Magnum CSW1012 vs Xantrex ProWatt SW1000

[Padlin]

Been looking at the Magnum CSW1012 but can't find much for reviews on it. I like how it outputs 1000w continuous vs the Prowatt at 900w continuous, it's also a little smaller and lighter but cost $75 more. I have a pretty small trailer so size matters.

Does anyone have an opinion on the Magnum?

Magnum CSW1012

Xantrex

[Almot]

Padlin wrote:
A while back I was wondering why even the little 400w cheapie I have only comes with a lighter plug. What good is 400w when the fuse and wiring are only 10-15 amps.

Puzzles me.
Better brands don't usually do this, but a cheaper no-name baby cobbled up in China could have anything, including inability to run loads over 180W with "400W" written all over, so it could have a cig plug as well. Too bad that Xantrex has gone this way too - after changing the ownership and nationality.

[SoundGuy]

pianotuna wrote:
Will that 1000 watt work on a cigarette lighter plug?

Padlin wrote:
A while back I was wondering why even the little 400w cheapie I have only comes with a lighter plug. What good is 400w when the fuse and wiring are only 10-15 amps.

Isn't it obvious? ... more sold because of perceived ease of use by those who haven't got the faintest idea that this arrangement is nowhere near suitable for an inverter of that size. :R

[Padlin]

pianotuna wrote:
Will that 1000 watt work on a cigarette lighter plug?

A while back I was wondering why even the little 400w cheapie I have only comes with a lighter plug. What good is 400w when the fuse and wiring are only 10-15 amps.

[j_p_f_]

what is up with these double posts? I know I didn't push the enter button twice? am I the only one getting double posts?

[j_p_f_]

pt you are a laugh riot, and I mean that in a nice way.

[SoundGuy]

pianotuna wrote:
Will that 1000 watt work on a cigarette lighter plug?

At full load no, of course not - no 1000 watt inverter that's looking for ~ 80 amps at full load will work from a cigarette lighter receptacle that at best if probably rated for ~ 7 amps. :R

[pianotuna]

Will that 1000 watt work on a cigarette lighter plug?

[SoundGuy]

BFL13 wrote:
However I don't need PSW for anything we use. No electric blanket. If I did, I would get the lowest cost one of the needed watts I could find and use the big MSW for everything else. I note that the recommended ones have no fan noise, so since it is for that blanket and when trying to sleep, that would be a big factor in choosing the inverter

And here in Canada where you and I both are by far the most cost effective deal for a PSW inverter is the 1000 watt Motomaster branded version that many of us have and is in fact cheaper than anything smaller I could find here. In typical Canadian Tire fashion it's on sale regularly for ~ $200 Cdn so while it's no doubt far from the "best" I've not had any issues with mine, it does what it's supposed to do, under lighter loads the fan never runs and when it does it's irrelevant anyway with the inverter mounted in the trailer's front pass through cargo compartment. :B

[SoundGuy]

BFL13 wrote:
EG, my reading light is a CFL bulb in one of the 120v wall lamps. Using the 3000w inverter, this lamp causes a draw of 1 amp as seen on the Trimetric. That beats the 3 amps the regular 12v light draws and that CFL gives more light. (I don't need a bunch of LEDs instead, thanks)

Use a 12 vdc LED bulb with a standard E26 base and you won't have to use the inverter at all and will draw significantly less power, just 350 ma with the bulb I use. 🙂

[SoundGuy]

SoundGuy wrote:
IMO a 1000 watt PSW is "just right" 😉 ... sufficiently large to serve as a universal power source to run a small coffee maker, toaster, wife's hair dryer on low or medium, fans, etc, etc. A 1K would typically draw no more than ~ 80 amp max

Almot wrote:
What if DW tries running 180 Amp because accidentally left the switch on hair drier in High?

I guess I give my DW more credit as this has never been an issue ... no different than when running on limited shore power and asking her to dial back the A/C thermostat so just the fan itself is running when she wants to also use the microwave oven. I've only had to explain the reasons why just once, since then that's what she does. JMO, but you're making a mountain out of a molehill. 😉

[JTLance]

Xantrex has pretty much turned to crapola. Most boat manufacturers have moved away from them due to poor quality.

If you aren't spending more than a $1000, then don't buy it.

The Magnum is a better product, in my opinion. But I would buy at least a 1200w unit, if it were me.

[Almot]

BFL13 wrote:
I gave up on the small inverter for small things and the big inverter for big things business after a few years of that. (Posted about how that was a false saving a while back--with figures to show that.)

EG, my reading light is a CFL bulb in one of the 120v wall lamps. Using the 3000w inverter, this lamp causes a draw of 1 amp as seen on the Trimetric. That beats the 3 amps the regular 12v light draws and that CFL gives more light. (I don't need a bunch of LEDs instead, thanks)

Not the best example. You have a fat energy budget - fed in part by generator, but this is another story. With 3000W machine always on (for 120V lights etc), there is quite a lot of idle draw, the OP is trying to avoid such a scenario.

They only need inverter for intermittent use of 110V loads. PSW is needed for small things, so it could be small - but hair drier necessitates at least 800-1000W, and it's easier to have just one inverter. They don't need 3000W because there will be no loads anywhere close to this limit and no big battery bank to support it.

[BFL13]

I don't get the logic why you have to have more battery and fatter wire with a big inverter if you only use it for smaller things. You might find the big one on sale for less than the smaller one (Can Tire does that often)

I have a MSW 3000w inverter that does everything. I gave up on the small inverter for small things and the big inverter for big things business after a few years of that. (Posted about how that was a false saving a while back--with figures to show that.)

EG, my reading light is a CFL bulb in one of the 120v wall lamps. Using the 3000w inverter, this lamp causes a draw of 1 amp as seen on the Trimetric. That beats the 3 amps the regular 12v light draws and that CFL gives more light. (I don't need a bunch of LEDs instead, thanks)

However I don't need PSW for anything we use. No electric blanket. If I did, I would get the lowest cost one of the needed watts I could find and use the big MSW for everything else. I note that the recommended ones have no fan noise, so since it is for that blanket and when trying to sleep, that would be a big factor in choosing the inverter

[Almot]

SoundGuy wrote:
IMO a 1000 watt PSW is "just right" 😉 ... sufficiently large to serve as a universal power source to run a small coffee maker, toaster, wife's hair dryer on low or medium, fans, etc, etc. A 1K would typically draw no more than ~ 80 amp max

What if DW tries running 180 Amp because accidentally left the switch on hair drier in High?

I would buy her an "RV hair drier" where the High setting would be permanently disabled. Easy enough to do, just cut one wire off the toggle switch.

[Almot]

j.p.f. wrote:
I don't understand why a 1500 watt inverter is to big?

Because they are trying (as I recall) to live mostly off solar, with as little generator use as possible.
Bigger inverter = bigger idle draw (usually, not always). Idle draw is a big thing when you are living on 50-60 AH a day.

I would get 1200-1500W IF there was any available for not much more money than Magnum 1000, and IF it didn't have idle draw much higher than Mag.