Jaycar Powertech 300W 12V Sine Wave Inverter

Handy inverter for small appliances – Purchased this inverter to enable running a small TV, powered TV antenna system, led lighting when either camping or in particular during power cuts which are unpredictable but becoming more common. This unit is only 300w (1.3amp ac) which is sufficient to run our small 26" tv and the TV antenna distributor (low power antenna distribution splitter) during power cuts - also has enough power to run a small laptop etc. hence buying the "Pure sine wave" version for sensitive instruments - A "modified sine wave" inverter of similar output is about $30 cheaper but wouldn't risk running sensitive equipment with that (maybe lighting only)

The unit is designed to hook directly onto a 12v battery, but I have wired a 15amp cigarette light adapter plug into a lead and connected it to my 12v jump starter pack which also acts as a 12v DC power source (can run a car fridge for a few hours) so I don't need to hook directly to a battery, though hooking direct to a 12v battery of say 100amps would give you a long run time depending on the appliance wattage. For my small TV, I calculate I will easily get about 5-6 hours out of my jump starter pack which is usually enough to get through an average power cut.

It's a no-frills inverter, does the job, doesn't pretend to be anything it's not, has a usb outlet socket, on off switch and led lights to indicate good to go or any faults. It is overload and input reverse polarity protected and connects directly to a battery with the supplied alligator clip cable. 300W is enough power for many small-medium devices and provides 600W surge power provides support for essential start-up loads (this would be short duration start up surge, not sustained 600W)

Features: • Quick Charge USB Port • Includes Battery Lead with Alligator Clips • Very Portable and Easy Operation (simple to use) • Surge Power: 600W Surge • Low Battery Alarm: 10.5±0.5V • Low Battery Shutdown: 10.0±0.5V • High Battery Shutdown: 15.5±1.0V

Pros: . Portable inverter, compact size . Pure sine wave (good for sensitive appliances) . 300W good for a lot of small appliances . Simple to use - not complicated. . Overload and input polarity protection

Cons . Would have been good with plug in socket for 12v connector lead with a cigarette adapter. plug as well as the battery clamps. . Would like to have seen an LCD screen to show power consumption rate (watts for the appliance connected)