Page 1 of 1

Caution on inveriers

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 5:43 pm
by RustyPW
Caution on inverters. Was reading on a rv forum about some problems people were having. There are 2 types of inverters. A TSW (true sine wave), and a MSW (modified sine wave). It seems that the MSW does not play well with modern digital electronics. People are losing their coffee makers (K-cup type) and other electronics. :shock: It was traced back to their inverter type. The TSW inverters have no problems. I know people here are using inverters for their fridges and other stuff. I figure to give you guys a heads up. Here's a quote from the thread. This is only a part of the thread.

Generic info:
Iinverters come in 2x2.sizes types
First division
True sine wave or Modified sine wave. True is by far the best.. In the old days Xantrex, who makes both, had a document on their web site titled things that may not work properly on MSW inverters.. It was a LONG list of things and growing faster than they could update it.. Even LED nightlights are on the list believe it or not.

TSW (Also known as Pure Sine Wave) the list was much shorter.. In fact it had only one entry (Common to both lists by the way)

EVERYTHING, even my most sensitive radio receiver works just fine with the TSW inverter on and working, ONLY thing that ever gave me a problem was a deffective to began with coffee pot.. It has since been replaced..twice. (First replacement wore out, I'm a coffee-holic don't you know)

Now, to the comments:
Some of the MSW inverters out there are el-cheapo pieces of .... Avoid them.

But when you get a True Sine Inverter with a decent 3-stage charger module... I've yet to see one of those that was crap. All were well designed. Of course with the influx of China products.. that may change some day soon, or not.

Re: Caution on inveriers

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 10:17 pm
by DamageWagon
Good subject to mention. The biggest risk we have is our laptop. Laptop chargers need tries sine wave or you can kill the laptop. Finding a dedicated 12v charger is better if there is one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Caution on inveriers

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 10:26 pm
by Mule007
Good information !! Thank you for the heads up,,,,much appreciated

Re: Caution on inveriers

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 11:24 am
by OffroadTreks
Magnum is a great product, and made in the USA, their prices though reflect that. Samalex makes their inverters in China, but they are equal quality. I have had one of their Pure Shines in my Airstream for a year and a half, no problems, and 600 watts.

Re: Caution on inveriers

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 11:36 am
by Low_Sky
Does anyone know with 100% certainty that the 110 outlet that Ram is putting in the dashboard is MSW? I'm 99.5% sure it is, but I'm no expert.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Caution on inveriers

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 12:25 pm
by DamageWagon
Low_Sky wrote:Does anyone know with 100% certainty that the 110 outlet that Ram is putting in the dashboard is MSW? I'm 99.5% sure it is, but I'm no expert.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would always assume it is MSW until proven otherwise. TSW is much more expensive. It can be checked by using an oscilloscope though. TSW has a smooth sine wave, whereas MSW uses a block pattern that switches instantly from + to -


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Caution on inveriers

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 9:59 pm
by RustyPW
2 diagrams of the sine waves.

Re: Caution on inveriers

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 7:26 pm
by Limamikemike
We've got a mod sine xantrex 1800w in our trailer and have been running a mini keurig and a LCD tv on it for a couple of years. No issues, I have heard that it can mess with anything that uses a clock though.