How big of a deal is a pure sine over a standard inverter? I now use a standard 400w to run the TV and direct box it dose fine. I am thinking of a 1500w to power the whole 5er, coffee pot, microwave, TV/direct, blow dryer, curling iron (no not all at once). We have a generator but would like to have quiet power as well. For the price difference I am leaning towards a standard. I would like to here from both side that have them not just read about them I have done that. If you run an a standard have you had any problems?Thank You in advance

1500 is a little small for the job you describe. A 2000 MSW would do it. I have no issues with MSW. The key is to get an inverter that is rated to run motors not just heaters. Then it will be able to run the microwave, which is something like a motor as seen by the microwave.

1500w should be fine. Just remember that no matter what, you'll likely have to choose which device you can run INDIVIDUALLY. Based on the items you mentioned, by themselves, your covered. As far as a pure signwave or not, that's kinda less of a requirement and more of personal choice. I chose the pure sign wave to remove any doubt that my power may not be clean enough or not. Kinda like keeping it simple. :-)Final thought, I appreciate that most psw units also have fans.

2000 watt Go Power sine wave is about $825Well worth it IMO. Don't forget four batteries to drive it and a good charging system.

I've got no issues with MSW. Your electronics don't care - they convert the AC to DC to run it so they are good there. The heating element stuff (coffee pot) cares less - would run on DC if you got it.Motors could be picky and some old electronics but I'd save the coin and go for MSW.

I think there are good MSW inverters and there are poor MSW inverters. The same is true for PSW. We use a Tripp lite 1250fc industrial inverter. It replaced a cheap 3000/6000w PSW inverter that started our 5000 BTU window air conditioner once and died. It also runs a microwave pulling 1375w, a hair dryer, coffee machine, cook top, even the little A/C. It also runs the TV, satellite and chargers much better than a cheap MSW unit did.MSW have been around for a long time, the quality units can do a good job.

Pure sine or standard inverter | Good Sam Community

29 Replies

MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Nov 02, 2015
Interstingly enough my coffeemaker sucks 808 watts on 120.0 volts and 784 watts on the Trace. Total resistive load and the Trace is registering 121 point some odd volts. Half a minute longer to brew coffee. Then of course there are the missing voltage amplitudes and transformers.

List all jobs and then verify modified sine wave can handle it.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Nov 01, 2015
The bigest differences between a PSW and an MSW is this.

For most of the people out there with MSW there is a long list of thing that MIGHT not play as well.. This includes Microwaves, All sorts of Audio/Video/Radio/Television gear. Night lights, Electric blankets, Anything with a timer.

Pure Resistive loads like a basic coffee pot (no timer or clock) no problem.

But the key word or phrase in that is MIGHT NOT WORK.. This of course implies they might work just fine.. You don't know till you try.

For me.. My Ham Gear WILL NOT like an MSW inverter nearby.. But We hams are special that way.
itguy08
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
Tried a box fan on our cheap Harbor Freight 200w MSW inverter and while it did run well it seemed down on power and made a slight humming noise. Nothing bad and it ran perfectly for about an hour.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
Boy the Trace 4024 sure wasn't
JiminDenver
Explorer II
Nov 01, 2015
I just checked a high velocity fan on the Trip lite, all I heard was the noise from the blades moving through the air. Never had a issue when we ran just the fan on the roof A/C or the whole window A/C. Maybe it's because the Tripp lite is made to run motors and such.
Lenny_K
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
Posted by SoundGuy: To date I have this inverter wired to feed the trailer "whole house" so I can plug these fans (or anything else) into any receptacle in the trailer but that does require me to first turn off the converter, force the gas to fridge, turn off the water heater electric element, and go outside to plug the trailer's main service cable into the inverter. I'm now planning to install a few dedicated receptacles in the camper (one of each side of the bed and another by the kitchen galley) which I'll feed directly from the inverter output receptacles. That should make for much simpler use than my current "whole house" wiring scheme - just turn the inverter on with the remote panel located inside the camper and plug into one of those dedicated receptacles.
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Why don't you put in a subpanel and a transfer switch. Easy to do and makes life much simpler.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
My 4000 watt MSW using 3300 amp hours of batteries turns my 1600 watt commercial LG into an instant 800 watt microwave oven. And the amp hour efficiency drops into the toilet. Three fans hum my display on the BiPAP suddenly speaks Sanscrit and after instantaneously blowing up two lithium battery chargers the Trace has been relegated to restricted duty.

I now have a 300-watt Samlex PSW for duties that are simply unavoidable. A 1600 watt microwave that takes 11+ minutes to nuke a large potato? Har Har Har.
RJsfishin
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
Ozlander wrote:
Some microwaves don't like MSW, won't run.

And some (my 1500 prowatt) run fine, except about 1/2 the power.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
My 4000 watt MSW using 3300 amp hours of batteries turns my 1600 watt commercial LG into an instant 800 watt microwave oven. And the amp hour efficiency drops into the toilet. Three fans hum my display on the BiPAP suddenly speaks Sanscrit and after instantaneously blowing up two lithium battery chargers the Trace has been relegated to restricted duty.

I now have a 300-watt Samlex PSW for duties that are simply unavoidable. A 1600 watt microwave that takes 11+ minutes to nuke a large potato? Har Har Har.
2oldman
Explorer II
Nov 01, 2015
MSW v. pure sine
Inverters and MW thread