Love my inverter

[David Anderson]

My old Trace SW2512 is the cat's meow.  I bought it from Wrico in 2000 and it's never missed a beat.  I have an old 38 foot articulating lift that has 4 golf cart batteries wired in a 24v array.   The charger on the lift is not very good so I tried to charge individually with my little Schauer charger.  Not much luck.

I decided to pull the 4 out and take them to the bus.  I noticed the cases were kind of fat which indicated sulfation.  Batteries are about 4 yrs old. 

I disconnected the house bank, arranged the old batts in a 12v array and put the hot sauce to them.  15.8v equalization charge for 2 hours.  Got them to about 100 degrees and boiled the fool out of them.  I then did a 2 hour bulk and float charge. 

Reinstalled and the lift works like a charm  Yahoo!!!

Those made in America inverters are great.  Too bad we can't get them anymore.

David

[Iceni John]

Magnum are still made in this country, in WA state.   I recently bought a Magnum MS2000  - I can't wait to start using it.   Exeltech also makes some well-regarded inverters in USA, as does Victron from Europe.   Being made elsewhere isn't always bad  -  the Cotek brands (Samlex, Go Power, etc) are made in Taiwan and seem to be pretty good, but the big question is what do you do if/when they need repair.   Are they repairable at all, and if so by whom where?   That's one reason I chose my inverter  -  Magnum will fix it.

John

[bevans6]

I had a Samlex that died from a power surge.  It was about two weeks out of warranty.  I spoke to their engineering department at their head office in Vancouver.  They don't repair them or exchange them, they offer you a 10% discount on a new one.

I have  Magnum now.

Brian

[bobofthenorth]

We've had 2 of what I believe is the precursor to your SW2512 - Heart Freedom 25s.  They are big old ugly heavy units that just keep working.  I had the relays replaced in one of them.  The other one just keeps on working.  They run everything from computer bricks to fridge/freezers.  They switch fast enough that the TV doesn't even flicker when we unplug from shore power.  I don't know how old they are now but I'd buy one today in a heartbeat if I needed another inverter. 

I had a Link 2000 system on one of them.  It was complete crap.  I pulled it off and threw it away after less than a year of use.  I replaced it with a Trimetric 2025 and a Xantrex remote control panel which gives me way more capability than the POS Link and, more importantly, it actually works.

[Lostranger]

We full time, and we've been solar off grid for about 2-1/2 years. Can't imagine a better inverter than our Magnum 4024. I have no previous large inverter experience to compare, but the Magnum is one of the few mechanical items we own that I seldom think about. It just keeps doing its job.

I'm gonna eventually need a second inverter for a mobile shop. It will be a Magnum 4024.

Jim