I have purchased many inverters for my service truck, RV, boat, and emergency home backup, and this is what I have learned...Buying a large inverter is confusing. Most people want their inverter to run the "continuous" loads that they have, plus have enough surge power to start air conditioners, microwaves, sump pumps, etc. Seems simple enough, but when they purchase an inverter, usually it can't handle the startup surge they were hoping. Herein is the problem: most people don't understand "Surge Duration".
Most inverters can put out more than their rated "continuous" output for surge. But the question is: How long can the inverter provide that surge? The vast majority of consumer inverters can only provide surge for 2 seconds with most less than 1 second! This is totally inadequate for hard starting appliances. I have measured the surge on my 2 hp air compressor, and it lasted about 5 seconds before it settled out to its "continuous" wattage. My 1000 watt microwave settles down at about the 3 second mark.
So what to do? Always look for an inverter with a long surge duration. The bigger inverter companies sell them, but they are usually labeled "Industrial" or "Commercial", and are much more expensive.
Which brings me to the Whistler Pro Inverters. Whistler Pro's have something they call "Smart Surge Control" that provides the surge wattage for close to 10 seconds. That is the longest I have found of any low priced consumer based inverter. I gave several a shot, and they work as advertised! They have more than enough surge duration to start my hard starting appliances like A/C, microwave, air compressor, large power tools, sump pump, etc. My 3000 watt Whistler (5000 watt surge) can start my hard starting RV air conditioner with no problem while also running my microwave!
...So add up your continuous wattage needs. Then find the wattage of your most surge hungry appliance (here is a great chart w w w.g e n e r a t o r s a l e s.c o m/w a t t a g e-c a l c u l a t o r.a s p ) and size your inverter based on those calculations.
Example:
Rated running watts ("continuous") of my lights + fridge + sump pump = 1440 running watts
Largest Surge wattage appliance is my big sump pump = 2700 surge watts
Pick the inverter that is above both ratings, in this case I would get a Whistler Pro 1600. It is rated at 1600 watts running continuous, 3200 surge.
Remember: inverters require VERY HIGH current, so the 12v cables have to be VERY large to work correctly. For larger inverters (1500 watt+) the cables need to be LARGER than the cables you see on your car battery. Large cables are expensive, stiff and heavy, but are a MUST! Your inverter will NOT run correctly without them! Follow the cable sizing guides, and don't skimp or you will be disappointed with your inverter's performance! I cannot stress this enough. Also, keep the 12v connectors clean and tight for reliable power.
Lastly, let's talk about your batteries:
Home backup, off grid or RV (large) inverter use requires more than one deep cycle battery, usually many more. Check with an inverter pro to size your battery bank correctly BEFORE you purchase your inverter.
For those of you that are running an inverter in an idling single battery vehicle, the vehicle alternator makes your battery look bigger than it is. In my truck I have a 165 amp alternator with a 1600 watt continuous inverter. It works terrific with the engine idling. I just don't use the inverter with the engine off. The continuous large current draw on an ordinary car battery will shorten its life considerably if the engine is not running. I could install a battery isolator with a second battery, but if I leave the truck idling, that isn't necessary. Remember, BIG cables, TIGHT clean connectors!
I hope this helps you with your inverter buying quest... Good shopping ;-)
Added on Jan 2 2013...
Just to clear up some confusion about using an inverter in a running vehicle:
If you draw more amps than the alternator can produce at idle, you will drain your battery. Once the battery voltage drops below about 10.5 volts, the inverter will shut itself down. Most alternators produce about 30%-40% of their output at idle. High output replacement alternators are readily available. Just Google "high output alternator". Be sure to increase the size of the alternator hot wire if necessary to support the higher amps of the replacement alternator...
BACKGROUND STORY:
Living in the NJ/NY area, we don't see a lot of hurricanes or even tropical storms. Once in a while, Mother Nature decides to give us a taste of what one can do. Originally being from MA and also living several years in eastern NC, I've seen what damage they can do. I knew some type of backup power may be necessary. Without operation sump pumps in my basement, it would certainly flood. As Hurricane Irene came bearing down on NY/NJ expecting to arrive on Saturday night, early Thursday I frantically looked for a generator. Home Depot, Lowes, Sears were already sold out across the northeastern seaboard. As you can imagine, they don't stock a lot here. Then I had an idea. A POWER INVERTER! I quickly logged on to Amazon and looked for a 3000W that could handle my two sump pumps. I paid the extra shipping fee to guarantee arrival by Saturday morning. Sure enough it arrived when promised. THANKS, AMAZON!
Well, needless to say Irene hit my area with a massive amount of rain. Eventually our local substation flooded and I had no power. The sump pump wells started to fill quickly. Thanks to my power inverter, I was able to react! I hooked it up and got those pumps running saving my basement. I saved my neighbors basement too!
So what does this inverter do? Basically it inverts power from DC (i.e. a car battery, marine battery or deep cycle battery) to AC (110V) which your appliances need to run. In the case of the car battery hook up, your car acts as a generator (recharging batter via alternator when your car is running).
THE SET UP
I knew very little about this type of equipment, but it was surprisingly easy to set-up. I followed the instructions as listed in the manual. I have replaced car batteries in the past, so maybe that's why this seemed fairly straightforward to me. If you're not familiar with car batteries, you may want someone to assist you. Be safe!
MAKE SURE YOU PURCHASE WIRES! I am referring to the cables/wires that lead from the inverter to your car battery. I didn't purchase them when I bought the inverter. I had to go to the local auto parts store and beg them to build me two about an hour before the storm arrived. This included purchasing the wire and having the proper ends added and crimped which requires a special tool. See manual for gauge required. It depends on the length of wire you need.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE GROUND WIRE (see manual for specs)
THE USE
Once hooked up to your car battery, follow the proper procedure for start-up. Then you just need to plug in your appliances into the 3 outlets provided.
Insure all connections are good!
Turn on inverter and your appliances should be powered!
Fairly simple, right?
TIPS
Purchase Whistler power cables when you purchase the inverter. If you don't, then bring the inverter and manual to a local auto parts or auto electrician to build the wires for you.
If using your car battery, one obviously doesn't want your car running in an attached garage/area without proper airflow AND ventilation. I unfortunately (?) have a detached garage which was a blessing in this case. I had my car half way in with it's tail end sticking out. Kept everything dry and no worries about asphyxiation.
You don't need the car running all the time. However, depending on the appliances you're using and how much you're using them will determine the amount of drain you'll be pulling on your car's battery. If the voltage from your car battery gets too low, the inverter will shut down and an alarm will sound. Nothing will be getting powered once this happens. You'll need to turn off the inverter, start your car engine and turn inverter back on.
Keep an eye on the voltage usage and wattage usage frequently. The alarm is not that loud, so if your neighbor is running a generator you may not hear it.
If running several appliances at once, you may need to some "power management". I was switching in and out pumps in order to avoid any overload (I was also helping a neighbor drain his basement).
Do some homework on the appliances that you're planning to run. Make sure you understand the wattage each needs to run. Remember, certain appliances like sump pumps and refrigerators need a lot more wattage to start-up than run continuously. For example, when my sump pump would start up it would pull close to 2000 Watts. Once it was running, it was only use 700 watts. So imagine your refrigerator and 2 sump pumps happen to start at the same time. You'll probably set off the auto shutdown. So just be aware of those situations.
When turning your inverter on after a shutdown, unplug all cords. Then plug one in, wait a bit, then plug in another...etc. Again, you don't want all appliances starting at same time (even though the 3000W has something like a 5000W peak...why push it???)
BOTTOM LINE:
I would recommend this item!
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This unit does what it promised it would do and more.Very quiet operation and I like the way it turns off when not in use.
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