600 Watt Pure Sine or 800 Watt Modified Sine?

[Bondad]

I have an opportunity to acquire either a xantex power watt 600 watt pure sine wave inverter OR an 800 watt Cobra modified sine inverter. It will be used for tv, laptops, phones, a small fan and a small vacuum and hooked directly to the a battry bank with less than 2 feet of wire . Given the choice, what would you choose and why?

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by Bondad

I have an opportunity to acquire either a xantex power watt 600 watt pure sine wave inverter OR an 800 watt Cobra modified sine inverter. It will be used for tv, laptops, phones, a small fan and a small vacuum and hooked directly to the a battry bank with less than 2 feet of wire . Given the choice, what would you choose and why?

Always opt for pure sine wave. Motors hate MSW and the inverter often dies when it encounters a motor. Make certain the vac does not draw more that the inverter can deliver. Besides, MSW inverters put out "dirty" power and that is why they cost less. You get what you pay for.

[halfwright]

For the sensitive equipment that you are going to run, I would go with a pure sine.

[Clay L]

I went with the Xantrex ProWatt SW 600 pure sinewave inverter. My use is similar to yours except I don't use a vacuum cleaner on it.
The 540 watts was more than enough for my application.
I had about an 8 foot run to and from the battery and used 4 gauge cable. A higher wattage unit would have required a larger wire.

[wa8yxm]

Well since you want to use it for the TV. I would go with the Pure Sine Wave,, but.. that said... The MSW MIGHT work.

The other consideration is this. You mentioned a clock and a small vacuum.

The Clock may or may not keep proper time on the MSW (Some run fast, like 3 times fast) and the vacuum may draw more power than the True Sine wave can provide.

In fact, that small vacuum may need a serious kick in the starter current and be beyond both of them.

[twinboat]

My Dell laptop power brick didn't like the modified sine wave inverter, It got hot. After I changed to a Pure sine wave, it ran cool like before.

[vsheetz]

PSW always technically preferred over MSW. That said, a MSW can be less capital cost and get a job done. I run computers, TV, microwave, sewing machines, etc. from MSW units.

[Bondad]

Thanks everyone. Looks like the obvious choice is the xantex pure! That's the one I'll take. Just hoping the difference between the 600 and 800 watts is not an issue.

I really love this site!

[Bumps]

I [also] recommend the Pure Sine Wave option -- As long as you are aware of with the wattage limitation, you will never be second-guessing it if/when you start to see gremlins in your other electronics down-th- road. \ken

[terry735001]

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