Magnum CSW inverters - don't do it

[rudykruger]

While looking for a compact, pure sine wave inverter only (no charger/inverter here) of around 2000W I learnt about the Magnum CSW series on cruisersforum. Hey it's a Magnum right, a premium product?

I purchased a CSW2012-HX at the end of December 2018 for installation in my Lagoon 420. This is a compact 2000W pure sine wave inverter intended for hardwired installations. The boat already had a Victron 2000W inverter at 230V/50Hz and I got the Magnum to power a number of 110V/60Hz outlets on the boat.

Well, 10 days short of 12 months later I am in the process of a second RMA from Sensata for another faulty CSW inverter. The first inverter died by itself and I had it replaced by Sensata in August. The replacement unit was installed 3 weeks ago and turned out to be faulty - probably from the get-go right out of the box. It refuses to reliably power anything with a heating element, shutting down without any warning or error codes at 1350-1400 Watts. The inverter is installed with 1/0 AWG 12V wiring, very short 12V wiring run, 300A class T fuse - in short, it is a professional and over-engineered installation.

Along the way I learned that the CSW inverters are not actually Magnum products at all; they are made in China products and branded as Magnum inverters for Sensata by the manufacturer. They are also sold by West Marine and other retailers as Kisae inverters. Sensata won't actually try to repair these, I guess because in reality they are throw-away pieces of junk.

Now, as with most budget Chinese inverters there will be many who will say "mine's been working flawlessly for X months/years". That's great - I'm happy for you. Just be aware that you're not using a Magnum product.

[john61ct]

I smell private equity MBA bandits.

Shooting the brand rep in the foot for a few mill short-term, so sad.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by john61ct

I smell private equity MBA bandits.

Shooting the brand rep in the foot for a few mill short-term, so sad.

Sensata is a publicly traded company, ticker ST on the NYSE, has been for a decade. Easy to find information, https://www.sensata.com/about. I don't think the OPs inverter was developed over a decade ago!

Odd of you to specifically call out those holding a Masters in Business Administration. I think I have a half dozen classmates in private equity if you exclude VCs, at least a dozen have founded non-profits or social enterprises, and the rest of us run the gamut from entrepreneurs to doing work at large companies. Might do you some good to grab a beer or a coffee with a few MBAs outside of finance and ask them what they do; stereotypes tend to break down with actual face to face conversations.

[rudykruger]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

Sensata is a publicly traded company, ticker ST on the NYSE, has been for a decade. Easy to find information, https://www.sensata.com/about. I don't think the OPs inverter was developed over a decade ago!

Odd of you to specifically call out those holding a Masters in Business Administration. I think I have a half dozen classmates in private equity if you exclude VCs, at least a dozen have founded non-profits or social enterprises, and the rest of us run the gamut from entrepreneurs to doing work at large companies. Might do you some good to grab a beer or a coffee with a few MBAs outside of finance and ask them what they do; stereotypes tend to break down with actual face to face conversations.

Of course he's not wrong. Sensata may be publicly listed but the business is majority-owned by Bain Capital.

I don't think you'll find Victron, for example, selling lower-end consumer grade Chinese junk rebranded as Victron. That's very much a PE type move.

[a64pilot]

Odd, they don’t try at all to disguise it’s not made by Magnum, make it very obvious it’s not, wonder why they put their name on it, obviously for profit I’d assume.
https://www.magnum-dimensions.com/pr...ter-csw-series
You do see this sort of thing often, I remember years ago Ranger boats suddenly sold a cheap who knows who made it boat with the name Ranger on it.

[KTP]

Originally Posted by rudykruger

Of course he's not wrong. Sensata may be publicly listed but the business is majority-owned by Bain Capital.

I don't think you'll find Victron, for example, selling lower-end consumer grade Chinese junk rebranded as Victron. That's very much a PE type move.

Actually Victron does sell some really low end inverters on Amazon but they seem to still be pretty good quality. The phoenix line.

[rudykruger]

Originally Posted by KTP

Actually Victron does sell some really low end inverters on Amazon but they seem to still be pretty good quality. The phoenix line.

There is nothing low end about Victron Phoenix inverters. 92-94% efficiency, low voltage cutoff 9.5V, operating temperature range up to 65 Celsius/150 Fahrenheit. There's not a Chinese inverter that comes near these numbers.

My first mistake was not getting another 120V version of this...

[john61ct]

Yes I was not saying all MBAs are evil.

But the short-term mentality of PE is a cancer, destroying thousands of wonderful businesses every year.

The professionals they hire whatever the letters after their names, are part of the problem.

Originally Posted by KTP

Actually Victron does sell some really low end inverters on Amazon but they seem to still be pretty good quality. The phoenix line.

"Low end" with regard to price is Value and of course a Good Thing, as long as quality - reliability & longevity - and the brand reputation thus market Goodwill is preserved for future decades.

But this is fraudulently capitalizing on the brand by selling marked up crap using the same brand identity, and will destroy its careful positioning in the market.

There should be mechanisms in place to prevent squandering these capital assets built up over decades just to maximise short-term ROI of the PE raiders.