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(More customer reviews)Beware of all those talking about failures of the inverter - one guy says that he returned his, because two 70Ah batteries couldn't power it to run a 1/2 horsepower motor.
Well...guys, there are a few things you need to know about inverters before buying a big one...which does NOT directly substitute for a generator! The little ones are WAY DIFFERENT than the big ones.
First off, at 2500-watts, you are pulling 200+ amps across the wire...so, unless you are hard-wired with some 4/0 solid-strand wire, you really need to go with DOUBLE 4-AWG strand wires...basically, buy TWO sets of 4-AWG jumper cables, and after you cut the ends off both, then run double-strand (both red AND black) of a complete set to EACH POST of the inverter...yes guys, that's a LOT of wire...and due to heat, I wouldn't run that more than 5-6 feet!
Now...batteries...let's laugh at the guy trying to get 1600 watts of batteries to run a 2500 watt inverter...and consider what you REALLY NEED...for deep cycle batteries rated on the 20-Ah system, and rated at, say 500-Amps, then buy 6 of these and wire them in PARALLEL circuit to power the inverter. Yep...$600 in deep cycle batteries! Now, you have enough batteries to power the inverter for 2-6 hours, depending on loading, before you will need to recharge your 6-battery bank. Plan on a charger that can throw 50-100 amps into the charge...so your little $50 Schumacher charger is NOT going to charge this battery bank overnight! Try more like a $300 charger to charge them in 12-hours...or, if you want solar, good...you need to throw about 70-amps of charge into these for 12-hours solid...so that is $300-$500 in solar panels. Also note...batteries get weak after enough cycles...so pay attention to your charge circuit...and a charging circuit MINDER isn't a bad idea, either!
How do I know this? Because these are all the big troubles encountered when I was a Director of Engineering for an RV Manufacturer...and when you get over 1500-Watts of inverter involved...you start playing by a whole new set of rules! It is MUCH CHEAPER to go with a 3000-watt generator, than to even CONSIDER getting a 2500-watt inverter.
This is a good inverter...but buying one this big and not knowing how to care for and maintain it, is like buying a big chemistry set and giving it without supervision to your mischievous 12-year old...it is NOT a good idea.
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