Cheap VECTOR VEC 043 750-Watt Power Inverter (VECTOR VEC043) (Electronics) Price

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Customer Reviews of VECTOR VEC 043 750-Watt Power Inverter (VECTOR VEC043)

The important facts in a nutshell
It took me days and days of searching the web to become informed enough to make a decision as to which power converter to buy. Let me share with you a summary of the important things to know. <
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>TYPES OF OUTPUT <
>Your AC equipment is designed for a sine wave, but only the very expensive power converters produce a true sine wave output. The cheapest AC power converters produce a square wave output. A mid price AC power converter (like the VEC043) produces a modified wave. Besides the price impact, there are trade-offs of what type of equipment you can use for square wave or modified wave. <
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>Power tools have an AC/DC motor that works with all 3-types of outputs. If you only want to use power tools get the very cheap square wave power converter. <
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>AC motors such as refrigerators need a modified wave. AC motors under heavy load can not start to spin using a square wave and even if it does "spin up," it will probably shorten the life of the AC motor to use a square wave. <
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>The most sensitive AC equipment must use the true sine wave power converters. The worse case equipment is a cheap stereo or TV and their performance with a square wave power converter is completely unacceptable. A modified wave will work with all stereos and TV's, but some of the cheaper units will have a 60 cycle buzz in the sound and snow in the picture. <
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>The VEC043 power converter performs well with most stereos and TV's, but not all of them, especially the cheapest units. It works with your power tools, AC motors, and computers. I personally felt it was the overall best choice, but if you want a true sine wave output, then be prepared to pay the big bucks! <
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>LINKS TO PICTURES OF THE TYPES OF OUTPUT <
>Sine wave: http://www.energyusernews.com/EUN/FILES/IMAGES/82710.jpg <
>Square wave: http://users.uma.maine.edu/faculty/rsm/slides/chap4/f4-3b.gif <
>Modified wave: http://www.baintech.com.au/assets/images/square_wave.jpg <
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>NOISE <
>All of the manufactures write about the electrical noise of their power converters, but it is the audio noise that is important to me personally. I have a friend who uses a power converter in his car on a daily basis. He just bought a new Black and Decker power converter, and he says it is much quieter than his first power converter was. His Black and Decker power converter makes a whining sound that reminds me of a dentist drill, and I don't like it! <
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>There is a small fan in the VEC043 and it makes a little more noise than my laptop, and about the same noise as my desktop computer or the kitchen refrigerator. Best of all, there is no whining sound. <
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>CAR BATTERY <
>Everything electrical on your car is specified to work down to a minimum of 10.5 volts. Less than 10.5 and your car may not start. The VEC043 has an audio alarm that sounds at 10.6 volts. Nice feature!!! <
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>Running the battery down below 10 volts is very stressful to the battery and may even damage the battery. The VEC043 shuts off at 10 volts which is another nice feature. <
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>SPECIFICATIONS FROM THE VEC043 MANUAL <
>Output: 2 AC outlets (110VAC RMS 60 Hz @ 6.8 amps) <
>Output protection: self-resetting breaker <
>Output power: 750 watts continuous (1500 watts peak) <
>Input: 10.5 to 15.5 Volts DC <
>Input protection: internal fuses <
>Reverse input polarity protection: none <
>Connection: battery clips only <
>Low voltage alarm: sounds at 10.6 volts <
>Low voltage cut off: occurs at 10.0 volts <
>Weight: 3 lbs (1.35 kg) <
>Length: 10.7 in. (27.2 cm) <
>Width: 6.25 in. (15.9 cm) <
>Height: 1.75 in. (4.5 cm) <
>Warranty: 2 year limited <
>Operating temperature: 30 to 105 degrees F (-1 to 40 degrees C) <
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