Great Vendor and $600.00 2500watt Pure Sine Inverters

[Seangie]

Hey all -

This is not spam, just wanted to tell you about a great experience I had with Bay Marine Supply out on the North West Cost.
They had the best price on a Nova Cool 9000 Refrigerator and I gave them a call and left a message.  Alan (owner?) called me right back. 
I always need a specific delivery window as my street is too small for a freight truck and I am often traveling and not home to receive shipments.
I have not yet had a vendor understand this and it always ends up that I am in some other state working when I get a call from the shipping company asking if someone can meet them at the end of the street to get whatever it is I ordered off the truck.
After explaining this to Alan he took the extra steps to make sure that the order was shipped and delivered within the window that I had.  Even went so far as emailing me on a Sunday to let me know the shipment would be arriving the next day.
It was great to have a vendor answer their phone, address concerns and follow through up to the point I received my shipment.
And great prices at that - I just happened to notice these 2500 watt inverters at 650/piece...that is a deal for a new inverter..
http://baymarinesupply.com/store/electrical/chargers-inverters/sterling/sterling-procombi-s-12-2500.html

Hope this helps someone out.

-Sean

[bevans6]

Buy one quick, it may be a mistake - the distributor lists that unit for $1499 US.  The "quasi-sine" is $699.  It is one I am going to investigate, it's available in 24v and it's made in England. 

Brian

[Oonrahnjay]

it's available in 24v and it's made in England.  

      I knew that there was a catch ...

[Jeremy]

The unit in the link is the US-spec 110v version in fact - I checked myself because that price is indeed extremely low (but I would need the 240v version of course)

Sterling Power have a very good reputation - I have a couple of their products already (a fancy alternator voltage regulator and a small beverage holder-type inverter for the car), and they are very well designed and made things. I'm probably the most 'non-brand orientated' person in the world, but inverters are one thing where I will pay extra to get a known quality make.

Jeremy

[Lin]

Looks good. The same company is selling on Amazon for $695, so they are even beating their own price.

[Oonrahnjay]

      Is this a truly "pass through" unit?   On my Outback (nice unit 12v/2000watt model in all other ways), if you're limited on amps (say 15 amps) and you need to pull 20 amps, it pulls ALL those 20 amps from the battery bank, quickly leaving the batteries pretty well pulled down.  I've been told that a true "pass through" unit will supply the 15 amps from shore/gennie but only pull 5 amps from the batteries.  If you are limited in your recharging time, that could make a big difference for you.   
      Will someone clarify this for me?  Thanks,  BH  NC  USA

[RJ]

I always need a specific delivery window as my street is too small for a freight truck. . .

Your street's too small?

Heck, I got your Eagle Suburban down it!

Hehehehe. . . couldn't resist. . .

[belfert]

      I knew that there was a catch ...

I'm not sure if you're referring to the Made in England or the 24 volt part, but the website has both 12 and 24 volt for the same price.  The charger seems pretty weak or I would look closer at one.

It does not appear this unit can supplement shore power with battery power.  It looks like it has to be all shore power or all inverter power.  Not unexpected for a $625 unit.

[Seangie]

Heck, I got your Eagle Suburban down it!

Hehehehe. . . couldn't resist. . .

Going backwards too! 

www.herdofturtles.org
1984 Eagle Model 10S

[Uglydog56]

That looks literally identical to the 12v 2500 watt ProMariner inverter I've got sitting right here for my bus.  Only a 50 amp charger but has the 3 stage charger and the different settings for your battery type.  I got it used for much less, and figured I don't need as much battery charger since I've got pretty big solar.  It is pass-through but not augmenting.  I thought only a couple of brands of super high-end inverters do the augmenting thing for small shore power.

[Timkar]

I got one of those on Ebay a while back for $400 . (same vendor now has fixed price of $749)Yes it only has a 50A charger but it works well for me. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a high end unit, but it works well. Yes, it is a pass through.

[bevans6]

Can those 2500 watt inverters start and run an air conditioner?  I have to buy a new inverter, and it has to run a 15K AC unit.

Thanks, Brian

[Lin]

Brian, in theory it will. Just picking 20 amps at 120v would equal 2400 watts.  So if the unit is rated for 2500 watts continuous with a higher surge capacity, it would seem to be fine.  Now, I would talk to the vendor/manufacturer to make sure that there would not be any surprises.  Could be just my superstitious nature, but I am often a little wary that what works in theory may not actually work.

[bevans6]

That's about where I am with it (and with other 2500 watt inverters).  The theory is "maybe", but the practice is what tells the tale.  I think I will go to a higher rated unit, probably a higher end modified sine wave unit, to balance cost, practicality, efficiency and reliability. 

Brian

[Lin]

I think that the pure sine wave is really important here.  My 2500 watt modified sine wave inverter will pop its breaker trying to start an AC or my electric compressor.  It's fine for lights, but even the microwave runs weird on it.