MSW

No, you're not replacing it, you're upgrading. Apparently those are two completely different things... According to others. :)

As Piano stated the OP said current unit is dead they have to buy something, now is the time. With PSW you will never have to worry about what you plug in.

Our coach has a MSW and it has worked fine including powering HP/Compaq laptops :B but if it dies and I have to spend the money it will be for a PSW, same if I have to replace it due to capacity needs.

pianotuna wrote:
In addition Magnum put in a 60 amp automatic transfer switch for "pass through" power. .

Wow.. terrific.

Hi Harold,

Another "cool hand Luke" moment.

PSW is better than MSW. MSW is cheaper than PSW. For relatively small wattages there is a small price penalty to pay, by moving to upgrade to PSW.

I've just ordered a Magnum 3012 hybrid inverter that is PSW. It was 1880.00 including a fancy remote, plus shipping. I'm replacing a 2500 watt MSW Cobra that has met my needs for four years that cost $200.00.

PSW is the best possible replacement and represents an upgrade as well. Four years ago there were no 3000 watt 12 volt input psw units that were reliable and could be repaired.

Right now the PSW 3000 watt units that are inverters only from Samlex, Go Power, and others are NOT repairable because there are no parts available post warranty. I know this because I was in direct email contact with five makers. They cost between $1100 and $1500. The warranty on these units was one or two years.

Magnum and Victron DO offer post warranty repair service. I chose the Magnum because it was closest to the 3600 watts that I wanted, and because it offers hybrid power. I.E. if I exceed the shore power input current, the inverter will "boost" from the battery bank, up to the rating of the inverter, instead of blowing the shore power breaker. It is also a new design, so parts will be available for a long time.


Why choose to upgrade:

One reason inverters fail is because they are over loaded.

More capacity is always nice to have.

PSW is the better technology.

In Magnum, Victron, and one other high quality but lessor known brand, true hybrid operation is possible.

Negatives:

Cost is greater.

We don't know what capacity the OP's unit is. PSW is available at 300 watts for $140.00 or less. The "best of the best" in this wattage is the Morning Star inverter. It features no fan and over load to 600 watts for ten minutes if I remember correctly.

Why I chose PSW and Magnum:

I am often in situations where I have only a 15 amp shore power connection, and without access to the shore power breaker.

In addition Magnum put in a 60 amp automatic transfer switch for "pass through" power. That should allow switching under load without excessive burning of the contacts.

True Hybrid Operation

Ability to run the roof air conditioner

Ability to run induction cooker

Price is about 63 cents per watt (including the remote which is necessary to meet my personal needs).

Temperature compensated 3 stage charging, with a probe on the battery bank. This helps prevent overcharging in summer, and undercharging in winter.

Ability to store "favorites" (profiles), so I can switch quickly and easily between 15 amp, 23 amp, and 36 amp input to the inverter.

I've been burned in the past purchasing an inexpensive PSW unit. Rating was 5000 watts and at the end of two weeks of use, it could not power a laptop.


Now that I have gone into details, my personal recommendation to the OP is to move to a PSW inverter that exceeds the capacity of his original failed unit. All this said, if the OP doesn't want to upgrade to PSW I'd have no hesitation in recommending the Cobra MSW 2500 watt unit. It does not feature battery charging.

JimM68 wrote:
I personally believe PSW is nothing but advertising hype.
But then, I do not believe climate change is primarily caused by human activity either, nor do I accept that their is anything humans could do to change it.

I'd love to hear what you think about Honda generators.

We all choose what to believe. What I find is that, most of the time, that's based on your wallet.

For what it's worth, our Monaco came with a factory installed Magnum ME2012. This is a 100 amp 3 stage charger with a builtin 2000 watt MSW inverter.

We've never had a problem.
Everything we plug into it works just fine. Clocks don't lose time, fans don't hum, Apple products don't go up in smoke.

And at least at Magnum, PSW inverters cost more than DOUBLE MSW's.

I personally believe PSW is nothing but advertising hype.
But then, I do not believe climate change is primarily caused by human activity either, nor do I accept that their is anything humans could do to change it.

harold1946 wrote:
I thought it was obvious that the OP has been using MSW for the last ten years with no issues, making it rather redundant,(exceeding what is needed or normal) in his application. A replacement would be another MSW.

You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.

And THAT is a nitpick

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Harold,

It is an upgrade. I thought that was obvious from what I wrote. As usual you and I don't communicate well, which is unfortunate.

We could if you would answer the questions I ask with a reasonable answer. You said nothing about an upgrade in your first post. I thought it was obvious that the OP has been using MSW for the last ten years with no issues, making it rather redundant,(exceeding what is needed or normal) in his application. A replacement would be another MSW.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Harold,

It is an upgrade. I thought that was obvious from what I wrote. As usual you and I don't communicate well, which is unfortunate.

Just because he's used them for 11 years and many many have, does change the fact that they are hard on electronics, and that is indisputable. Calling it redundant vs. an upgrade is nothing but a nitpick. PSW is the better way to go, and we all know that.

What the pro MSW crowd is missing here is not that there are power supplies on these devices that make DC anyway, but it is these same is supplies that are they problem. They may have a wide acceptance range for voltage and frequency, but they were not designed to accept lousy power. The clock, being the cheapest to replace ought to be the 1st indication that something is wrong. Any non-linear power supply could be a victim, and there are more and more electronics using them. So fix the problem now and don't worry about it again.