PowerBright Power Inverter ?????

[Kwajdiver]

Anyone using a PowerBright Power Inverter?

I see these on E-bay.   Item number: 300099756321 


3500/7000 watts  12VDC to 120 VAC

Spec below;

Optimum efficiency    up to 90%   
No-load draw  < 0.2 amp
Output Wave Form  Modified Sinewave
Input voltage range   10-15.5 VDC
Over voltage shutdown over 15.5 VDC
Under voltage shutdown  under 10 VDC
Low voltage alarm  Audible
Overload shutdown  Yes
Thermal shutdown  Yes
Short circuit shutdown  Yes
AC receptacle  4 three-prong receptacle
Warranty  1 year
Inverter weight  25.00 lbs
Dimensions (W x H x D)   17.7 x 6.5 x 9.1 in.


I need something for the bus......


Bill

[John Z]

Did it have a built in charger?

[Kwajdiver]

Had to go back and look,,,, no built in charger.

This one is out.......

Thanks for pointing that out....

Bill

[Kwajdiver]

MAGNUM ENERGY MS2012 2000 Watt Inverter Charger NEW 
Includes Magnum Energy Remote Control with Cable

Item number: 150110711307

on E-bay,,, This has a charger.... Question, is 2000 watts enough?

Anyone using the Magnum's?

Bill

[JackConrad]

    I believe John Palmer sells Magnum Inverters. My understanding is that they are a good, quality inverter.
   As far as 2000 watts being big enough, it depends on what you plan to run off it.  Add up the watts of everything you plan to run simultaneously. Look at the labels on coffee maker, TV, etc. it should give a rating in watts. If it gives the rating in amps multiply that times 120 (volts) to determine watts.
   Larger Amp draw or longer use cycles between battery bank re charging will require a larger battery bank.  Jack

[Jerry32]

Just rember at 12 Volts to get 2000 Watts it would take over 150 amps so usually on a 12 volt sytem that is a good limit. Make sure you know what you want is a modified sine wave or a simulated tru sine wave.  Jerry

[jjrbus]

I started with a 24 volt Tripp Lite inverter. And it was fine for what I want to do. But and it is a big BUT. It had a single stage charger! Which in non technical terms means it takes a long time to charge a battery. How long? depends on the size of your battery bank.You could be looking at 8 hours useing your generator to charge a small battery bank! For me this was unacceptable. If you plan on going from power pole to power pole it would it would be ok.
If you want a lower priced inverter buy one without a charger and buy a seperate three stage charger.
I purchased a Trace DR 3624 about $900, which does everything I need to do and includes the 3 stage charger.
There are lots of options read everything you can, ask questions and then make a decision!

[captain ron]

I bought a 5000 watt inverter off of EBay used. Modified sine and no charger. I bought 2 smart chargers from WalMart one big one and one small. This system works great, the modified sine will not run my printer so I intend on buying a small pure sine inverter that will run that receptacle only. The bigger charger is for my house bank and the smaller charges the battery for my water pump. I'm very happy with it and it saved me lots of money.

[Kwajdiver]

Captain Ron,

More information required,,,,why will the modified sine, not run the printer..........

I already have two sears battery chargers.  Guess I could keep using them and save money...

Thanks for the input everyone,,,keep them coming....

Bill

[jhaggerty]

I am using a powerbright inverter.
It is a 24volt model, 3500 - 7000 peak.

The first one blew up on me, but they replaced it under warranty within a couple of days, no questions asked. They upgraded the second one to a "military use " model and it has worked fine for a year and a half.

Jim

[Stan]

Bill: Anything other than resistive loads react strangely to modified sine wave inverters. Some things are just low efficiency, some overheat and some won't work. To complicate it even further, an item that will not work on one brand of modified sine inverter will work on another brand.

Some inverters that are called modified sine wave are just pulse width modified square wave. Some have two or more steps to take of the sharp corners. A true sine wave has the pulses generated in the shape of a sine wave and is almost identical to power line wave form. HTH.

[captain ron]

Anyone using the Magnum's?
Bill

I wish  Couldn't resist

As for the printer it just flashes all of it's lights and starts spitting printed mumble jumble out. I'm just going to find the least expensive smallest pure sine inverter I can find and have a dedicated duplex receptacle for printer and recording gear. I have a great setup for very little money. I need new batteries this year and plan on putting in a huge house bank that I can run off of for a long time. When I first put in batteries I could run about 5 days with fridge, lights and microwave running off of it. And I have those power hungry halogen track lights.

[Dallas]

Hey Ron,
Instead of a Sine wave inverter, why not go to Best Buy or staples and get a small UPS to operate the printer and other sensitive electronics?

That way you could run the ups off your present inverter or if your brave enough, set it up to run directly off your batteries.

It's just a thought!

Dallas

[captain ron]

Dallas, That was brought up before. How long can I run off of the ups thingamajig? How much? I think the question before was is that like an inverter also?

[DrivingMissLazy]

Make sure it is an on-line UPS. Many of the cheapos run the AC power straight thru the system to the load and only switch their inverter on when there is a power failure. This switch is very fast and you never lose power to the load. However, in normal operation you are operating directly on the incoming power.
Richard