Remarkably Cheap Inverter

[Emerald Fox]

China - two went faulty within the year.

 

However I don't think its fair to correlate origin of manufacture with quality. Its much fairer to correlate price with quality. Many Chinese firms simply manufacture electrical items designed "to a price" by eg UK, USA, Japanese, German etc firms.

 

One within a year is unfortunate. Two is beginning to sound like carelessness....

 

So you bought cheapies instead of the 'designed to a price' - and does that mean 'designed to be of quality'? Isn't it a waste of time buying cheap then having to send it back twice within one year (and the third item, you'll have to send back with the fourth replacement within the next year?)

 

Well, all I can say is that my experience of most stuff Made in China has been 'as expected'. As pointed out a few months ago, I'm quite happy with the underpants that are Made in China available from BHS and Littlewoods.

Chines products take a fair amount of stick here in South Africa.

 

Do you mean that those products are very robust? Perhaps I have just been unlucky and got sent all the crap ones.

 

Doesn't South Africa make alternators or starter motors? Come to think of it, what does SA make apart from wines and biltong?

[Paul C]

My inverter usage doesn't involve needing to power a fridge, so its not an essential piece of equipment. Rather than spending too much, I deliberately chose a cheap one to get a higher power rating for my money, but carefully selected one 1) located in the UK and 2) with a viable guarantee. If I'd known in advance two would have failed within the year, I might not have decided on a cheap one. But I couldn't predict the future.

 

What I can do, however, is relate my experiences to the OP who is considering a similar inverter - and strongly advise to buy a better one if its powering something like a fridge, which 1) needs to be left on unattended 2) will be on 24/7 and 3) if its unavailable, is likely to result in spoiled food or being unable to chill/freeze food.

[Guest]

I have been looking for a cheap method of powering my 1600w washing machine when off my mooring, think I might just have found it in the shape of the 2500w one. Cheaper than a genset no nasty petrol to store and only on when the WM is on.

I have lots of electronics stuff from China no nasty failures yet.

 

ETA I wont mention the major UK supplier that sells rebadged Chinese inverters/chargers/combis.

Think I know who that is. Our 11 year old and well used inverter fits that description.

[churchward]

The catch is it is not in London as stated, it's in China. If you don't mind waiting 6 weeks that is fine. Other than that it looks well specified. If you look at his other items he has many different sized inverters at similar prices. I certainly think they are worth a try. I have a chinese chainsaw which is a copy of a 'husky' and after 8 years it is still the bees knees, and at a tenth of the price

 

Possibly not. Some of these sellers from China hold stocks in and then post them from the UK. So they could be in London. I ordered some cheap LED and resistors for my model railway from a similar setup and got them through normal Royalmail in a couple of days.

[Chewbacka]

I have a powerJack inverter that has a similar spec to this and it is fine at upto about 800W much above that it can not cope for more than about 10mins. I bought it for my boat fit out, and selected my power tools to be under 800w which work ok with it.

It also runs my fridge when we are out, but I would not expect it to last if loaded up, so I don't.

 

This one is also a fair bit lighter at only 3kg which would make me even more cautious.

 

I do fancy a low frequency, pure sine inverter made by Studer Innotec but the VAT alone is more than my powerjack, so I shall dream on for a while.

[smileypete]

The internal bits in cheap Chinese inverters are fairly standard these days, but the very cheapest made 'barrel scrapings' often have inflated specs and little or no production engineering whatsoever. Dunno about their more recent ones but PowerJack are supposed to be complete sh*te:

 

http://ludens.cl/Electron/chinverter/chinverter.html

 

BTW doubt there will be actual flames when a reasonably decent and properly fused inverter goes down, more like some/lots of acrid smoke as transistors or capacitors go. Neverless if worried about leaving them on, why not mount them on tilebacker or some other fire resistant board, plus some above the vents.

 

Probably the best way to go if on a tight budget is buy from a reputable established UK supplier that specialises in that area, hopefully they've done their homework. There are some reasonable domestic China inverter brands, but not commonly available in the UK under the same name.

 

Also, as I understand it, the Sterling inverters/combis come from Taiwan not China, and Taiwanese kit is usually quality these days

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited August 23, 2015 by smileypete

[dor]

If there is one thiing I always switch off when I am not on the boat is my inverter. And that is a decent 1800W PSW which wouldn't be running anything if we were not on the boat.

 

Seen too many burnt out cheap inverters. OK they didn't set the boat alight, but it would only be a matter of time before one did catch something.

[bigste]

Don't knock the Chinese, I think they make the best branded mobile phones, both Apple and Android.

[craftycarper]

Well, you pay your money and take your choice / chance ...

 

Allegedly Chinese products have fake "CE" marks ( European safety approvals ), which can be potentially dangerous.

Search the web for an explanation, often they claim it stands for China Export but looks remarkably similar to the proper CE mark.

On our marina in the last year there have been 2 inverter fires, don't know the details but ...Generally in life you get what you pay for

and don't forget if it seems too good to be true, it probably is ! The same goes for Chinese MPPT controllers, and has been in the news

in recent years phone / laptop chargers catching fire ( the cheap imitations more so than the OEMs ).

.sounds a bit like those I phone car chargers from various pound stores,a friend of mine recently had a £20'000 vw camper burnt out by one, turned out they have no internal fuse and just melt if left on for long, funnily enough I got an internally fused one with two ports for tablet or phone from aldi for £3 also bought a small inverter from there for £19.99 that looks remarkably the same as ones going on eBay for £60 , so I would say research , research and then research some more,

[Paul C]

I don't think chargers need an internal fuse but there is something in the regulations to guard against them overheating/catching fire etc. It came up on another internet forum recently but I can't remember the link.

 

Yes, to confirm, my inverter didn't physically catch fire but there was a lot of heat, smoke and acrid fumes, since it was mounted on a wooden bulkhead (with spacers to allow cooling air to circulate around the unit) there was a definite chance it could have started a larger fire. Of course, others' installation of inverter could be more or less likely - how many boats have a dedicated, fire-resistant, bay for electrics/electronics?

 

Since then, the inverter has its own dedicated isolator switch.

[craftycarper]

I don't think chargers need an internal fuse but there is something in the regulations to guard against them overheating/catching fire etc. It came up on another internet forum recently but I can't remember the link.

 

Yes, to confirm, my inverter didn't physically catch fire but there was a lot of heat, smoke and acrid fumes, since it was mounted on a wooden bulkhead (with spacers to allow cooling air to circulate around the unit) there was a definite chance it could have started a larger fire. Of course, others' installation of inverter could be more or less likely - how many boats have a dedicated, fire-resistant, bay for electrics/electronics?

 

Since then, the inverter has its own dedicated isolator switch.

im not techie enough to confirm or deny the internal fuse thing but it's what the firemen told her whilst damping down the pile of ash that was once her pride and joy, also why I read all of the small print of the aldi one to confirm it was internally fused, still not worth the risk for two quid

[Keeping Up]

Also, as I understand it, the Sterling inverters/combis come from Taiwan not China, and Taiwanese kit is usually quality these days

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

After a succession of faulty Sterling inverters I couldn't see much evidence of quality and certainly wouldn't buy one again; and our local hire Fleet presumably feel the same way after throwing a couple of dozen of them in the skip at the end of last season because they weren't happy about them being safe.

[Emerald Fox]

.sounds a bit like those I phone car chargers from various pound stores,a friend of mine recently had a £20'000 vw camper burnt out by one, turned out they have no internal fuse and just melt if left on for long, funnily enough I got an internally fused one with two ports for tablet or phone from aldi for £3 also bought a small inverter from there for £19.99 that looks remarkably the same as ones going on eBay for £60 , so I would say research , research and then research some more,

 

And I would say buy a fourth fire extinguisher...

 

Talking of inverters, we have a tiny one, Victron Phoenix 12 / 350W, put in by the previous owner less than 2 years ago. What kind of class is this is, good or bad? Have there been any problems with this type of unit?

So far all we have done with it is use it to charge mobile phones and an iPad.

[Top cat]

Victron stuff is considered by many to be top class equipment, you PAY for it though.

 

Top Cat

[Nickhlx]

We have had a Victron Combi 12/3000/120 on ours for over 6 years and it has been on a shoreline all the time we have not been on the boat cruising, so "on" for 6 years. We were having a Mastervolt system being fitted, but the boatbuilder "had" to change to the Victron system when he was due to order and instal it. Can't say I have been disappointed, as its the only one I have had to live with, so nothing to compare it to, but its always been faultless...

 

The only "niggle" is that it won't run the washing machine, supplementing the power from a 6A shoreline connection and the washing machine will only work if its plugged into a 16A shoreline. Someone once suggested it might be a setting, but I have not experimented with the settings to verify, and now have misplaced the instruction... ( Can anyone help here ?)

 

The inverter has rarely has much to do though, as the batteries are always at full charge, and after an overnight stop, the engine puts most / all the charge back in to the bank before mooring up again. I had not given any thought or concern to the fire risk situation before, so perhaps I should check my insurance ?

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

[Sea Dog]

I'm pretty sure the 3000 bit refers to its output in watts as it is on my Mastervolt unit, so there's hope there should be enough available to run your washer. I could tell you the dip switch settings for mains support on my MV, so someone with a Victron will be able to do the same, I'm sure.

[Nickhlx]

Yes, it's a 3000 watt unit, with a surge rating somewhat more than this, so should be able to handle it. I have a feeling its to do with some "economiser" setting I might have enabled...

 

I will put out a separate new thread so as not to hi-jack this one

 

Thank you,

 

Nick

Edited August 23, 2015 by Nickhlx

[FadeToScarlet]

 

If it is purchased as being shipped from London there is no VAT or duties to pay. If the seller decides to supply from elsewhere then any costs incurred are at their expense.

 

If it states it is being shipped from China etc, then there is a miniscule risk of you being charged VAT and duty. I have purchased a considerable amount of 'stuff' on ebay from overseas and have only once ever had to pay VAT & Duty and that was on a camera from the USA.

I'm not so sure, the cycle courier company I work for deliver packages as a subcontractor for a major UK parcel company, and quite a lot of the parcels coming from overseas have been delayed by customs, and only released once the duty is paid, according to the stickers from HMRC on them. It's maybe 20% of all the ones I see, not an insignificant amount- and the receiver is liable for it.

[Nickhlx]

The only time I have paid import duty and VAT was for goods totalling about £150 from the USA. I have been buying lower value items from the far east, sometimes several packages a week for the last 2 or 3 years and have never been required to pay. I thought there was a limit below which no VAT / Duty was payable, presumably because the admin involved would be too high and not worth trying to recover ...

 

Nick

[craftycarper]

The only time I have paid import duty and VAT was for goods totalling about £150 from the USA. I have been buying lower value items from the far east, sometimes several packages a week for the last 2 or 3 years and have never been required to pay. I thought there was a limit below which no VAT / Duty was payable, presumably because the admin involved would be too high and not worth trying to recover ...

 

Nick

. Unless the seller states that it's a present and then there is no duty to pay,

[Naughty Cal]

We bought a Doxin inverter before the one we have now.

 

It was shite.

 

Installed it and uninstalled it straight away. the power delivery was poor, it was noisy, the build quality was pants and it generally felt poor.

 

Never again.

 

Save your money and get a proper one.

[John V]

We bought a Doxin inverter before the one we have now.

 

It was shite.

 

Installed it and uninstalled it straight away. the power delivery was poor, it was noisy, the build quality was pants and it generally felt poor.

 

Never again.

 

Save your money and get a proper one.

 

Things aren't that black and white, I bought a cheap Chinese 3 stage automatic battery as I needed one in a rush, I replaced it with a proper marine charger a couple of weeks later. I bunged it in the store as a spare. About 3 years later the pukkha marine charger died and being beautifully epoxy encapsulated it was unrepairable. I hauled the "cheap and nasty" Chinese unit out of the bilges where it had been languishing. That was about 6 years ago and it is still working fine.

[PaulG]

The only time I have paid import duty and VAT was for goods totalling about £150 from the USA. I have been buying lower value items from the far east, sometimes several packages a week for the last 2 or 3 years and have never been required to pay. I thought there was a limit below which no VAT / Duty was payable, presumably because the admin involved would be too high and not worth trying to recover ...

 

Nick

 

I believe that for "private" purchases, currently no import duty is charged if the total value is £135.00 or less, or (if above £135.00) the duty charged would be £9.00 or less.

 

VAT is not charged on items of £15.00 or under, unless the item is alchohol or tobacco, (possibly perfume?)

 

The carrier will usually charge a fee as well.

 

Different rules apply to business purchases.

[Top cat]

The post office impose an £8 handling fee no matter what the duty or VAT is. Last time we had to pay £11, £3 VAt £8 fee.

 

Top Cat

[TheBiscuits]

 

If it is purchased as being shipped from London there is no VAT or duties to pay. If the seller decides to supply from elsewhere then any costs incurred are at their expense.

 

If it states it is being shipped from China etc, then there is a miniscule risk of you being charged VAT and duty. I have purchased a considerable amount of 'stuff' on ebay from overseas and have only once ever had to pay VAT & Duty and that was on a camera from the USA.

 

 

One of the tricks used on high value imports is bonded warehouse storage - the goods are physically located in the UK but not legally in the country for tax.

 

As soon as the goods are despatched from the warehouse to a UK address they become liable for VAT and import duty, but shipping times are domestic speeds.

 

I'm not sure it is worth the effort for £120 items though - it is usually drop shippers on > £3000 items that use this, usually from Portsmouth.