Harbor Freight Inverters

Pauljdav wrote:
i have the 750 running 1500 max unit. I leave it on all the time. I used a 75 amp marine fuse.

I just bought this unit today. On sale for $41.99 in the store, used a 20% off coupon which made it cheaper than the $39.99 coupon they sent me in the mail.

Very good reviews on their website. Found it interesting that the manual states it has a 35A fuse inside though the inverter is rated for 750W continuous. Would think it would nuisance blow at 1.8X for the 750W rating but it worked fine powering up a bathroom fan for about 5 mins as a load (~600W)

Case is all plastic, would have liked metal but got me thinking about today's UPS's with their plastic cases and similar outputs. The only exception to this is you add your own battery!

In my old TT I ran a 200 watt inverter off the lighter plug behind the tv, ran the tv and blueray off it 100% of the time. I liked it for rest stops on the road (didn't have a genset).

Thanks for all the replies. I'm gonna go for it. Since I'm not a full-timer, and only intend to use the inverter on rare occasions when I don't have hook-ups or can't use the gen, this HF unit is worth the risk. Thanks again.

I have had the 1500w from Harbor Freight for a couple of years. It will run the 32" tv,coffee maker,microwave,and wifes hardryer with no problems. Not all at the same time of course.

Need to add that is not meant as a criticism of the Chinese or their manufacturing prowess, just from experience working with firms in China, the good stuff goes to Japan and the really good stuff goes to Germany and the junk goes to the USA.

Anything I buy at Harbor Freight I know was made to be cheap to manufacture and cheap to sell and a throw away item if anything part fails. Not what I want to have for an RV that I take on the road.

The ones that cost more have better engineering, better components, and are not made with slave labor. For my peace of mind and my karma I prefer to buy American made products whenever possible. Usually the quality of construction is better and I hate doing things twice because I went cheap the first time around.

i have the 750 running 1500 max unit. I leave it on all the time. I used a 75 amp marine fuse.
I am not sure what a "sensitive electronic" is but my TV, DVD etc are run exclusively off of the inverter. I ran a 110 wire from my inverter to put an outlet in the bedroom and the living room. This way I always have 2 outlets that have 110 no matter what.
So far I am very happy with how it works. I have not noticed a fan that is on all the time.

Paul

i.e. Low efficiency at low percentage of output.

I've heard that the cooling fan runs all the time the inverter is turned on, not just when it gets hot. That would detract from it's efficiency. That may have been changed on the newer models.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
OWNER: Good value, eats a lot of battery at low output (inefficient). I learned the hardest way to install a T-class fuse rated well below the inverter's supposed maximum rated power - don't try running it at max potential very long. But on the other hand they are not junk. Three out of 5 stars rating IMHO.

Thanks.