Bullfrog Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Today I switched on my small inverter (Sterling Model A-300-350 2/12 volts modified sine wave. almost exactly 3 years old ) and there was a pop, the light in the switch flashed and went out and that was it - completely dead. Is there anything fixable in one of these, like a fuse or something, or should I just chuck it and get another, it wasn't expensive when I bought it. Help, please. Thanks David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroudwater Boy Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 You will find the guys at Sterling incredibly helpful if you give them a ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagan witch Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Maybe just my preference but I'd definately look at getting it fixed. I'm old enough to have been taught to fix things down to component level and as far as I am aware there isn't too much in an inverter that is complicated so a fix is a definate possibility. Usual problems of labour cost if you have it done for you or parts availability (and safety) if you do it yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB Willawaw Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 They are worth, what about £50 new ?? (350W MSW ??) I would take it apart, fix it if its something obvious (like an internal fuse) or junk it if its not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jollyroger Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Today I switched on my small inverter (Sterling Model A-300-350 2/12 volts modified sine wave. almost exactly 3 years old ) and there was a pop, the light in the switch flashed and went out and that was it - completely dead. Is there anything fixable in one of these, like a fuse or something, or should I just chuck it and get another, it wasn't expensive when I bought it. Help, please. Thanks David If it went Pop you will probably find that a component has gone. the first problem is finding out Why, the second is identifying it, the third is replacing it (Inverters can be quite complex) and lastly and most important, doing it safely as high voltages are present, my advice is to bin it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusses Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 It really depends on how confident/knowledgable you are at component level electronics. It could be something simple like a Cap or Diode - or it could be something on the HF side where you could do with the circuit diagram showing the waveforms and voltages to be expected at various test points. Def worth taking the lid off tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I will say this once. The chances of fixing it unless you are very experienced are about nil. It's possible that it's something minor but extremely unlikely. When these things go they usually go big time. The labour costs for a professional to remove the screws to have a look inside it will exceed the value of the unit. As I said, it is possible for minor faults to happen, but it is EXTREMELY rare. Gibbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 My 1800w Sterling inverter is full of car fuses - about 10 of them. If yours is similar you could at least check these, but isolate the inverter from the batteries first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris w Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Gibbo is right. TBH, even if a fuse has blown, and you replace it, there will have been a reason for its blowing which is usually down to a component failure somewhere deep inside. Even for someone with electronics knowlege, without a circuit diagram, one is working in the dark. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullfrog Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I will say this once. The chances of fixing it unless you are very experienced are about nil. It's possible that it's something minor but extremely unlikely. When these things go they usually go big time. The labour costs for a professional to remove the screws to have a look inside it will exceed the value of the unit. As I said, it is possible for minor faults to happen, but it is EXTREMELY rare. Gibbo Thanks - this was my original reaction and you've confirmed it! Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 (edited) Bullfrog Have alook here Maplins, is this any good for you. Search for inverter this one is on special offer Edit: link did not work Edited March 25, 2008 by bottle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusses Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Bullfrog Have alook here Maplins, is this any good for you. link doesn't work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullfrog Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Bullfrog Have alook here Maplins, is this any good for you. Thanks Keith, I'm not sure about the linky, but that's where my last one came from! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Edited: because as you say link did not work directly to page. See previous post for photo. It is on special offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris w Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I bought a 600W inverter a couple of years ago from Maplin simply because they were at a give-away price at the time. Although I've never yet used it, I did put it on my oscilloscope to have a look at its output. I was surprised to find that it wasn't even a modified-sine wave (ie: a multi-step square wave) output but just a simple square wave output. Lots of stuff will object to running on that. That's not to say of course that this model is the same kind of output but it's something of which to be aware. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusses Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I bought a 600W inverter a couple of years ago from Maplin simply because they were at a give-away price at the time. Although I've never yet used it, I did put it on my oscilloscope to have a look at its output. I was surprised to find that it wasn't even a modified-sine wave (ie: a multi-step square wave) output but just a simple square wave output. Lots of stuff will object to running on that. That's not to say of course that this model is the same kind of output but it's something of which to be aware. Chris doesn't the wave form improve with load ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris w Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 doesn't the wave form improve with load ? No it doesn't. A squarewave inverter is the simplest way of making an inverter and will have tons of harmonics as well as high harmonic distortion. It will still run Switched-Mode Power Supllies (SMPS) though as these are indifferent to waveform input shape. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusses Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 oh - I thought they exited through an inductor - hence cleaning up the waveform and harmonics under load ! I havent worked much with SMPS - so it was just a presumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileypete Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 (edited) Today I switched on my small inverter (Sterling Model A-300-350 2/12 volts modified sine wave. almost exactly 3 years old ) and there was a pop, the light in the switch flashed and went out and that was it - completely dead. Is there anything fixable in one of these, like a fuse or something, or should I just chuck it and get another, it wasn't expensive when I bought it. I'd hold onto it for a while, you may come across someone who can fix it cheaply and easily. They are relatively simple, I'd expect a 50% chance that £2 of components will sort it. If you really want to bin it, and live in E. Grinstead and pass Horsham any time, could you possibly drop it off there? If so please PM me. cheers, Pete. Edited March 25, 2008 by smileypete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 They are relatively simple, I'd expect a 50% chance that £2 of components will sort it. Gibbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinJ Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 They are relatively simple, I'd expect a 50% chance that £2 of components will sort it. Just looking at an 800W thats been 'smoked' and its £20 just for the FET's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileypete Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I said a 350W MSW is relatively simple, do you find them complicated? Just looking at an 800W thats been 'smoked' and its £20 just for the FET's. How much does it retail for, an what FETs are they? cheers, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I said a 350W MSW is relatively simple, do you find them complicated? cheers, Pete. A perfect of example of a novice believing something is simpler than it really is. The timing waveforms, voltage levels, shoot-through prevention, inductor current and saturation levels, snubbing, along with a handful of other things are absolutely critical in inverters. If any one of them is out by just a tiny fraction the result is another bag of charcoal as soon as all the expensive components have been replaced. I've watched in amazement (many times) as a novice switches on a freshly repaired inverter and instantly gets his eyebrows blackened even though he "replaced all the burnt parts". Just because only one part shows external physical damage does not mean that's the only part failed. Just because there are few parts in a device does *not* mean it is a simple device. The operation could be very complex. Try to build yourself one from *your own* design if they are so simple. You'll be in for a shock. Gibbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullfrog Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 You'll be in for a shock. Oooh, nasty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinJ Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 How much does it retail for, an what FETs are they? About £75 I think, they are IRF1010E's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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