This review is for the 500 W version of the product.
The lowest capacity version offered on this Amazon's product page was tested for a week and I am pleased to inform that it performed amicably well in all areas. The inverter had enough capacity to run most electronics like a laptop, couple of CFL bulbs even inductive loads such as a small box fan without any problems. BTW, Do not expect this to run anything bigger like your refrigerator or vacuum pump. The rated capacity is 500 W for this entry level model and you must always use loads considerably 'lower' than the rated capacity.
PROS
The lowest capacity version offered on this Amazon's product page was tested for a week and I am pleased to inform that it performed amicably well in all areas. The inverter had enough capacity to run most electronics like a laptop, couple of CFL bulbs even inductive loads such as a small box fan without any problems. BTW, Do not expect this to run anything bigger like your refrigerator or vacuum pump. The rated capacity is 500 W for this entry level model and you must always use loads considerably 'lower' than the rated capacity.
PROS
- It includes all the cables for operation with 12v DC battery & Cigarette lighter port in car
- The two USB ports work without powering on the inverter - Great power efficiency
- Near silent operation (The FAN is thermally controlled) and rarely comes ON
- Good thermal heatsink even for the entry level model
- Very competitive price especially for entry level model
CONS
- No physical ON/OFF switch
- Certain offering comes in Clam-shell types of packaging which is difficult to open
Additional notes:
For using the inverter with 'full load' please use the provided direct to battery cables as the total current drawn can exceed 10-15 Amps. The included cigarette lighter port cable has a limitation of 10 Amps of current draw and might blow if you put large load (Especially inductive loads) on the AC outputs. The cigarette lighter port cable does have a user replaceable fuse.
The 'idle' current drawn when the inverter is running (Blue light is ON) is about 350mA with no load. When the inverter is OFF (Blue Light is OFF) the inverter does not draw any significant current. But for certain solar installations it could pose problems as the two USB port's DC-to-DC converter does draw some negligible current under no load condition. While I personally like the fact that USB charging ports function without having to powering ON the inverter I think for certain solar installations adding a ON/OFF switch on the battery side might be needed to avoid 'phantom' current drawn when the unit is not used.
Overall this inverter worked great for me. I am giving 5 stars!
You can buy this and other higher end models from Amazon using the link below:
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