Now I need an Inverter....

Hi Ron3,

It is only mac computers that have problems with msw. The mac power supply also draws 60 watts when plugged in whether the computer is attached or not.

kneal44 wrote:
harbornd frieght 1000 watt works good for me @ $60with coupon .... and a few bucks for warrantee its a great deal.

i mounted mine inside where the air is clean and cool. had for 5 years now and no problems so far. and if i do its cheap enough so as i wont have aheart attacke lol

Maybe, but that's not a pure sine wave inverter which are best for sensitive electronics like laptops, etc. It might work forever and never give you a problem but I'm going to go with the PSW inverter in this case. If I just needed to power some lights or somesuch, I might go that route.

harbornd frieght 1000 watt works good for me @ $60with coupon .... and a few bucks for warrantee its a great deal.

i mounted mine inside where the air is clean and cool. had for 5 years now and no problems so far. and if i do its cheap enough so as i wont have aheart attacke lol

I'm going to go with the Salmex PST 300-12 series at $145 from Best Converter. Salmex makes a cheaper 300 watter at $99.00, but no thermo controlled fan, it constantly runs and is overall cheaper construction. The cheaper unit gets quite a number of bad reviews. The more expensive PST series is a more robust unit with thermo controlled fan and gets very good reviews.

I agree the Morningstar is probably the best, but at $200 it's a bit more than I want to spend. This inverter is for occasional use mainly to run the LCD TV when we have the grand kids and no hook-ups. If I was intending heavy use, I would invest in the Morningstar, but I think the Salmex PST series will be fine for my use.

Thanks for all the tips and help, I learned a lot, especially that "you get what you pay for" with inverters!

I have a 600W Samlex PS, the newest, least quality inverter in that size and the fan not only runs continuously but is miserably loud. I have replaced it with a Xantrex 1000W inverter and am happy so far. The fan is either nonexistent, never runs, or I can't hear it.

Hi Ron,

I'd also recommend the morningstar.

Do not buy an inverter where the fan runs constantly. The overhead from running it all the time will use LOTS of power.

KJINTF wrote:
Ron

Just a suggestion
From my experience repairing electronic equipment for the past 35 + years, cooling fans tend to go south quickly when, not if but when the fan stops moving. Suggest you take a look at the MS Sure Sine 300 - no fans no moving parts very low off state current draw and easily hardwired into place.

Thanks, I'll check it out. I've read Morningstar makes good stuff.

Ron

Just a suggestion
From my experience repairing electronic equipment for the past 35 + years, cooling fans tend to go south quickly when, not if but when the fan stops moving. Suggest you take a look at the MS Sure Sine 300 - no fans no moving parts very low off state current draw and easily hardwired into place.

wa8yxm wrote:
There are several inverters in the 300 watt range that are TRUE SINE WAVE.. The Samlex mentioned above (Which by the way I have only heard good things about).

Most all the TRUE SINE WAVE units I have seen are well built and have not generated many complaints.

MSW inverters you pay your money you take your chances.. But Most all the TSW's are good.

Mine is a Xantrex Prosine 2.0 9 years old and going strong.

One thing I will add: When I RE-Installed it (First one lost its mind) I upgraded the battery cables one size.

If the inverter you buy says "Use six ga wire" use 4ga (Which by the way is often less expensive since that is very common cable you can buy at auto stores).

DO not forget the proper fuse

From the inverter to the fuse TAPE the two wires side by side.. Then attach the positive to the fuse, and the other side of the fuse to battery positive.

Then attach the negative.

Thanks for the tips; I read the reviews on the Samlex 350 and it got a couple negative reviews. This model has the allagator clips for the battery, which I could modify. Also, the fan runs all the time, under load or not. Maybe that's why it's $99 with free shipping and other brands run around $150. Here's a link:

SAMLEX 350 WATT INVERTER

EDIT:
I checked the mfg website and see Samlex makes several levels of quality in the 350 watt range. The more expensive one has a thermal controlled fan is about 50 bucks more.

There are several inverters in the 300 watt range that are TRUE SINE WAVE.. The Samlex mentioned above (Which by the way I have only heard good things about).

Most all the TRUE SINE WAVE units I have seen are well built and have not generated many complaints.

MSW inverters you pay your money you take your chances.. But Most all the TSW's are good.

Mine is a Xantrex Prosine 2.0 9 years old and going strong.

One thing I will add: When I RE-Installed it (First one lost its mind) I upgraded the battery cables one size.

If the inverter you buy says "Use six ga wire" use 4ga (Which by the way is often less expensive since that is very common cable you can buy at auto stores).

DO not forget the proper fuse

From the inverter to the fuse TAPE the two wires side by side.. Then attach the positive to the fuse, and the other side of the fuse to battery positive.

Then attach the negative.