'Go Power' Pure Sine Inverter ?

[SvenG]

We're thinking about taking the leap and getting the GP-SW2000-12 by GO POWER ELECTRIC.

The 2000W continuous should run down our batteries pretty quickly but also occasionally power the small power tools we're bringing along.

Any first hand impressions, or even second hand, regarding that particular manufacturer ? I did notice that it does not seem to be set up for being hard wired into the 110 circuitry but uses plugs instead.

Many thanks,



-Sven

[foggysail]

I recommend a hard wired connection as it appear you also do. Last summer I purchased a Xantrex 1KW sinewave inverter. It has a typical
AC outlet. If doing it again, I would purchase something else even though this has not give me any trouble.

Foggy

[Mark Johnson]

We have concentrated on power conservation rather than production. It is by far the best bang for your buck. We have vacuum panels on the 12V fridge, LED or fluorescent lights, (Incl. the anchor light), a small power survivor water maker, etc. And, our 280W of solar panels alone, keep up nicely, about 350 days out of the year.

All of my power tools are of the low voltage battery type, and I re-charge them with a hardwired 120W pure sine wave inverter! (Ni Cad battery packs frequently, but not always, require a pure sine wave. I have the inverter switched OFF 95% of the time, and for recharging these batteries, or running a DVD player, the 120W inverter is sufficient.

A 2,000 W inverter! Wow... unless you plan to furnish your boat like an apartment, this is excessive, just to have power tools... When one does hardwire in an inverter, a little known fact... Not only does it use power when switched on, (even with NO load), but the number of sockets energized, (even with no load on them), the more the amps drawn by the inverter goes up.

So, it's best to only turn on the inverter when you need it, but switch off ALL AC sockets except for the one that you are using at that moment. I know, I know, why would an energized socket with no load use more amps? It just does, that's why.

Especially in marine electronics: The simpler the better, The lower power draw the better, (crimped then soldered & heat shrunk eye terminals, and well fastened) wiring is better,
The less combining of uses the better, never scrimp on wire size or quality, and enter into a "ships procedure manual" every mechanical, plumbing, or electrical addition. Never rely on your memory about: "How did I do this"?

It is always better to avoid interfacing electronics as well as combining. Our dockside charger is separate from the inverter, and the inverter never comes on "automatically". This way, if one unit fails, the others don't do down with them.

Hope this helps, Mark

[AnchorageGuy]

Sven, We tried the Go Power before we sent it back and replaced it with our current inverter. The manufacturer was not helpful in resolving the problem, which was that no matter how we wired the inverter into our electrical panel, the reverse polarity light stays on. Go Power simply said that these units are not designed to use on a boat but were built for the RV market and we should send it back, which we did. Chuck

[rourkeh]

If you want reliable pure sine wave power think Zantrex (bad customer service) or Victron (best available).
Mark you would get a double WOW out of my boat. I have 1100 amp hrs in the house bank alone, and a 3000 watt inverter.

[David M]

A 2000 watt inverter is the rough equivalent of a household 120 volt, 15 amp outlet. This is the least you would want for big power tools, larger microwaves etc that start coming close to drawing 15 amps. You might find yourself not having enough current at times with a 1000 watt inverter. Don't expect to get more than about 7-8 amps of 120 VAC out of one.

A 3000 watt inverter is good enough for two medium sized AC loads.

It's true, some AC loads cannot take a modified square wave. Fortunately true sine wave inverters, or very close to it, are coming down in price.