It works... and if you watch long enough it's dirt cheap!
I lucked out and got it for $18 shipped from an 'e-blast' email newsletter.
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http://www.newegg.com/Here's the inverter on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882021068&cm_re=inverter-_-82-021-068-_-ProductAnd here's Rosewill's page for the inverter:
http://www.rosewill.com/products/1185/productDetail.htmIt came packed well enough with the inverter inside a bubble wrap envelope. newegg's packing could have been a bit better... but I ordered 2 and both seem to work.
A cigar lighter plug and alligator clip supply lines are both included and a spare 40 amp fuse along with a somewhat “chinglish†version of an owner's manual which might be of help to someone who's a newbie to inverters but otherwise is fairly useless.
The fan is loud and pulls 220 ma sitting in standby. To help with the noise and power consumption I installed this circuit.
This circuit isn't sophisticated by any means but it works.
The only problem is the voltage drop caused by the circuit and once the load is turned off the fan's RPM will ramp up again but quickly come down as the temperature drops.
I have it set so the fan is just turning when the power is switched on but the RPM will ramp up with higher temperatures.
I ran the unit without the fan and monitored the temperature and even at 410 watts the unit only got to around 140°F so the unit I tested is pretty cool running and there's plenty of heat sink material.
The 410 watts was low/low settings on a hair dryer and the inverter couldn't spin the hair dryer's fan at the same speed as when it was connected to the grid and the heating element didn't seem to get as hot.
I've tested a TV, stereo, and boom box and noticed a little interference on the TV when I was using an extension cord but it cleared up by moving the extension cord around and disappeared completely when I plugged the TV directly into the inverter. I noticed no interference on the stereo or boom box, even on the AM band.
It also ran some CFLs and a couple of box fans but the box fan motors did buzz a little. I didn't run the fans long enough to test for over heating.
Reading the reviews on newegg seems to show that Rosewill will stand behind their product and try and make the customer satisfied but I've never tried and can't say for sure that they will.
I am now using this inverter in my pedal generator system which can be viewed
here along with more information on the thermal circuit.
I have no affiliation with newegg.com or Rosewill products except for retail purchases.
