run a laptop off a modified sine wave model? I'm not worried about damaging the laptop because I have run several off a MSW inverter before for long periods of time.
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Old 27-12-2012, 15:25   #12
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Re: Inverter

I ended up getting one of these inverters from AutoZone. I like it because it has a meter to show you how much watts you are using. It's runs fairly quiet too.

Duralast/1000 Watts digital inverter (PI-1000W) | Power Inverter | AutoZone.com_

I got it because my boat is at a storage lot that doesn't have electrical outlets nearby so I connect this to my truck to power a few tools and to hook up shore power cable to it for keeping batteries topped off. So far, a 1.5gal shop vac is the biggest power hog using 650 watts, that I've used. I also have a small 200 watt inverter that I use with a laptop without any issues.
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Old 27-12-2012, 15:37   #13
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Re: Inverter

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@ Delmarry & David M: tech question for you. Do you think it's likely (or possible) to damage the inverter if I run a laptop off a modified sine wave model? I'm not worried about damaging the laptop because I have run several off a MSW inverter before for long periods of time.
Usually laptops run off their battery, which runs off of a charger. Most chargers are an AC transformer with a rectifier for converting to DC. As long as the charger puts out the DC voltage it should be fine.

If your charger is internal, I'd contact the mfgr to see if a modified sine is acceptable.
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Old 27-12-2012, 16:21   #14
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Re: Inverter

Some tools with electronic speed controls will not work with Modified Sine Wave Inverters. They also may damage some electronics like MicroWaves. In my case, burned through two sears MicroWaves and ovens before they stopped honoring the warranty and refunded my money. This was not on the boat. My newish Bosch Saber Saw won't run off the inverter. All my other corded tools run fine.

Have used the inverter to charge the battery in my laptop, handheld VHF, etc. without any problems.
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Old 27-12-2012, 17:37   #15
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Re: Inverter

@Rhapsody-NS27. That's almost identical to the one I had. Did yours come with any warranty? Mine did not, nor could I purchase any from them.

@Delmarry: thanks for the feedback!

@roverhi: thanks for the input. Most of my power tools run off batteries so I think they'll be ok. Famous last words...
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