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 Excellent buy-works great Aug 21, 2010
This unit works extremely well. I am using it in a potable power unit I built that has 2- 12V 35ah gel batteries and a 25 amp switching power supply to charge them. I roll it around wherever I need pure sine wave Ac. At the moment, I'm using it as a backup unit for my backup UPS's for my electronics and computer. I had tried a different brand of pure sine wave inverter but the UPS's didn't like the output of it and the inverter blew out. This unit works just fine and the UPS's like it just fine. I'll know as time goes by how reliable it is in the long run. The price is very reasonable especially for the features it has. The 120 VAC output is very steady regardless of the load.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Very Capable Pure Sinewave Inverter May 22, 2010
I'm an electrical engineer and purchased this inverter to have additional backup capabilities, as I already have two marine batteries connected to a backup sump pump and wanted to run minimal equipment during power outages. Power outages aren't common, but when it happens, we typically experience about an hour long duration.
This is a decent quality, budget inverter. I do agree with other reviewers regarding the power cable connection, but it's not bad as one can use the cable lug along with the thumb nut to tighten. Some may see the need for hex nuts and use of a wrench, but this may actually be a hazard as posts are very close together (unless battery connection is made last). Regarding the fan, it is thermostatically controlled. It only comes on about when supplying over 500W continuous load. During standby, it draws about 1 amp (12 Watts). Testing the inverter in the garage in 40 degF temp, I could not get the fan to kick on even with 750W continuous load.
Included remote switch is very convenient. More than the actual remote, I use the hard wired switch that is connected to the inverter via supplied control cable. It would have been better to include a GFCI receptacle; I have a plug in GFCI outlet for this added protection. Soft start is very convenient and can start my DeLonghi 50-pint dehumidifier that draws 900 W continuous.
I would highly recommend this inverter. It's cheap, it would supply power to light loads within the inverter rating. Just purchase #4 AWG minimum size cable. I found purchasing a automotive jumper cable to be cheaper and installing lugs in lieu of purchasing stiff THHN type cable at home supply store. I plan to use the left over of the jumper cable for connection to vehicle battery when I go camping.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
NOT a full 1000W but close enough May 13, 2010
I have several 1000W inverters in my service trucks and thought the idea of a RF remote would be nice so I stepped away from my usual brand (Xantrex) Xantrex Technologies 806-1000 Prosine 1,000-Watt Inverter and their newer, more value conscious true sine inverter product line which is within $20 of this sunforce unit but lacks the features. This time I bought the sunforce.
First off, testing finished inverter installations, I use a 1050W load (it's a heat gun with 1000W heater and 50w blower). True, this is MORE than 1000W but all inverters have some surge capacity so it's never been a problem before. The sunforce unit's efficiency is within 1% of xantrex, requiring 114-116 AMPS at 12VDC to operate the 1050W load, however the sunforce will shutdown within 3 seconds with an output overload condition, while the xantrex units will drain the battery first.
I stepped the load down to 900W and things were fine, so I'm really going to overlook their slightly over-rated specifications on the inverter because my loads are in the 300-400W range and need clean power. Besides, the value proposition with sunforce's feature set is still there.
Another pro/con to consider is that the Xantrex units are metal cased with mounting holes, while these are plastic - that may lead you to some innovative mounting solutions, but it's not a big deal.
Neither Xantrex nor Sunforce has developed a "everything easy to read display" - my -806 model xantrex prosine comes close with a remote mountable on/off plate w/ lcd that shows volts, amps, and watts as a bargraph simultaneously. But the Xantrex LCD display is smaller than some digital watches and can't be read across the truck cab, which forces me to remote mount it. Sunforce uses BIG digits that are red LED, but it cycles through output voltage, amps, etc by pushing a button - it will only stay on one value for 1 second. The problem is unless you are pressing the button it defaults to AC volts, where battery voltage might be more useful
Sunforce did something really clever. Inverters of this power level are not easy to wire in (4' of #4 wire is about all you get to the battery before wire losses cut into your power conversion). The knobb-ish looking thing in the upper right of the product photo is a rubber cover for a high current 12VDC socket. You did all that wiring to hook this up, might as well get a cig lighter socket that shares the same big wires.
A good source of wiring is available on amazon and I've reviewed them - Cobra CPI-A4000BC AC Power Inverter AWG Cables although if you really need 1000W keep a battery within 4 feet - a second battery like the Optima Batteries 8052-161 D31M BlueTop Dual Purpose Battery optima deep cycle is a good setup as it can be mounted close to the inverter and charged from the vehicle alternator. Be sure to use a battery isolator so that your inverter can not drain the vehicles' starting battery.
If your use involves ALOT of runtime at 1000W a parallel combination of 2 D31 batteries will run longer without running the engine. For near constant use, use a 124 Amp alternator and you will need to run wires back to the vehicle power system and run the engine to provide power.
The Xantrex series will give you much more surge power - to 1500 W if needed for 30 seconds. Sunforce has created a clever product that comes with 3 remote on/off switches in the package. All inverters have some feature you may want - here it was the remote, some Xantrax models offer AC cutover to battery when an outside power source disappears. You do get alot in this model for a good price. My unit gets daily use and has not had a problem. Best advice is shop around - the old models that were $600-700 have come down to the $200-300 range. Oversize the unit for your use because all AC loads have startup surges, especially lighting loads and motors. I generally double the inverter size.
No matter what brand you end up buying, a TRUE Sinewave inverter like this will give you utility quality power. After nothing but bad experiences with pseudo-sinewave (there are lots of names for it, but NOT real sinewave) units frying expensive equipment over time. Those units are only good for incandescent lights, and even those burn out faster!
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 Not working reliably Jan 31, 2010
I bought the inverter to use in an RV to power lights, TV/DVD, and other light AC loads. The price on this unit is very attractive so I bought it and checked it out before installing. I tested it under light and maximum loads and even hooked it up to an oscilloscope to verify if it was really a sine wave output. The last thing I did was bring it in the house to power the TV, stereo, computer, DVD, and VHS player simultaneously. (This is still well under 1000W.)
Conclusions:
(1) Powers all loads I've thrown at it without a problem (except see #4# including electronics, 1000W electric heater, fluorescent and incandescent lights, and an electric drill.
#2# Has a real sine wave output.
#3# Causes considerable interference to AM radio when used to power the stereo system, but absolutely no interference on the TV or FM radio or anything else.
Strangely, the TV guide function on the cable box stopped operating, but I can't be sure if the inverter caused this.
But the really bad part:
#4# It has unexplained shutdowns. This usually happens under light loading conditions. The unit shuts down and displays an error code of OST #overload# or 529 #inverter defective#. The unit was not overloaded #not even close) any of the times this has happened. And when it happens, you have to turn it off and wait several hours to turn it back on. I think it has to lose its memory of the error before it will operate again.
I will probably be contacting the manufacturer regarding this problem. The unit is no good to me if it doesn't work reliably.
2 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Sunforce inverter Jan 24, 2010
Unit worked as expected. Would have liked not to have a remote control and it would have been cheaper. Remote control was worthless to me.
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