Small PSW Inverter

[Lwiddis]

I need a new light duty PSW inverter. Any comments regarding Bestek?

BESTEK 300Watt Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter Car Adapter DC 12V to AC 110V with 4.2A Dual Smart USB Ports

https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-300Watt-Power-Inverter-Adapter/dp/B07KQ4Q2L5/ref=sr_1_7?crid=SKSTKD2K738G&dchild=1&keywords=pure+sine+wave+power+inverter&qid=1607650206&sprefix=Pure+sine%2Caps%2C689&sr=8-7

[KJINTF]

I have had two these exact inverters for 6 or 8 months now - they work
Also have two of the Morningstar Pure sine 300watt inverters
One of them let the magic smoke out after 3 months of operation
Very impressed with this one - Sure there are some issues
Cut the plug end off and replace it with a proper connector
Unplug it when not in use and you are good to go
for the price they are a very good value
Low cost w/ Good quality - Not cheap but low cost
The difference between Cheap and low cost - Quantity Vs Quality

[BurbMan]

For $4 more I would get the 300W Bestek model that has the option of either cig lighter or direct wire. This way you can use it now on the cig plug for the 45w TV, but you have the option of wiring it direct if you want to draw the full 300w for future use.

Most Cig lighter sockets are 10a fused, so 10a*13v = 130W.

If you're not interested in anything more than TV power, you may as well get this Bestek 150W for under $20.

[jaycocreek]

Years ago I did have issues with MS inverters but not anymore..MS inverters are leaps and bounds better than years ago, just like engine oil...Having said that and having two MS inverters,I'm in the market for a PS inverter for all my devices around 1000 watts..

The Bestec inverter is a good inverter..I have one small MS one..

[MrWizard]

Inverter or converter
Round hole set screw fastening stranded wire !
I use copper crimps normally used for joining several #12 or #10 solid wires
I slip it over the end of the stranded wire, crimp it, now I have a pin connector, put that in the terminal and tighten the set screw
If the crimped wire is too large for the terminal, but the wire is a close fit, I can apply solder to the wire, and make the end of the wire the pin for the terminal, crimping is quicker than soldering, and I have not had any problems with this method , a good tight crimp is a solid physical connection, and allows the set screw to get a good tight connection, no loose spreading strands

[MEXICOWANDERER]

From TIRES to T-BONES cheap does not imply a smart purchase by any measure. I have a saying that goes like this...

I've suffered a two-dollar meal that was a ripoff, and was thoroughly satisfied with a fifty dollar extravaganza I considered to be a bargain.

I did not get a nickel's worth of discount on my Trace 4024 MSW inverter that arrived when Ronald Reagan was in office. But it still works (some repairs)

I just bought a computer USB keyboard for twenty dollars. It weighs about 2 pounds but its reputation is that aside from drowning it is invincible.

I checked out the SAMLEX waveform on my Tektronix scope. Near 320 watts its sinusoidal waveform is flawless.

When I check power bricks, and they run 10-20 degrees warmer under load on my Trace inverter that's the end of the road for their quasi sine wave operation.

When I do not have enough money to buy other than junk grade stuff, the money goes into a piggy bank until I accumulate enough to buy better than chew-and-spit grade.

It just does not pay.

Dickies brand pants and shirts are not cheap and seldom found discounted. But the pants and shirts I purchased EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO are absolutely useable around the house. They have no rips or tears, no thin spots, no missing buttons, and have outlasted what (?) five or seven similar items at a third the price?

Lifetime guarantee tools are stupid if you end up paying four times their price in gasoline to exchange them after they break.

If you save fifty dollars on an inverter and it imitates Krakatoa, how much are you saving? You lost use of it. Get out your calculator because until you replace it you are going to accumulate nothing but lost money, lost time and lost usage of an inverter.

I would like to purchase lots of things right now. But I am not going to play stupid and buy junk. I do not have enough money to waste it.

[S_Davis]

BFL13 wrote:

S Davis wrote:

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I am satisfied with my Samlex 300 PSW. Anker makes excellent USB chargers for cigarette light user.

True to form Orientals make true garbage power connectors. A Blue Seas marine plug and socket fed by a dedicated TEN AWG cable and 30-amp fuse I'd the ideal power feeder.

Just make sure you get pin terminals if you go bigger than 8 awg, I found this out yesterday. I had to install the inverter about 6’ from my cab connections under the center console and they recommend 6 awg, guess what 6 awg will not fit.

Just use 6" of #8 as pigtails and then go #6 from there. Various ways to joint the #8 and #6 ends.

CAUTION!
DO NOT insert the stranded bare end of the cable directly into the tubular hole as the set screw will not pinch all the strands, resulting in a partial / loose contact and consequent overheating. To ensure firm contact, use suitable pin type terminal similiar to the termi- nal lugs provided with 2 types of detachable DC input cable sets provided with the unit (See Section 8.4.7).

I thought about doing that but the instructions say not to put stranded wire into the terminals, and after looking more closely I can see why, the set screws are really small and will not clamp all the wire so half the wire is loose.

[BFL13]

S Davis wrote:

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I am satisfied with my Samlex 300 PSW. Anker makes excellent USB chargers for cigarette light user.

True to form Orientals make true garbage power connectors. A Blue Seas marine plug and socket fed by a dedicated TEN AWG cable and 30-amp fuse I'd the ideal power feeder.

Just make sure you get pin terminals if you go bigger than 8 awg, I found this out yesterday. I had to install the inverter about 6’ from my cab connections under the center console and they recommend 6 awg, guess what 6 awg will not fit.

Just use 6" of #8 as pigtails and then go #6 from there. Various ways to joint the #8 and #6 ends.

[time2roll]

RJsfishin wrote:
If its cheap, that's what it is. I have tried 3 inexpensive psw inverters, and all 3 were junk, had herringbone across the tv screen, and or a hum in the audio. and high draw at idle. Went back to msw and never looked back and never a problem. I don't know what all the hype is about psw.

My experience has been the exact opposite.

[S_Davis]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I am satisfied with my Samlex 300 PSW. Anker makes excellent USB chargers for cigarette light user.

True to form Orientals make true garbage power connectors. A Blue Seas marine plug and socket fed by a dedicated TEN AWG cable and 30-amp fuse I'd the ideal power feeder.

Just make sure you get pin terminals if you go bigger than 8 awg, I found this out yesterday. I had to install the inverter about 6’ from my cab connections under the center console and they recommend 6 awg, guess what 6 awg will not fit.

Inverter shelf

[RJsfishin]

I put the one back in I'd been using for at least 5 yrs, got it from a trucker, don't know the original price.

[2oldman]

RJsfishin wrote:
Went back to msw and never looked back and never a problem.

Did you buy a cheap msw?

[RJsfishin]

If its cheap, that's what it is. I have tried 3 inexpensive psw inverters, and all 3 were junk, had herringbone across the tv screen, and or a hum in the audio. and high draw at idle. Went back to msw and never looked back and never a problem. I don't know what all the hype is about psw.

[2oldman]

The only CON I could find was that its no-load draw is pretty high.

[time2roll]

I mounted my 300w inverter behind the power distribution panel. Use the main 12v battery feed for power and a small transfer switch to connect to each branch circuit of outlets.

No experience with BESTEK. Probably fine.