Date:         Sat, 23 Sep 1995 18:11:26 -0500 (CDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         dakhlia@wuecona.wustl.edu (Sami Dakhlia)
Subject:      Re: PC300 inverter

Dan Houg asked:

>anyone have experience with the "PC 300" model 110v inverter?  They 
>are about 70$ now and was wondering if anyone has used it.
>
>it is rated for 500watts intermittent and i've heard either 300w or 
>150w continuous...  seems there's a disparity in the rating.

I just tested the PC300 inverter. It clearly says 300 W continuous, 500 W
intermittent, but 150 W is probably closer to the truth.

I ran two gadgets, an old 12 inch black and white TV and a small Black and
Decker sander. The TV is rated at .75 A and ran fine. The 1.6 A sander was
turned on and off repeatedly and sometimes the inverter would deliver and
sometimes it would not. 

"300 W" means that the inverter should be able to deliver 300W/120V=2.5A.
The deep-cycle battery is in good shape as far as I know and should be
well charged thanks to the solar panels. (Bob Hoover: the charge
controller is working and I'll report the good news to the list this
coming week.)

Conclusion: I wish I could return the whimpy PC300 and get the next larger
model. Unfortunately, I already cut off the cigarete lighter adaptor from
the cord for a more permanent installation. :-(

-- 
Sami ('75 Westf.)
dakhlia@wuecona.wustl.edu
http://wuecon.wustl.edu/~samid/