Xantrex 1000 W inverter on sale for $28 at Costco

[B_and_D]

Last time I went to Costco they had a Xantrex 1000 watt inverter on sale for $28. I didn't buy it then, but I did buy one tonight. Now I'm wondering what I can do with it. The manual says it can run a 600w microwave (that would be cool) but I'm not sure if it will run my laptop (or if it will damage it). I've thought about mounting it somewhere but where would it fit in our 2720? Ours is not the SL model so the batteries are on the tongue. We carry an auxiliary 12v battery that we move around to run the TV/DVD so we don't run the two 6v Trojan house batteries down. I'm thinking that we can attach the inverter to that battery.

I could probably put it under one of the dinette seats and install a 120V outlet somewhere down there that I can attach to the inverter somehow. The manual shows how to connect it with an inline fuse and cutoff switch. I believe that some of you have installed inverters and and am wondering how you've mounted them and what you use them for. I didn't see any instructions for grounding in the manual.

Over the winter I thought that the Trojans were starting to fail, but we just dry camped for 4 nights and they stayed mostly at 12.4 to 12.2 the whole time. We didn't use the lights much though, and our new fluorescent light over the dinette table helped a lot. They are getting a bit weaker but still holding out.

[Bill]

Good deal! For that price, it has got to be a so-called Modified Sine Wave inverter. Xantrex also makes some wonderful True Sine Wave inverters, but they are quite expensive. Can you give us the model number of your new unit? Is it the XPower 1000? If so, that's a very good price.

Although I have not experienced it, I am told that some electronic devices don't work well with MSW, and some devices with motors may act a bit strangely. A microwave should be OK, as should battery chargers for cell phones, cordless drills, etc. A hair dryer should be fine, as long as it is under 1000 watts. A TV might show buzzy lines, but you said you run your TV directly from the battery, so no problem there.

An inverter of this size needs to be mounted VERY close to the battery that will supply it - preferably within a couple feet - and hooked up with very heavy cable and big connectors. You must hook up both the positive and the negative sides of the input, not just positive and ground. This is because an inverter can draw a huge amount of current from the battery, and you need to keep the cable losses small. For example, a 600-watt microwave probably draws 900 watts from the power supply (the inverter, in this case) and assuming 90% efficiency, the inverter will draw about 1000 watts from the battery. Now 1000 watts at 12 volts is about 80 amps, which is pretty hefty. If your microwave is on for only 2 or 3 minutes, the battery can supply it without discharging very far, but don't expect to cook a turkey in there.

All that being said, most of the time your electrical load on the inverter will probably be quite small, and an inverter is a very nice thing to have. I carry a small one (150 watts, as I recall) and there are times when it is really handy.

Bill

We have an 800 Watt inverter connected to a solar system with 2 deep cycle 6 volt batteries in Costa Rica, that we use for tv, radio, washing machine and blender. It was very inexpensive and works well for everything but the blender, which really needs more watts to start up the motor..Once it gets started, it will run just fine...but our 12V Waring blender worked much better than the AC blender plus inverter. We do have the inverter connected very close to the batteries, probably 16 inches away. I was surprised that the color tv worked so well on the inverter. I would be careful with a hair dryer...remembering that they were banned in Monteverde on the old hydropower system because they caused system failures. The start up power for appliances is of major importance when deciding on inverters. Here(California) in our current RV, I use a 12V adapter for my Apple laptop, and it works just fine.

[B_and_D]

The model is called "XPower Inverter 1000". I hooked it up to our 12V battery (after recharging it) last night and ran the microwave for 30 seconds and as Bill mentioned, it sounded a bit strange. But it did work, I heated up a small bowl of water for 30 seconds and it got sort of hot. Maybe it will run a toaster, too. I think a hair dryer would probably kill the battery with one use. It came with heavy-duty cables about 2 feet long so I used those to connect to the battery.

Overall, for $28, it seems pretty handy to have.

I have a small inverter linked in to the water pump circuit and upped the fuse to 20A. It's good for little more than recharging camera batteries. My old laptop had a 3A charger and the inverter wouldn't run it. My new laptop has a 1.7A which should work. The old laptop succumbed to use. Ironically the chargers simply step the power back down to a low DC voltage but still higher than 12V.

Things to remember. Many inverters have over and under voltage protection as well as overheating protection. What many don't have is automatic reset. Imagine running your inverter and then starting the pump or other motor that briefly drops the voltage. The inverter senses an under volt and trips off. Now you have to manually reset it. Get's old quick. Look for one with an auto reset. I had a Prosine inverter in my truck and everytime I started the engine it would trip off. If finally burned out and I bought this cheapy MAXX with auto reset.

We have a cheap camping world 12V hairdryer. Not very strong but does the job according to the DW.

[Harry Womack]

We have used the 1750 watt inverter for 5 years. We use the microwave, coffee maker and toaster. The only change I have made is increase my solar panels to 200 watt. Here is the link: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...+watt+inverter