Faulty Sterling ProPower S 700W Sine Wave Inverter - Worth Investigating a Repair?

[alan_fincher]

Quote

 

We have a failed Sterling ProPower S 700W Sine Wave Inverter. Immediately prior to failure it had not been used for a couple of years.

Now if we try to start it, it initially comes on, showing a green light, and issuing 3 beeps.  Then immediately it shows a red warning light for over-voltage protection or under-voltage protection, and shuts down.  I don't know if the 3 beeps means "I have started" or "I have detected an error - I can find no reference in the instructions.

 

According to the instructions, "under voltage" would be less than 10V, whereas "over voltage" would be over 15V. I measured at the inverter as 12.7v, so should be fine.  Because there is one light for both "under" and "over" it is not clear what condition it claims to have detected.

 

I have now replaced this inverter with one from Victron.

Before I dump the Sterling in the local recycling facility, I thought I would ask whether it is worth investigating a repair.

 

Apart from not working (!), it is fairly pristine.  Internally there is no visible sign of anything being "cooked" or other wise damaged.

To put it in perspective, I paid £220 for it a bit less than 8 years ago but for the majority of that time it was boxed, uninstalled.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

If the fault isn't obvious, loose connection, toasted component, blown internal fuse, I wouldn't bother. Assuming you could find some one willing to investigate, the cost would likely be comparable to a new inverter and they might still not find and fix the problem.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

To put it in perspective, I paid £220 for it a bit less than 8 years ago but for the majority of that time it was boxed, uninstalled.

£220 over 8 years looked like good value ... 'til you took it out of the box. 

 

On the bright side, I've fitted 3 separate Victron units and things only got even better after they came out of their boxes, so let's hope your blue experience is similar to mine.

[MtB]

You'd probably be able to sell it on ebay for £not much to someone who can fix this sort of thing. 

 

Better it gets a second life that way than slung in the bin... 

 

 

(From an ecological standpoint I mean!)

[Slim]

I read somewhere that an issue with invertors is that long term capacitors 'dry out' and fail. No idea how true this is. Be interested to know as I have 2 Sterling invertors , a 1000w and an 1800w in 'long term 'storage. One has done a couple of hours work the other maybe 6 weeks.   

[Jen-in-Wellies]

28 minutes ago, Slim said:

I read somewhere that an issue with invertors is that long term capacitors 'dry out' and fail. No idea how true this is. Be interested to know as I have 2 Sterling invertors , a 1000w and an 1800w in 'long term 'storage. One has done a couple of hours work the other maybe 6 weeks.   

All electrical components have a life span. It's affected by temperature, cycling of temperature, humidity and a host of other things. The electrolytic capacitors, of the sort that are used in an inverter, seem to suffer from problems earlier than many other components. In vintage computers, replacing capacitors is common, as is damage to the circuit board and other components from leaking ones. Electrolytic caps do have a gel electrolyte in them, which can leak. Drying out is, I suspect a simplification of the more complex things that are probably happening to them.

[cuthound]

20 hours ago, Slim said:

I read somewhere that an issue with invertors is that long term capacitors 'dry out' and fail. No idea how true this is. Be interested to know as I have 2 Sterling invertors , a 1000w and an 1800w in 'long term 'storage. One has done a couple of hours work the other maybe 6 weeks.   

 

That was certainly the case with the electrolytic capacitors in the inverter section of the Uninterruptible Power Supplies used in data centres. They rarely lasted more than 10-15 years of continuous operation.

 

That said the Victron Combi on my boat is 15 years old and still going strong. 🤞

Edited July 2, 2022 by cuthound
To unmangle the effects of autocorrect.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

28 minutes ago, cuthound said:

That said the Victron Combi on my boat is 15 years old and still going strong. 🤞

Shush! It'll hear you. 😱

I also have a Victron Combi of similar age.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Shush! It'll hear you. 😱

I also have a Victron Combi of similar age.

Think positive - look on it as a potential opportunity to upgrade to separate charger and inverter... 

[reg]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Shush! It'll hear you. 😱

I also have a Victron Combi of similar age.

Ditto.

Please stop posting how reliable they are we all know what happens next when you start praising electronic items.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

47 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Think positive - look on it as a potential opportunity to upgrade to separate charger and inverter... 

That is the plan, on the day the magic smoke escapes from the old combi.