Power Inverter Cobra 1500w

Hello Guys,
I decided to buy this to replace my 800W inverter so that I can use my 1000w toaster and a couple of other appliances that range from 800 to 1200w. I won't use them all at the same time though. One at a time.

Any one have this brand & if so, are you happy with Cobra?





Thanks

 

My guess is that you will be replacing the alternator and probably the battery as well on a regular bases with that large of a inverter. While it is your choice to use an inverter that large you might also consider a small generator. A 2000 watt is not that expensive. In fact some are cheaper than a new alternator.
http://www.walmart.com/search/searc...l0=e&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=33032707056&wl4=&veh=sem

 

You think so? I was thinking about that too but I wonder how bad because I don't plan to run it this way continuously. Just enough to toast bread or heat up food. BTW, The generator suggetion is a good idea.

 

+1

1000watts at 120v is 8.3 amps.
That translates to 83 amps at 12vdc, plus parasitic losses in the inverter.

It's going to basically need a 100amp supply source. It will overload the alternator.

 

It is gonna pull a lot of juice. If you add another battery it'll at least lessen the immediate demand from the alt. and likely let it live longer. If you're going to load it that heavily very often then a small gen. makes sense. If you're limited for space and gotta go inverter install a dedicated alt. & batt. for 'house' use or carry a spare alt. just in case.

 

BTW, if one of those appliances happens to be a microwave, beware that many of them don't like the square wave output of that inverter. I've heard that small mechanically controlled ones will live on inverter power, the old twist dial kind, but are more inefficient on it. Brushless motors do horribly on them as well. A good true sine wave inverter will run everything, and run your wallet dry and still require a metric fuckton of amps.....give or take. The small harbor freight two stroke generators are small light and cheap, but I think they're only rated for 800 watts. It might put out more or just make the toaster less powerful while overloading the gen., but they're cheap and you can get extended warranties for them.

 

It seems like I'll just keep my current 800 watt inverter (since it's already installed) & buy a small generator instead. I don't want to damage my truck (I drive alot & don't want to get stranded).

There's a dual battery kit for Tacomas but at the end of it all I would have spent about $700. I'd rather buy a good 2000w generator. Any recommendations?

Thank you all for all the info. I was about to pull the trigger on the purchase but I'm leaning more & more to the generator.

 

Honda 1500 is compact, super quiet, and can run a traffic signal for 6 hours.

 

Honda makes a ridiculously quiet generator.

 

That's more than what I planned on spending but from what I have read & everyones recommendations, they are well worth it!

I'd rather save up the money, do it right, & not mess with my trucks reliability.

Thank you VERY much.

 

BTW,
The 1500 & the 2000 are not that different in price so I'll save up for the 2000W.

 

There's a knock off of the Honda, I believe it's kipor or something like that. My brother had one and I've talked to a few campers that use them. They are the same weight and quietness (undetectable difference) of the Honda at a much lower price. They are inverter units like the Honda so the downside is still the square wave output, the upside is smoother, quieter, more fuel efficient. If you're not going to run it a lot I'd save the money and buy a non-inverter type as the slightly higher noise and fuel used won't be a big issue.

 

Inverter generators are sine wave, you pay for the quiet Honda's and Yamaha are far quieter then the cheaper ones. Look at the noise figures only 3db is double the noise level. If you don't care about the noise buy the cheap one and hope it doesn't break.

 

Quality inverter generators are sine wave. Not sure I would trust the knock-off.

Like I said... we run our traffic signals off of the Honda 1500. They are microprocessor controlled.

 

I'll look into those but I'm still leaning towards Honda. Also, from what I have read Honda is Sine wave.

 

What about using a 1500W inverter like tis in a tow-package equipped truck w/130A alternator & HD battery?

 

1500 watts is 125 amps doesn't leave you much to keep the lights burning. You really need 2 batteries it you are going to draw that much power for any length of time.

 

The Kipor used to be about 1/2 price of a Honda, now it's 2/3 price but has the same exact noise level, is true sine wave, and same weight. As good as a honda, probably not. Using it a couple hours a month I doubt you could wear out even the cheesiest $100 generator from harbor freight. Kipor started out trying to copy the Honda, they were even red. My brother's got used pretty hard on his boat and he sold it when he upgraded boats and had a built it gen. He got over half of new price first day on CL. Kipor, yamaha, and honda all have 2 year warrantees, kipor's the only one without hour limitation. All three have proven reliable. A great source for comparisons is on camping forums.

 

It ain't no Honda and it's not as quiet the noise figures are deceiving you need to look at the full load figures at the same distance. All inverter generators are sine wave. All 3600 RPM noisy cheapo non inverter generators are sine wave. Kipor is not a bad generator neither is a Champion (big RV following) but hands down Honda and Yamaha are the bench marks.

 

Basically maineah & DONZIgt230,
Don't get blinded by "the name" without looking at the facts. Good point. You guys make valid points. I will do my research on all of these before I spend my money.

Thanks for all the advice.