Bigplumbs
Well-Known Member
I have 3 and one of them was defective. I easily got my money back on that one
Power Inverter
- Thread starter Nigbb
- Start date
I have 3 and one of them was defective. I easily got my money back on that one
Bigplumbs
Well-Known Member
Yup I know that saying. Mainly from people who like Reassuringly Expensive. There is another one 'A fool and his money are easily Parted'
Bigplumbs
Well-Known Member
Another example concerning Solar Charge Controllers and a 100 watt solar panel.
I have a Victron Bluetooth Solar Controller (Cost £125) I have a Chinese simple solar charge controller cost £10.99.
They both work well
I have a Victron Bluetooth Solar Controller (Cost £125) I have a Chinese simple solar charge controller cost £10.99.
They both work well
vas
Well-Known Member
sorry, really don't want to get into this mess, but what does work well mean exactly?
one may be MPPT the other PWM (but may say MPPT on it!), one may be harvesting XAh a day, other 0.8*X Ah a day, so? do your RoI calcs and decide.
I've done the buy cheap buy twice way too many times (and still do!) but now only for things that don't really matter much.
Bigplumbs
Well-Known Member
Well it is like this. I went camping with a 100 ah battery and a 100w Solar panel. I was running a fridge (not a cooler a proper compressor fridge), a TV, Internet, Lights, firestick and other odds and sods and of course the inverter so her indoors could use her hair straighteners. I was away a week and the solar panel used a simple £10 ish controller.
The sun was shining for about 5 of the 7 days (UK remember) and all I know was it all worked well and the Battery voltage was always up. At the end of the holiday at rest the Battery was 12.8 ish volts.
Now you can worry about efficiency, MPPT v PWM and all that old pony or you can simply say. It did what I wanted and then some..... So in a real life test in use 'it worked very well' and none of it was reasurringly expensive.
This was me testing the equipment prior to the Holiday. Also saved £42 on not having an electric hook up on the camp site (£6/day) so well on the way to getting my money back.
The Victron Controller will be fitted to our Motorhome cos I am daft enough to want to watch things via the bluetooth on my phone
Last edited:
Martxer
Well-Known Member
I disagree with your re assuringly expensive quote and agree with the fool and his money quote and that is the point I was making not all expensive gear is the right/best choice nor is the cheapest.
I bought a cheap spreader from b&q for spreading weed n feed and grass seed on the lawn, it’s Rubish I have black tram lines on the grass and burnt patches all over with the majority of the grass still un dosed. I have now gone an bought something better but still budget as I am not paying top dollar for something for occasional use.
I stand by the quote by cheap pay twice based on experience, I could give other examples. Mostly You want to pay a fair price for something that works as it should, not over pay or pay to little for something that doesn’t .
Bigplumbs
Well-Known Member
Sometimes so sometimes not. Both my Solar Charge Controllers £10 and £120 work well. My Chinese diesel heaters £100 each v £1300 work very well
I had to buy a Rectifier for a 200 hp Yamaha Outboard. The Yam dealer wanted £1,300 I bout 2 from Ebay for £60 total delivered. The ebay one is working fine. What would you have done in that circumstance. You can see that you are talking factors of 10 some times
Martxer
Well-Known Member
If the eBay item works fine I would buy the eBay item, if that item packs up after a couple of weeks or is not really suitable I would look at something else.
I think that is what I said in my 1st reply sometimes buy cheap pay twice, I do agree that the most expensive is not always the best.
I did say the op was after the best bang for his buck .
When my kids were younger I was looking to buy them a pit bike for Christmas, there was a dealer neer me who imported them from China and they were very cheap. The engine was a copy of the Honda 125 4 stroke, on closer inspection the bikes frame was made from mild steel and the design of the frame made it down right dangerous.I would not have 1 of those bikes if they were free.
If I was in the market for a diesel heater based on your glowing review of the product I would certainly consider 1, I can’t buy anything without my missus checking review 1st and then seeing if there is cash back on it through some web site.
Hope that clarifies ?
Sneds
Well-Known Member
My concern with cheap Chinese electrical components is not wether they work but what happens when they warm up.
Overheating and catching fire would be my concern.
I’m not a rich man but my boat cost a lot of money so to scrimp on something that could be critical, to me, is a false economy
Overheating and catching fire would be my concern.
I’m not a rich man but my boat cost a lot of money so to scrimp on something that could be critical, to me, is a false economy
ontheplane
Well-Known Member
Plus if.it.isnt CE marked or meets UK law and boat goes on fire, who pays?? And cleverly.the Chinese have the "Chinese Equipment" Mark that - guess what - is almost indistinguishable from the CE Mark.....
Sneds
Well-Known Member
Did you know if you turn the E around, it and the C will make a circle!
I suspect the Chinese one doesn’t do that
I suspect the Chinese one doesn’t do that
ontheplane
Well-Known Member
Correct. There are a few subtle differences. Point is, show someone the two and they won't spot them without looking....
