Cheap(ish) PSW inverters

Kelpie

Kelpie

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I was looking into getting a large pure sine wave inverter and the consensus tends to be that Victron is the make to go for. A 2kw inverter will cost over £1000 though.
At the other end of the market there are various no-name units from eBay, Bangood, or Alibaba. Youtube reviews of these reveal that they are almost always either modified sine wave, and/or much smaller output than advertised.

However there are some apparently reputable suppliers of cheaper pure sine wave inverters- e.g. these ones

https://www.tayna.co.uk/inverters/1...8gWisSfa1fFKEktTaz3XhyZdFua-7euhoCxJ4QAvD_BwE

https://www.pfjones.co.uk/2000w-12v-pure-sine-wave-power-inverter.html

https://www.beaconsandlightbars.co....Watt-12v-Pure-Sine-Inverter-PN-RINVP2000.html

Has anybody tried one of these out? At about a third the price of a Victron it is very tempting...
 
Yep been running a chinese cheapy since 2015 in the back of my Sprinter 1KW (2KW Peak) pure sine to charge power tool batteries via second battery, no problems:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lVPyFQVGTAl6SaWuvPCiEqbzPq4OmpMBZLIvmrHcFo5QZUtHx2N7VxS2dYBIyxJypZ-E8hBm0abAJPW5y4CJrujV_0sGTo0HrvX8dK6Z8Egie2lcuDHXJ9V3ZAdadkpMgWV9pclWoYoAWoRnY2fzAW4Yuh1W7rEaS1Ai3J1G7qD1NeWxx2LkBoouH0fAHfmNwUuY54ux9fcLk4kfutWrZ2wt7Dd-hbvh6VmTHddPitkm9F9JeyFzcGWFA-FKY839J25OgUsYdTjwfoK0VXrv01tj9f05PYtg0m5wX8jHHet7QN6ObZQpzhpuAbWVeuKay80Yd95CXvSco1Wa3e2w5FeuH1Pip9qFKxaKCgGE0P1BlbFAaEGNEy_Bk_TmTUExTcnhgajjYRlbWrXpKTDKm8Sxi2BcSPpJ6x-5RpagwHHD9BnPfb3S8DJOGMK3Anj4c2YKRKpe__KuW1S7paLlL5A4LKgizQjshpLYxqWRRRRQG5oJundYWFsMXJjRR-p6Uac4mwafT6qTwY2K8xrrBAxmCEP85Y2zqMZodNlOsXhQaSfzUyR92_UZG4veSLm4aEEWe7mPhokCCER5vmVY5tw_FO9d4T90W7e9f6zo6qxSJeOdVgHDR3vGuC9LF1ziJeNDLrrVBdjI51PPgfatHH2wmtpY8Mkv6fN5eJbxWGzU_6BPPEwNjYQ0=w834-h625-no

Cost £140 over four years ago and still going strong.
 
I have a similar experience with the Chink products. I've been running 2 inverters continuously for a few years now. No problems, except for blowing up one of them by a short circuit. My fault, but it made me to have a look inside of the damaged device. To my shock I found out, the fuses (8 of them) protecting the individual mosfets were solder-shorted on the back of the printed board. They were there only for decoration! I checked the other device (different brand) and also the replacement I bought and they were O.K. So, a bit of caution needed ;-), but in average I think the risk is small.
 
One of the products I linked to is only 3kg in weight. Victron's equivalent product is 14kg! That makes me a bit wary.
 
Kelpie said:
I was looking into getting a large pure sine wave inverter and the consensus tends to be that Victron is the make to go for. A 2kw inverter will cost over £1000 though.
At the other end of the market there are various no-name units from eBay, Bangood, or Alibaba. Youtube reviews of these reveal that they are almost always either modified sine wave, and/or much smaller output than advertised.

However there are some apparently reputable suppliers of cheaper pure sine wave inverters- e.g. these ones

https://www.tayna.co.uk/inverters/1...8gWisSfa1fFKEktTaz3XhyZdFua-7euhoCxJ4QAvD_BwE

https://www.pfjones.co.uk/2000w-12v-pure-sine-wave-power-inverter.html

https://www.beaconsandlightbars.co....Watt-12v-Pure-Sine-Inverter-PN-RINVP2000.html

Has anybody tried one of these out? At about a third the price of a Victron it is very tempting...
Click to expand...

I have a cheap Chinese one bought from eBay. £200 for a 2kW.

Not missed a beat. And if it does I’ll buy another.

I have no gas, and the inverter operates a relay which switches over the power to the microwave and one galley socket (for the kettle)

I do not ever use it with the engine off though which would be annoying under sail. Obviously I always have an engine on underway.

If I need any more power, or power at anchor, I start the genny. A 2kW inverter canes your batteries with the engine off.
 
Kelpie said:
One of the products I linked to is only 3kg in weight. Victron's equivalent product is 14kg! That makes me a bit wary.
Click to expand...

It is not uncommon for the "fat cat" manufacturers using an obsolete technology (hence the weight - possibly) for ages selling it for inflated prices as long as they find a buyer... They can't change it too fast because they invested big money in advertising it and they have recover the cost. The smaller manufactures are often more flexible - but buying from them carries the risk of buying product not as well proven. But, as I said before, the risk is small and balancing the substantial financial saving against the small possibility of buying a lemon in most cases works well - in electronics especially.
In some other fields you have to thread more carefully. For instance: NEVER BUY A CHINESE OUTBOARD MOTOR. Don't ask me how I know ;-).
 
I bought a cheap 1000w psw inverter from eBay. It is called edecoa but there are a few that look identical with different names. It came with a wired remote panel, which is the reason I chose it. I was dubious about the psw claim but have put it on an oscilloscope and it is indeed psw. I have also run it up to 1000w without it tripping. It did trip when I tried to run 1250w from it. It cost me £89 delivered after using an eBay discount code. Very happy with it. They also do 1500 and 2000w versions.
 
Best way to turn an inverter off is with a battery isolator switch. They have an overhead, even if no AC power is being used, even if not connected to the AC systems.
 
Kelpie said:
I was looking into getting a large pure sine wave inverter
Click to expand...

Why do you want an inverter? There's virtually nothing that needs 230v AC, for which a functionally equivalent 12V DC alternative isn't available. Inverters waste power as inefficiencies, and are an unnecessary drain on batteries.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Best way to turn an inverter off is with a battery isolator switch. They have an overhead, even if no AC power is being used, even if not connected to the AC systems.
Click to expand...

While that is true, mine uses single figure mA when turned off by the remote control.
 
LadyInBed said:
OK thanks.
Another silly question - Is the On/Off switch on the input or output circuit?
Click to expand...

Mines in the output circuit but you should add a breaker switch on the input cables. I have one but it is inaccessible and so rarely used.
It, along with the batteries and the inverter, are under the bed in the aft cabin. I have remoted the front panel switch to a toggle switch in my galley which is forward of the saloon.
(Reflecting on this answer I should probably move the breaker!)
 
elton said:
Why do you want an inverter? There's virtually nothing that needs 230v AC, for which a functionally equivalent 12V DC alternative isn't available. Inverters waste power as inefficiencies, and are an unnecessary drain on batteries.
Click to expand...


I had a 12v microwave but it didn’t have a grill or an oven. I only use the microwave bit not the oven underway of course.
12v kettles are useless.

Edit I’d forgotten the microwave was useless too because it was a 30 ft cable run from the batteries and I would have needed to upgrade the cable due to current induced heat losses (I didn’t fit it) The inverter is 2m.
 
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PaulRainbow said:
Which inverter do you have ?
Click to expand...

The Chinese one I posted a link to in the other thread. With the unit turned off it draws a few mA. With the unit turned on, but nothing connected, it draws quite a bit. About 350mA from memory. That's the beauty of the remote control panel. You can easily turn it off when it is not required. When using the remote, the on/off switch on the inverter remains in the 'off' position all the time. It's cheap and probably rubbish, but so far I have been impressed with it. Just need to work out the earthing arrangement. Further testing is required.
 
CLB said:
The Chinese one I posted a link to in the other thread. With the unit turned off it draws a few mA. With the unit turned on, but nothing connected, it draws quite a bit. About 350mA from memory. That's the beauty of the remote control panel. You can easily turn it off when it is not required. When using the remote, the on/off switch on the inverter remains in the 'off' position all the time. It's cheap and probably rubbish, but so far I have been impressed with it. Just need to work out the earthing arrangement. Further testing is required.
Click to expand...

I think those figures a a bit optimistic, for instance, a Victron 1200w inverter will draw 8w @12v with zero load. I'd still advise you to turn the 12v supply off when not in use, as simple on/off battery isolator will suffice.
 
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