Which el cheapo inverter?

[MtB]

I'm thinking of installing an inverter to run power tools, vacuum cleaner and the like occasionally instead of lugging the genny out and fuelling it up. 

The biggest appliance I can think I might want to run would be the wet-vac rated at 1300w, but being an electric motor with a high start-up surge current, can anyone recommend a cheap and cheerful inverter that will cope with this please? 

It isn't for regular use and will never be left ON unattended, so I'm not as concerned about low cost Chinese electronics self-combusting as I would normally be...

Many thanks for any recommendations.

[Ex Brummie]

There are plenty on flea-bay for around £30 inc c & p, ranging from 1200 watt to 2kw. I bought a cheapo 800 watt 8 years ago, and on one occasion reverse connection blew the fuse, and once an inadvertent overload did the same. The fuse is a car type but30 amp. so it may be wise to find what you need before it blows as they are not always readily available from car spares shops.

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

There are plenty on flea-bay for around £30 inc c & p, ranging from 1200 watt to 2kw.

 

Thanks but I know there are, hence my request for a recommendation rather than just buying one randomly from ebay.

In addition, I very much doubt a 1200W inverter will supply enough start-up current to get my 1300W electric motor going. I doubt a 2kW inverter will either, given the wet-vac trips my 2kw genny (unless I connect and turn the wet-vac on first, then start the genny).

Or are all inverters happy with transient loads far in excess of their steady state rating?

Ooops one thing I forgot to mention, I have a 24v battery bank!

[WotEver]

I bought a really cheap 300W job from Aldi or somewhere like that many years ago. It states in large letters “Overload Protected”. Without thinking one day I plugged in a 2kW vacuum cleaner. The inverter made a little squeak and stopped working. No fuses blown, no magic smoke released, nothing burnt inside, but it never worked again. So if that tells us anything I guess it’s ‘make sure it’s big enough’. 

[MtB]

Just now, WotEver said:

I bought a really cheap 300W job from Aldi or somewhere like that many years ago. It states in large letters “Overload Protected”. Without thinking one day I plugged in a 2kW vacuum cleaner. The inverter made a little squeak and stopped working. No fuses blown, no magic smoke released, nothing burnt inside, but it never worked again. So if that tells us anything I guess it’s ‘make sure it’s big enough’. 

 

Sounds to me as though you boiled a capacitor!

I guess I'm inclined to buy a 3kw unit for exactly this reason, but don't really want to stump up that much money only to find a 3kW won't start a 1300W vacuum cleaner either.

Does anyone here successfully run a 240v vacuum cleaner from their inverter? Which inverter do you have?

[rusty69]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

Does anyone here successfully run a 240v vacuum cleaner from their inverter? Which inverter do you have?

Can I just ask two questions? What's a vacuum cleaner?

[WotEver]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

Sounds to me as though you boiled a capacitor!

Nope, no bulging cans. 

It looked brand new inside. It just didn’t work. 

[Alan de Enfield]

9 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Does anyone here successfully run a 240v vacuum cleaner from their inverter? Which inverter do you have?

Our 900w vacuum runs with no problems on our 1800w Sterling Quasi Sine Wave.

It may run off a 1500w or even a 1200w but have no way of knowing.

[Dave_P]

I have a 2000w Silverline bought on Amazon years ago for just over £100, probably a bit more now.  It served me very well for many years running vacuum cleaners of both wet and dry varieties.  

I now keep it as a back up for a Mastervolt PSW.

I would recommend.

I also have a mega cheapo ebay 2000w MSW and it's junk.  Bought for about £30.  It's very small, very light, tiny thing cable coming off it, going straight to a built in cigarette lighter plug.  

I would not recommend.  I wouldn't trust it to run anything more than a laptop.

All cheap inverters are not the same.

 

 

Edited to add:

Dry vac - 1400w

Wet vac - 1200w

Found this link:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002QRWHBK/ref=asc_df_B002QRWHBK51374216/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=B002QRWHBK&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226557876382&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8830888930751778976&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006969&hvtargid=pla-419954767582&th=1&psc=1

[Naughty Cal]

We currently have a 2kw Silverline which runs our electric kettle happliy enough. Had it installed a few years now and it keeps plodding on.

Think it was around the £100 mark.

[Alan de Enfield]

14 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

We currently have a 2kw Silverline which runs our electric kettle happliy enough. Had it installed a few years now and it keeps plodding on.

Think it was around the £100 mark.

Thing is, that kettles are just resistive and draw what they are rated at, motors, (inductive loads) on the other hand can draw 2 or 3 times their rating on start-up.

Resistive loads are normally used to turn electricity into heat / light with typical examples being Light bulbs, kettles, electric fires, immersion heaters etc.

 

Edit to add : and hair dryers  (the 'fan' in the hairdryer is pretty low powered by comparison to the heating element)

Edited April 3, 2018 by Alan de Enfield

[Naughty Cal]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Thing is, that kettles are just resistive and draw what they are rated at, motors on the other hand can draw 2 or 3 times their rating on start-up.

It can run a hair dryer happily.

[Dave_P]

3 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

It can run a hair dryer happily.

Which is also a resistive load.  However, see post #9 for experience of a Silverline 2000w on an inductive load.

[Dave_P]

https://www.sunshinesolar.co.uk/prodshow/2000W___24V_Pure_Sine_Wave_Sunshine_Power_Inverter/VP200024.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzIzWBRDnARIsAAkc8hEffv3e-9cWaZo6eLJaryMTSknDvidtUYGQs-A10Zb45WS4ooq5UpUaAvEuEALw_wcB

 

Currently on sale.  Ends today.  More expensive but PSW and well regarded.

[MtB]

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

Nope, no bulging cans. 

It looked brand new inside. It just didn’t work. 

 

I think the noise must be giving a big clue.

I've an idea triacs squeak when they fail, too. DAMHIK.

Thanks for replies everyone. Silverline don't appear to make 24v inverters, so I'm minded top buy this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000W-4000W-Peak-Pure-Sine-Wave-Power-Inverter-DC-24V-to-AC-230V-New-Car-Caravan/253242119495?epid=5010036218&hash=item3af6681547:g:RqEAAOSwiQ9ZXy0F

 

Amusingly it is described as 230v but the close up of the display shows 219v! Very honest of them, and I can't decide if this matters.

 

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I've an idea triacs squeak when they fail, too. DAMHIK

Triads only squeak if they catch their fortune cookies

[WotEver]

16 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I'm minded top buy this

Looks good on paper. Sensible price too. And local despatch. 

And PayPal protection. 

[Dave_P]

36 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I think the noise must be giving a big clue.

I've an idea triacs squeak when they fail, too. DAMHIK.

Thanks for replies everyone. Silverline don't appear to make 24v inverters, so I'm minded top buy this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000W-4000W-Peak-Pure-Sine-Wave-Power-Inverter-DC-24V-to-AC-230V-New-Car-Caravan/253242119495?epid=5010036218&hash=item3af6681547:g:RqEAAOSwiQ9ZXy0F

 

Amusingly it is described as 230v but the close up of the display shows 219v! Very honest of them, and I can't decide if this matters.

 

I'm afraid to say that this looks like one of the junk ones.  I may be wrong though.  I'd advise scraping your pennies together for the Sunshine Solar one.  A far better product.

[TheBiscuits]

I'll third the recommendation for the Sunshine Solar - I fitted the 12V 3000W version last year when the magic smoke came out of my previous no-name inverter and am very happy with it.

I binned the wires that come with it though and put some decent ones on instead.

[cuthound]

My Victron 3000VA Combi happily runs a 1200 watt Numatic George wet and dry vac.

Edited April 3, 2018 by cuthound
To change kVA back to VA doh, I blame 42 years of working with high output electrical equipment.

[WotEver]

 

2 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

I'll third the recommendation for the Sunshine Solar - I fitted the 12V 3000W version last year when the magic smoke came out of my previous no-name inverter and am very happy with it.

I binned the wires that come with it though and put some decent ones on instead.

https://www.sunshinesolar.co.uk/prodshow/3000W___24V_Modified_Sine_Wave_Sunshine_Power_Inverter/VM300024.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzIzWBRDnARIsAAkc8hFsjPTv5ywEHwQVwwEvIne0njfmCVFQ1cEFsLB13MgRXiU1MM_XytIaAt97EALw_wcB

[smileypete]

For high startup surge loads, a decent low frequecy inverter should be more reliable, but the standby current is usually hideously high. (No easy answer I'm afraid...)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000W-24V-low-frequency-power-inverter-charger-UPS-LCD-2kW-24-volt-peak-6kW/112903324597

[TheBiscuits]

1 hour ago, smileypete said:

For high startup surge loads, a decent low frequecy inverter should be more reliable, but the standby current is usually hideously high. (No easy answer I'm afraid...)

My old no-name LF inverter used to draw 4A with no load, so it only got switched on when needed.  It had a pulsed standby mode but that needed a 40W load to fire it up so was useless for chargers.

Edit to add:

It came down to a tossup between the 12v version of the photonic_universe LF one on ebay or the HF sunshine solar one I went for.

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by TheBiscuits

[WotEver]

From his OP Mike won’t be bothered about a high quiescent current ‘cos it’ll only be used when he needs it. 

[MtB]

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

From his OP Mike won’t be bothered about a high quiescent current ‘cos it’ll only be used when he needs it. 

 

Correct, but I'm not spending £400 on one, just to avoid getting the genny out!

 

I've just found a 12v Maplins inverter lying about I bought about five years ago. From memory it's 1.5kw but the label has inexplicably been peeled off. I'll try using that first, wired to half of my 24v bank.