Power Inverter

[Nigbb]

Hi can anyone give some advise please. My boat obviously had an inverter at some point in its life as it is wired for one and there is a remote control fitted, most of our time is spent in marinas but I thought I may re fit an inverter for those odd occasions that I may need some mains power when at sea.
My question is can anyone give me a sound reason not to use one of the many, lets say budget items on the market, I have heard all of the "don't buy that Chinese s..t" and "don't forget to buy extra fire extinguishers" but is there some real evidence that its a bad purchase?
I am looking at the Victron 1600 w at circa £670 but the equivalent budget item at £200 ish, what will the real difference be please?
Any sound advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[limecc]

I've got a 2kw (3kw peak) Chinese branded inverter via Amazon and I had to return several before getting one that lasted more than a few weeks. Various faults from full death to cooling fans not working. I don't use it much nowadays but am still fearful of how long it will last. I would have been waiting ages each time for repairs so I purchased new ones and sent the faulty units back in the new box. I think the quality control is mostly crap. It seems a lottery so if you buy Chinese then set correct expectations and you won't be too frustrated if it goes wrong.

 

[vas]

more features (that you probably wont need if you turn it on occasionally at sea)
lower idle current consumption (same as above...)
must better quality/put together item.

If you envisage a usage of 3-4h a season, get the chinese kit. If like me you never have shore power, get a victron

is your battery charger up to date? if it's 20+ yo, I'd probably get a multiplus II inverter charger and scrap the charger

 

[Nigbb]

I've got a 2kw (3kw peak) Chinese branded inverter via Amazon and I had to return several before getting one that lasted more than a few weeks. Various faults from full death to cooling fans not working. I don't use it much nowadays but am still fearful of how long it will last. I would have been waiting ages each time for repairs so I purchased new ones and sent the faulty units back in the new box. I think the quality control is mostly crap. It seems a lottery so if you buy Chinese then set correct expectations and you won't be too frustrated if it goes wrong.

OK thanks for that feedback, I had heard of this issue before, cheers.

 

[Nigbb]

more features (that you probably wont need if you turn it on occasionally at sea)
lower idle current consumption (same as above...)
must better quality/put together item.

If you envisage a usage of 3-4h a season, get the chinese kit. If like me you never have shore power, get a victron

is your battery charger up to date? if it's 20+ yo, I'd probably get a multiplus II inverter charger and scrap the charger

Thanks for that, yes it will be very occasionally, in fact had it not already had one at some point and its fully wired I probably wouldn't have bothered fitting one, cheers.

 

[Bigplumbs]

Thanks for that, yes it will be very occasionally, in fact had it not already had one at some point and its fully wired I probably wouldn't have bothered fitting one, cheers.

I have one of the ebay ones in our camper van and it works fine. It was no where near £200. We regularly use it to boil an electrical kettle to make drinks. Some are good some are bad and while Vicron are very good they are also well over priced.

If you do fit a cheap one in your boat make sure it is in an accessible area and also make sure people understand what they should plug into it and what they should not. Ours is also a very good 'power hub' as it has several USB Ports and general 12v outlets. We find it very useful.

Here is mine boiling a kettle

 

[jrudge]

The issue with inverters generally is they hammer batteries. Make sure your feed cables are large.

the cheap ones ( I use them ) can have noisy fans. I by of Amazon who have first class support and deliver next day.

 

[Nigbb]

I have one of the ebay ones in our camper van and it works fine. It was no where near £200. We regularly use it to boil an electrical kettle to make drinks. Some are good some are bad and while Vicron are very good they are also well over priced.

If you do fit a cheap one in your boat make sure it is in an accessible area and also make sure people understand what they should plug into it and what they should not. Ours is also a very good 'power hub' as it has several USB Ports and general 12v outlets. We find it very useful.

Here is mine boiling a kettle

That's good to know someone with first hand experience, I am not worried about noise as it will be in the engine bay next to the battery's, I have 3 x 120 amp hrso should have enough power for the odd tea and toast. I have now seen 2000/4000 peak pure sine for about £160.
Thanks for the response.
Nigel

 

[Nigbb]

The issue with inverters generally is they hammer batteries. Make sure your feed cables are large.

the cheap ones ( I use them ) can have noisy fans. I by of Amazon who have first class support and deliver next day.

Hi, yes I know they can be a bit noisy but it will be in the engine bay right next to the battery's so as to keep the feed cable as short as possible .

Thanks for the feedback, Nigel

 

[Sneds]

There is a reason some are £700 and some are £200. Is there anything you really need 240v for when not plugged in? Just wondering why you feel you need one?
And Big Plumbs, I have to ask.
Why do you have a video of a boiling kettle?
.

 

[limecc]

BP's inverter is much cheaper because of it's rating and simple design, it produces a square wave not a sine wave. Ok for purely resistive loads but not so good for fussy equipment, laptops, GHD's etc.

 

[Nigbb]

There is a reason some are £700 and some are £200. Is there anything you really need 240v for when not plugged in? Just wondering why you feel you need one?
And Big Plumbs, I have to ask.
Why do you have a video of a boiling kettle?
.

Hi, thanks for the reply, you say there is a reason and that's what I am trying to find out so what is the reason please?
As I said earlier, I would rarely use it and only because its already wired including for a remote I am considering fitting one, please can uou elaborate on the reason one is 3 or 4 time the proof another, cheers Nigel

 

[jrudge]

I meant to add to my post that the really cheap ones are square wave. Don’t buy them. Many appliances don’t like it. A some way is the minimum entry point and not that dear

 

[Bigplumbs]

There is a reason some are £700 and some are £200. Is there anything you really need 240v for when not plugged in? Just wondering why you feel you need one?
And Big Plumbs, I have to ask.
Why do you have a video of a boiling kettle?
.

Because many of the theory mongers who love to spout off said it would work so I did a video to prove them wrong. They still however continue to spout theory but seldom buy and try which is what I prefer to do

 

[Bigplumbs]

Hi, thanks for the reply, you say there is a reason and that's what I am trying to find out so what is the reason please?
As I said earlier, I would rarely use it and only because its already wired including for a remote I am considering fitting one, please can uou elaborate on the reason one is 3 or 4 time the proof another, cheers Nigel

The reason is many people like to buy things that are reassuringly expensive. Many sellers know this and get rich from such people.

Do all cheap things work well of course they don’t but many do. The Chinese diesel heaters are prime examples and also some of these inverters

 

[Sneds]

It’s all about the output. Not all electricity is the same.
ac current should have a nice smooth round shape, a cheap inverter may produce more of a square shape sine wave that will be ok for, say a kettle, but your tv or lap top may not get on with it
Build quality may also be an issue, insulation quality and thermal overload protection
Google sine wave images to see what I mean

 

[Croftie]

That's good to know someone with first hand experience, I am not worried about noise as it will be in the engine bay next to the battery's, I have 3 x 120 amp hrso should have enough power for the odd tea and toast. I have now seen 2000/4000 peak pure sine for about £160.
Thanks for the response.
Nigel

Just remember as a rule of thumb, 1kw will draw around 100amp at 12v so a 2000w kettle would be quite a load on your battery bank and needs cables to match.

 

[Sneds]

Or get a kettle that’ll go on the gas hob, assuming that is, that you have one
Or drink beer!

 

[Martxer]

The reason is many people like to buy things that are reassuringly expensive. Many sellers know this and get rich from such people.

Do all cheap things work well of course they don’t but many do. The Chinese diesel heaters are prime examples and also some of these inverters

There is also the saying buy cheap pay twice, not everything expensive is the best nor the cheapest worst , I think the op is after the best bang for his buck , hence why asking on here to learn from others mistakes/experiences.

 

[ontheplane]

I've got a 2kw (3kw peak) Chinese branded inverter via Amazon and I had to return several before getting one that lasted more than a few weeks. Various faults from full death to cooling fans not working. I don't use it much nowadays but am still fearful of how long it will last. I would have been waiting ages each time for repairs so I purchased new ones and sent the faulty units back in the new box. I think the quality control is mostly crap. It seems a lottery so if you buy Chinese then set correct expectations and you won't be too frustrated if it goes wrong.

I did the same - had 3, all returned, gave up. Not used on a boat so salt water environment unlikely to improve reliability!