Harbor Freight Predator 3500
Any comments on the Predator 3500 invertor generator? They advertise this unit as being Super Quiet (58 dB). It normally sells for around $850. However, I have been getting email coupons lately for...
Forum Discussion
joebedford wrote:
Yes, mine is an APC 600VA that I bought less than a year ago.
I read somewhere that the switching relay (between AC IN and battery backup) will only last about 10000 cycles. Switching every few seconds will run that out in a hurry.
Most appliances will run on a generator but apparently not all UPSs.
I suppose inverter generators might have cleaner power output. Are they all PSW or are the cheap ones MSW?
Switching under a heavy load all the time might wear out the relay contacts at a faster rate than normal but I wouldn't be concerned with that though, typically in most UPS units they tend to use relays with contacts rated at a far greater amperage than what the UPS will ever use for a load. 600VA UPS, your talking a load of 3.5A absolute max at 120V, most likely has relay contacts rated at 6A or even 10A but not 3A..
I would be a bit more concerned about the inverter and the synchronization of the inverter to the gen which might be a weak spot..
As mentioned, my older APCs are happy with the gen, a newer APC, wasn't.. Sort of the reason I started buying Tripplites when it came to replacing some very aged APCs from the late 1990s..
