Value of old inverters

Lin · August 12, 2010, 09:11:24 PM

I recently let the smoke out of my Trace U2512SB inverter so have been looking for something to replace it. I am in contact with someone that has a used Trace 2012 and what he says is an NOS U2512SB (he says a guy bought this one for a bus conversion back in the mid 90's but never installed it). These both were reputable in their time but are old. What do you think would be a fair price for them? He is asking $150. for the 2012 and $500. for the 2512. I have told him that I would take both for $400.

JohnEd · August 12, 2010, 10:02:39 PM

Check what they are going for on EBay. Maybe you "over bid". Pleaseunderstand that you will have a hard time getting them repaired if they break.

John

bevans6 · August 13, 2010, 05:27:29 AM

here is my thought - old technology is not always better technology. One reason some things like old tech inverters are big and heavy is that the technology to let them be small, light and efficient hadn't yet been invented... Capacitors, power supplies, transformers do age whether in use or not, to some degree. If you just lost your current version, that may be a hint that you might lose a second version of exactly the same thing, same age. This might be a good time to upgrade to pure sine wave, for example. But on the other hand, the only one I found on ebay was $799 for used... So maybe $400 or $500 for a pair isn't bad.

Brian

Lin · August 13, 2010, 12:46:15 PM

My thought was that no matter how old the technology on them, since Trace made a good product, they have to be worth something if they are working or unused. So for the 2012, which is used, I figured it has to be worth at least $100 if working. The U2512SB is said to be new in the box. That was a marine unit, so I thought it should be worth $300. My plan was to used one and sell the other.

Len Silva · August 13, 2010, 12:49:43 PM

At those prices, I would use one and keep the other for a spare.

JohnEd · August 13, 2010, 01:18:31 PM

What Len said.

The one that s used should be opened up and carefully cleaned. Small layers of dust and oil from the air will cause overheating. They make an electronics parts cleaner that sprays on like carb cleaner.

The fan in the inverter gets crud-ed p and handles progressively less air. Replace the fan with a good quality one of higher volume rating. The tiny bearings get dry and those things will work just fine and then they are frozen. Maybe your inverter has an auto over-temp shut down and maybe it still works. If you could devise some way to filter the air going in the unit and get higher volume you would be ahead of the game. I do this on my tronic parts. The lower you can push the operating temp the longer the thing will run without a failure. On the other hand....why fix what ain't broke?

Lin · August 13, 2010, 02:15:38 PM

John,

I have not had much luck with fixing electronics. Usually, I break what ain't broke. I will one day reevaluate my theory that anything can be fixed with a hammer.

JohnEd · August 13, 2010, 03:49:44 PM

Get some help, Lin. It ain't rocket science and shouldn't take more than a cope hours. Finding and selecting the best muffin fan might present a challenge. See if Sean will do that for you. He might also have a suggestion on the filter install/mod.

If you are near Eugene feel free to stop by and spend a day with your project. I will be in QS this winter as well.

John

Len Silva · August 13, 2010, 03:51:02 PM

Lin,

There is no mechanical problem that cannot be fixed with brute force and ignorance. Electrical on the other hand requires a slow blow Phillips screwdriver.

JohnEd · August 13, 2010, 07:08:55 PM

Quote from: Len Silva on August 13, 2010, 03:51:02 PM
Lin,

There is no mechanical problem that cannot be fixed with brute force and ignorance. Electrical on the other hand requires a slow blow Phillips screwdriver.

"slow blow phillips"? Now that's funny. I read that three times before I got it. I'm retarded.