WZRELB Pure Sine Wave 2000 Watt (4000W Surge) 48V Power Inverter DC to 120 AC 60Hz,Off-Grid Solar Back Up Power

I purchased the 3000w 36v 60 hz inverterI purchased this so that I could have a way to get a clean energy backup power supply in the event we lose power (I am in CA and our power grid gets shut of regularly for high winds and fires). The theory is that I'd be able to run a more sensitive item, like a computer, off of this inverter. We are using a 36v array of golf cart batteries, which are still in the golf cart. Why not? Seems like a great power supply, just sitting around 95% of the time.The first inverter took about a week to arrive. We decided that instead of wiring it directly to the batteries, we would create a cable with a charger plug on one end, and then wire the other ends to the back off the inverter. We used #2 wires. This way, I can simply plug the unt into the golf cart, and then turn it on when needed. We also upgraded the wres behind the charging port.The first unit did not work. We tested it in two different carts, using different wires and connection points. The unit shut off each time a load was applied, and then slowly ramped back up, bu then shut off again at around 20v outgoing voltage. It appeared that some sort of voltage regulator component was not functioning properly. We took the cover off to see if there were any obvious problems but didn't see any.So I emailed Reliable through Amazon and got a response within 24 hours. After about a half dozen or so emails, we had not reached a solution, so they told me they would ship a new inverter for free. The new unit arrived only two days later.I hooked it up using the same homemade charging port plug/wire combo and it worked perfectly! First, I tested it with a 1500w electric hot water kettle. Worked fine so far. Then while the water was heating, I plugged in an oil heater tht had 600w, 900w and 1500w settings. I clicked through the settings and watched the unit carefully to see how low the outgoing voltage would drop. At the 1500w setting, I was also still running the 1500w water kettle for a total of 3000w, maxing out the unit. It still worked fine, the outgoing voltage dropped to about 108/109v which was just within the safe level. The inverter fans came on, cooling the unit (which was also sitting in direct sun.Based on that test, and the customer service, I'm happy. You need to be willing to work with the company a tad on troubleshooting before they will send a new unit, and that seems very fair. I have not tested the unit to see if it will run my computer, but I plan on doing so shortly. My only hope is that it will last a long time.

I'm very happy with this inverter.Initially I used it off grid with the outlets on the back to run a few small things, but have since wired it into my house breaker panel. It ran everything I expected without any problem. e.g. the full size french door fridge / freezer (around 900W when the compressor kicks on), HVAC furnace (950W), microwave (1600W), kettle (1800W), coffee machine (1500W), lights, TV, etc. It was all very smooth, with no flickering lights or anything. The device has a beefy fan that kicked on some but it's in the garage so no big deal, and frankly I'm happy it has one!Before you buy, audit the devices you expect to power so as to have reasonable expectations. I purchased this inverter knowing full well it was not sized to run the HVAC condenser (5000W) or dryer (6000W) which are clearly beyond it's 3000W continuous rating, and that's just fine. While the next model up (7000W) would have run them, my battery bank would have needed an upgrade also.

Executive Summary: All three inverters were able to power my Black &Decker portable Air Conditioner. This is a 120VAC unit that is labeled 9AMPS, (which equates to 1080 watts). However, there were some very notable differences among the inverters so let's drill down.But first, how to size an inverter that will work with your AC? if you're going to power an appliance such as an air conditioner, refrigerator, motor, or any "inductive" load you have to be aware that the startup current draw of these devices is far higher than the current used once they have turned on. You will often see advice that the start up current may be 3-7 times or more than the normal draw. Problem is that's not a practical range to determine what size inverter to purchase so you have to know about this one simple trick. You want to beg, borrow or steal a voltmeter that has a feature for measuring current. These are often meters that have a clamp that goes around one lead of the electrical cord of the appliance you wish to measure. Furthermore, the clamping AMP meter must have a way to lock or 'freeze' the highest reading.My amp meter read 27A when I turned on my AC unit. So I multiplied 27A * 120V to obtain the amount of watts (power) the unit draws at max current, which comes to 3240W. You want a reading in watts because wattage is how the power is stated for all these inverters.Once I went through the trouble to learn how much power my AC unit draws on startup I was able to size an inverter to run it. I needed an inverter that made at least a continuous 1080W and could make at least 3240W for a few moments. The closest match I found with a 4.5 or better star rating was a 2000W inverter that has the ability handle a peak load of 4000W (I never buy products 4 stars or less). A unit with those specification should theoretically power my AC unit, but for giggles I also ordered two 3000W inverters that can handle a burst to 6000W. Final note, for air conditioners or anything with electronics you want a PURE SINE WAVE inverter.I have a 48VDC battery so here's what I bought:1) XYZ INVT 2000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter - 48V DC to AC 120V with 15ft Remote Controller, Surge Power 4000w, Power Converter for Solar System, Off Grid. (2000W 48V/Remote). $299.2) WZRELB 3000Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter 48V DC to 120V AC with 2 AC Outlets + AC Connect Terminal Block, 2 Sets of Battery Cables for RV, Solar Syste, Camping. $429. (THIS ITEM UNDER REVIEW)3) Xijia 3000W (Peak Power 6000W) Pure Sine Wave Inverter DC 48V to AC 120V 60HZ Solar Converter for Home Use car (DC 48V to AC 120V 60HZ 3000W). $310.Before sharing my notes about each individual model please be aware of a few things in common with all these inverters.a) First, all the manuals are in Chinglish, which is no surprise. But they do give you basic information, and really, there's not much involved to hook these things up. Do read the safety tips however.b) When connecting the inverters to my battery a huge spark was produced when the cable was connected to the battery. I have experience but was still surprised at the size of the spark. It acted like there was a dead short at the inverter. But no, when I touched the cable a second time there was no spark, and after tightening the cable to the battery each inverter powered on just fine. I must stress that the inverters were turned OFF, there was nothing plugged into the AC outlet on the inverters, and there were no instructions in any of the manuals indicating I should have hooked up the battery differently (I attached the positive and negative cables to the respective connectors on the inverter, then connected the other end of the negative cable to the negative battery terminal, and finally connected the positive cable to the battery... and that's when sparks flew.I suspect that the sparking was due to the onboard capacitors of the inverter charging up. That would explain the large current draw even if the inverter was switched off. However, it is possible to design around this issue. Certainly my main Magnum 60A inverter doesn't do this when hooked up. So I'm assuming these "Cheap Chinese" inverters aren't equipped with requisite the circuitry to prevent such sparking, which was bad enough to pit the electrode on my battery (see photo).c) Some of the inverters come with a wired remote, allowing you to turn the inverter ON/OFF from a remote location (just a few feet though). Other than convenience, should you care? In one case, yes. If you need to add some type of cutoff switch to turn off the inverter when the batteries are near drained then having at least the socket for remote on/off is nice because it is a low current device. Without one, you must use a relay (mechanical or electronic) large enough to interrupt the current flowing from the battery to the inverter. I've seen solid state relays on Amazon that can handle the current, but buried in the manual it states not to use with inverters! A better solution would be a much less expensive solid state relay that would just trigger the remote contacts to switch the inverter off.1) XYZ INVT 2000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter - 48V DC to AC 120V with 15ft Remote Controller, Surge Power 4000w, Power Converter for Solar System, Off Grid. (2000W 48V/Remote). $299.Based on other reviews I was surprised a 2000W inverter would start my AC unit but it did. The XYZ unit has a couple of deal killers though. For one, the Amazon photos show a plastic cover for the bare AC leads provided on the front of the inverter. My unit arrived with no cover, so the leads are exposed. This may or may not bother some folks. But what had me hitting the return button was that the AC voltage jumped all over the place. With a steady load, the meter on the inverter hit a low of 95VAC and a high of 126VAC. And this was measured within one minute's time. Again, the air conditioner had already been on for a while and was not cycling on/off. A 2000W inverter should not have that kind of trouble with an 1100W load.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------2) WZRELB 3000Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter 48V DC to 120V AC with 2 AC Outlets + AC Connect Terminal Block, 2 Sets of Battery Cables for RV, Solar Syste, Camping. $429. (THIS ITEM UNDER REVIEW)The WZRELB inverter is clearly made by the same company that makes the XYZ inverter. The boxing, packaging, and manuals are similar. Moreover, this unit too was missing the cover over the bare AC terminals. Ha ha.Both this model and the XYZ come with four battery cables. The cables must be doubled-up -two positive and two negative- to be attached to the battery and to the inverter. Weird, but not a deal breaker.This inverter did start my AC unit just fine, and the voltage stayed perfectly stable.-------------------------------------------------------------------------3) Xijia 3000W (Peak Power 6000W) Pure Sine Wave Inverter DC 48V to AC 120V 60HZ Solar Converter for Home Use car (DC 48V to AC 120V 60HZ 3000W). $310. (THIS ITEM UNDER REVIEW)This inverter behaved well. It had no trouble turning on the AC unit, and voltage was stable. This is the inverter I chose to keep. It only cost $11 more than the 2000W unit, so even if the XYZ had not had the voltage variations, why not choose the higher power unit? This inverter is also $120 cheaper than the other 3000W unit. For all I know the $429 inverter may have $120 worth of improvements over this inverter. To be fair, one reviewer put the $429 unit on an oscilloscope and was very impressed with its output. That particular model though did not have a remote receptacle, an important feature for me.This unit also makes use of twin cables for positive and negative battery connections. However the cables are terminated with one connector.The reviews are generally favorable for this inverter. One reviewer doesn't like the weird, single 7-way outlet. But the standard USA AC plug on my AC fit nice and tight. That reviewer thought the inverter should have two outlets given that it puts out 60A. But I would point out that is only PEAK power. 25A is max for a continuous load. Use a power strip if need be.I also like that one reviewer had his unit since DEC 2017, and it is still going strong.END