200W Inverter for $29.99?

[teardrop_focus]

Can a 200W inverter that sells new for @29.99 be any good?

Will the quality be there? Is it noisy?

What do the experts here think?

They're being advertised for sale at the local O'Reilly/Kragen, as per today's junkmail.

[dh]

200W isn't much power, thats only two 100w light bulbs...

I think I saw a better deal in my HF super coupons.

[teardrop_focus]

Right... I'm not going to be trying to power a kitchen blender or anything...

I am looking for something to wire up to the teardrop's 100 amp-hour AGM battery to power some low-wattage chargers for things like my cellphone, electric toothbrush (dentist recommened it! to save what teefs I have left), camera battery, etc.

For the laptop and anything else that might be "clean-power" sensitive I have a $50, 100W inverter designed to power sensitive electronics to be charged/powered from the tow vehicle's battery.


Thanks for your reply, dh... I posted this because in my experience a "better deal" won't always necessarily guarantee a commensurate level of quality.

[starleen2]

This is what I use on the road to charge up my tablet, cell phone, and laptop. Seems to work very well. had it for years without any trouble. I've even ran a satellite receiver and small tv off a car battery during a bad storm when the power went out. Price is right too
Vector VEC 024B 400-Watt D/C to A/C Power Inverter with Power Level Meter

[GuitarPhotog]

You are better off getting 12VDC appliances and chargers. I have chargers for my cell phone, laptop, camera batteries, and double-A cells that all run off 12 VDC directly. It is much more efficient than converting 12 VDC to 120 VAC and then back to a low DC voltage for the gadget.

Inverters are notoriously inefficient and don't do a good job of converting DC to AC, so a lot of your battery watts go up in heat.

The only thing I can't power off 12VDC yet is the electric toothbrush, but the old manual one is fine for a few days at a time.

<Chas>

[Engineer Guy]

I bought this Inverter, and liked the Reviews vs. the reportedly-noisier Black & Decker Inverter @ Wally World:

$26.92 Cobra 400 Watt Inverter @ Amazon

I'm pleased with the Inverter. I plug in a MultiTap Outlet Strip and power/charge several small items at once while driving. My Voltmeter tells me the AC Output is as it should be. The +5 VDC USB Output is a nice plus.

Inverter efficiency is typically ~90%. A good point above is that it is nice to power items directly from +12 VDC or +5 VDC USB [1 Amp max by current USB protocol].

I'm moving to Rechargeable Batteries. Note that 3 - +1.5 VDC Batteries can be charged via USB, skipping the need for 115 VAC. There's also a +12 VDC Cig Lighter Plug -> USB Output at Wally World.

Search Results: USB Accessories

[teardrop_focus]

Thanks, guys! for your excellent replies...

You are better off getting 12VDC appliances and chargers.

With all due respect, I'm better off spending 29.99 and keeping the accesories I have. Thanks, but, you're suggesting I spend much more.

Also, I cannot shop at WalMart; it's against my religion.