Subject: GMC PROwatt 800/TC 40

[d. winchtester]

I purchased the Statpower combo in January and at that time the inverter
they offered was 1800 watts, the price was about the same. The pair seems
to work great, I also decided that for the price difference I did not need
the +. I use two 30 amp switching boxes and a little innovative wiring to
make all of the switching from shore power to gen to inverter automatic.
Switch boxes were $60 each. Was able to use existing breaker boxes in
wiring since I already had two individual boxes. If a person has two A/Cs
then one box would need to be 50amps. The switch boxes have a time delay so
that when starting generator there is a delay for generator to get up to
speed before the load is switched to it. Still can't run the microwave
since my battery voltage sags below the cutoff point for the inverter with
that kind of load. When these batteries give up I will get some heavier
duty ones that can handle that kind of load.

Dan Winchester
78 royale
Portland Oregon

 

[richard waters]

Dan,
Gee, it seems that the longer one waits to buy a refurbished Statpower item, the

higher the price becomes!

Based on the feedback I've received here, it would appear that I did make the
correct choice with the TC40 unit. It does seem questionable about the PROwatt
800
at this point. I but I figured that inverter cost me less then $100 and I think
I paid close
to that for a 250 watt inverter last Summer.

Good thing I didn't plan on running the microwave. It's kind of misleading
however that
Statpower's web site suggests that the 800 watt unit could run a "small
microwave".

Where did you get the "30 amp switching boxes"?

Thanks,
Richard
'76 PB
Troy, MI
- --------

> I purchased the Statpower combo in January and at that time the inverter
> they offered was 1800 watts, the price was about the same. The pair seems
> to work great, I also decided that for the price difference I did not need
> the +. I use two 30 amp switching boxes and a little innovative wiring to
> make all of the switching from shore power to gen to inverter automatic.
> Switch boxes were $60 each. Was able to use existing breaker boxes in
> wiring since I already had two individual boxes. If a person has two A/Cs
> then one box would need to be 50amps. The switch boxes have a time delay so
> that when starting generator there is a delay for generator to get up to
> speed before the load is switched to it. Still can't run the microwave
> since my battery voltage sags below the cutoff point for the inverter with
> that kind of load. When these batteries give up I will get some heavier
> duty ones that can handle that kind of load.
>
> Dan Winchester
> 78 royale
> Portland Oregon