How to find a good (supplier of) DC to AC inverters?

I need a reasonable sized (i.e. 1500 or 2000 watt) sine wave inverter to use on our boat. I don't want to pay silly over the odds prices but on the other hand I do want one that works to specification.

The problem is that many eBay/Chinese suppliers play the same game as amplifier makers used to so that a nominal (say) 1000 watt inverter actually says in the description that it can't supply 1000 watts continuously. Reading the very few reviews one can find shows that in many cases the reality is that inverters can't supply anywhere near their rated output.

However, on the other hand, there are excellent inverters available at very reasonable prices. The inverter I currently have is a nominal

500 watt one that cost me £25 back in 2012 and it copes admirably with just about everything I throw at it plus giving up gracefully when I ask too much. Among other things it runs an ordinary domestic refrigerator without problems and fridges are supposedly one of the more difficult loads for inverters.

The 500 watt inverter is a 'modified sine wave' one, I want a the larger, sine wave one to run a microwave among other things.

So how do I find a supplier as good as the one who made my old 500 watt inverter? I can't take a look at it just now but I suppose that might be one approach, get another from the same manufacturer if they make 'pure sine' inverters. However any other recommendations of good suppliers or other ways to find good manufacturers would be most welcome.

Reply to
Chris Green
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There used to be low voltage Microwaves a few years back. I don't know how the very high voltages were created for the Magnetron, but I suspect this might be more efficiently done at 400 hz with a smaller transformer than attempting to feed an inefficient mains one from an invertors unless you have half the boat rigged up as batteries that is! Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Yes, I did search for '12v microwave' but all it brought up was combined purchases of a mains microwave and an inverter. Since we have the microwave already this seems not to be a very useful approach.

Reply to
Chris Green

Might be better to look at 12 or 24 V microwaves designed for truckers. removes an energy conversion stage if nothing else. And judging by how the lights dip when the magnatron fires up in our microwave it has a hefty switch on surge. That might give an invertor problems.

Would a normal mains microwave object to a modified sine wave invertor anyway? IIRC that just means the wave form is a series of steps up/down rather than a single square wave as the really cheapy ones use.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

They had them in Machine Mart.

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Reply to
harry

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Reply to
harry

Numax 2kW true sine from Tayna (or elsewhere) about £350. I have several and they are fine. I don't know if they do 24V ones though.

Have you thought about splitting the load and using two or more?

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

I have a 24V Waeco microwave and it's fine. Had it since 2001. It was mighty pricey though. Pulls about 40A.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

If you want cheap I suppose you could use a MOT and a vibrator. No, not tha t type.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Yes, it will take a lot of current whether separate inverter plus mains microwave or 'integrated' 12 volt microwave. We have something like 400Ah of 12 volt battery capacity on the boat and three 260 watt solar panels keeping them charged.

Reply to
Chris Green

Yes, if I could actually find anyone selling such a thing it would be ideal but no one seems to make them any more. Searching just produces 'no longer available' or eBay sales of several years ago.

Well according to what I have managed to read about it a microwave will run on modified sine wave but runs quieter, better *and* more efficiently on pure sine wave.

Reply to
Chris Green

Yes, but *much* more expensive than you can find on eBay, aliexpress, etc. I'm trying to work out how to find a reliable eBay one.

Reply to
Chris Green

2kw sine wave inverters start at around a third of that price, I've found quite a few around £105 to £150. I just want to try and find a reliable supplier among the many in this price range, I'm sure there are some.

It's a possibility though it makes life a bit complicated on the boat as some of the time we have mains power from the marina so then things like the microwave would be plugged into normal sockets.

Reply to
Chris Green

VICTRON inverters and chargers are excellent performers and built like brick outhouses.

Reply to
Bob Minchin

.. and cost an arm and a leg to buy. Not to mention that if they *do* go wrong they are so full of proprietary hardware and software that an expensive engineer call-out is almost always necessary.

Reply to
Chris Green

A few break before make double pole change over (or three position) switches would sort that out.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Odd, google "truck microwave" produces a number of companies selling

24 V microwaves that appear to be available. The best part of 40 A that an 800 W output 24 V microwave will draw means some hefty bits of connecting string. B-)
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

No heftier than an electric shower, so you could use 6mm over short distances subject to mounting method.

And of course you save the standby consumption of the inverter running down your battery.

Owain

Reply to
spuorgelgoog

Yes, but you still have to change them to the right position every time you swap things around from 'big inverter' to 'small inverter' to 'shore power', etc. As it is with just one inverter we quite often forget to switch back to shore power when we plug in. It could be automated of course but not (easily) if we have more than one inverter.

Reply to
Chris Green

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