Debating whether to purchase a 600 or 1000/1500 watt PSW inverter. Right now I only have one battery and have no immediate plans to do any extensive dry camping. My plan (for the inverter) is to primarily power my laptop and small flat-screen TV when I'm on the move from point A to B for a few days at a time every now and then.1. Outside of not being able to power a coffee maker and/or a smaller, low-power microwave, are there any other limitations I may not be aware of by going with the 600 watt inverter?2. It seems Sunforce offers the best value in PSW inverters. Amazingly, on Amazon, their 1000 watt PSW inverter costs about the same as their 650 watt PSW inverter, approx. $180. However, Power Bright seems to have the best reviews (reliability, performance) for the money. Their 600 watt PSW inverter goes for $170, their 1000 watt PSW approx. $280. Are there other lower priced, good quality PSW inverters I should be considering?Thanks!

I won't speak for brands, but I sure they all have a warrany.But I don't know why I'd buy a 1,000 watt.A 3-400 watt will do all you want.And personally I don't know why I'd spend a nickel more for a PSW.I do everything you do, and a lot more and did it for 30 yrs on MSW w/o a single problem

I agree with RJ. 300W is good for everything outside of a MW. I have a Go Power 300W PSW unit. Morningstar 300W PSW is a great choice too.

I agree with the 300 watt Morning star 300 watt PSW Inverter for your application.

150w/300w max. 300w or less will allow the use of existing battery connection. The 600w/1500w is larger than needed especially with a single battery and infrequent use. GoPower has about the lowest idle draw in this range. Also has a provision for a remote power switch.

You will wind up using all the inverter you have, but the real limit is how much battery you want to drag around. A 1K inverter needs at least a pair of GC-2s or 4D. If you have the room and don't mind 175# of battery (and the care a feeding there of), go with larger. But, the larger inverters eat more even when your not using all the power that they can manage.I have this discussion with yacht owners regularly.Matt

600w or 1000/1500w Inverter? | Good Sam Community

2oldman
Explorer II
Sep 07, 2013
pianotuna wrote:
. I had a similar Chinese product and it was 172 volts.
Msw?
otrfun
Explorer II
Sep 07, 2013
pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

You need to check the output voltage when it is not under load. I had a similar Chinese product and it was 172 volts. I really wish you had started a thread about the product you intended to purchase. Too late for that now.

Appreciate the heads-up. That was one of the first things I checked when I received it. Under no-load, output voltage is 116.0 volts. Under full load (600 watts), voltage drops to 115.8 volts. Pretty good voltage regulation IMO. Under full load (600 watts) input voltage drops to 11.85 volts (measured at the battery; 12.75 vdc with no-load).

FWIW, I did mention this specific inverter when I started this thread. No one seemed to have any specific pros or cons about it. As for it being "too late", actually it's not. I purchased this from Amazon and still have some time to return it. However, at this point and time I see no reason to. I've had this inverter under max load numerous times and it shows no signs of instability. IMO, one of the best indicators that a product will perform satisfactorily in a real-world environment is reflected by consumer experiences and feedback. Amazon consumer reviews on this model are very, very good.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Sep 06, 2013
Hi,

You need to check the output voltage when it is not under load. I had a similar Chinese product and it was 172 volts. I really wish you had started a thread about the product you intended to purchase. Too late for that now.

otrfun wrote:
smkettner wrote:
Sounds like you had other motivations besides tv & laptop.
600w sounds like the best fit for your needs.
Actually, I didn't. I'm sure 300 watts would have fit my needs just fine. All of the 300 watt PSW models on Amazon with good reviews (that I could find) cost more than the APS600-12 I purchased. There were slightly less expensive 300 watt PSW models, but their reviews were sub-par. Seemed like a no-brainer to get an inverter with additional headroom, good reviews, for similar or even less money. The fact this unit powers the coffee maker and vacuum cleaner was not expected, a complete surprise and purely icing on the cake.
otrfun
Explorer II
Sep 06, 2013
smkettner wrote:
Sounds like you had other motivations besides tv & laptop.
600w sounds like the best fit for your needs.
Actually, I didn't. I'm sure 300 watts would have fit my needs just fine. All of the 300 watt PSW models on Amazon with good reviews (that I could find) cost more than the APS600-12 I purchased. There were slightly less expensive 300 watt PSW models, but their reviews were sub-par. Seemed like a no-brainer to get an inverter with additional headroom, good reviews, for similar or even less money. The fact this unit powers the coffee maker and vacuum cleaner was not expected, a complete surprise and purely icing on the cake.
2oldman
Explorer II
Sep 06, 2013
pianotuna wrote:
The 4000 watt Magnum requires 24 volts input. I sure wish it did not.
I wonder if a DC-DC step up module would work. To handle the kind of amperage it would need to, it would be rather expensive. Much easier to reconfigure your batteries.
Almot
Explorer III
Sep 06, 2013
When inverter is always on, it will draw a bit of idle current over 24 hours. The OP wanted to camp with a single battery while running a few 120V devices off the inverter, but not a microwave. A difficult balance, TAD doable, and he sure doesn't need any idle draw.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Sep 06, 2013
Hi mlts22,

The 4000 watt Magnum requires 24 volts input. I sure wish it did not.

mlts22 wrote:
Were I looking at an inverter, I'd probably see about something that I mentioned a few days ago in a separate post, a Magnum Energy hybrid inverter/converter. A 4000 watt model is big enough to handle the A/C and microwave, and because it is "always on", the electronics being fed the PSW signal always will have a steady voltage and smooth sine wave. To me, it is the best thing next to an online UPS for electrical items, with enough spike capacity for the A/C compressor or a microwave's magnetron. Of course, having all electric outlets live all the time is a plus.
2oldman
Explorer II
Sep 06, 2013
Dusty R wrote:
So why change 12 volt dc into 120 volt ac, then back to 12 volt dc?
Because in many cases it's a big hassle not to. Efficiency is highly overrated.
mlts22
Explorer
Sep 06, 2013
Were I looking at an inverter, I'd probably see about something that I mentioned a few days ago in a separate post, a Magnum Energy hybrid inverter/converter. A 4000 watt model is big enough to handle the A/C and microwave, and because it is "always on", the electronics being fed the PSW signal always will have a steady voltage and smooth sine wave. To me, it is the best thing next to an online UPS for electrical items, with enough spike capacity for the A/C compressor or a microwave's magnetron. Of course, having all electric outlets live all the time is a plus.
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 06, 2013
Sounds like you had other motivations besides tv & laptop.
600w sounds like the best fit for your needs.

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