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Old 01-22-2015, 01:13 AM   #1
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Modified Sine Wave...what DOESN'T work with it?

I have read far more than I care to admit about inverters...including the manufacturers hype about "Your (fill in the blank here) may not run on MSW, so you better spend more $$$ for PSW". What seems to be hard to come by, is real world FACTS about what items don't run on MSW. If you have found any issues with MSW inverters not running your equipment 100% perfectly, then please list it here.

Or, kindly direct me to this information if you know where to find it.
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Old 01-22-2015, 07:53 AM   #2
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My TV was problematic, although I didn't mind the weird line in the video near the bottom of the screen, I couldn't stand the audio whine. I couldn't understand what was being said over the whine.

Some electronics can handle the MSW better than others. It's almost a try it and see. I'd rather just spend the $ now on a PSW and be done with it.

As an aside, I had a temperature controlled heating pad that never worked right on the MSW inverter, but operates perfectly on the PSW.
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Old 01-22-2015, 08:56 PM   #3
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Go look up one of many threads on this on the Wind Sun forum. Personally I almost burned up a X10 module. Others have had problems with small appliance battery chargers, like razors.
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Old 01-23-2015, 01:19 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by techntrek View Post
Go look up one of many threads on this on the Wind Sun forum. Personally I almost burned up a X10 module. Others have had problems with small appliance battery chargers, like razors.

Thank you for the link. At first, it seemed like just more of the same old stuff, but eventually I found some very good related information.
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Old 01-23-2015, 12:42 PM   #5
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Whats the difference between a MSW and a PSW?
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Old 01-23-2015, 01:03 PM   #6
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This link has some pictures to show the differance.
Sine Wave Inverters - Australia's Best Value 12V Power Inverters
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Old 01-23-2015, 01:43 PM   #7
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Short answer, pure sine wave (PSW, also called true sine wave), gives you power identical to and sometimes better than what you get from the power company. Modified sine wave was the first generation of inverter technology and the power is much "dirtier" than PSW. It is still available today because it is cheaper than PSW, but the cost of PSW is so much lower most people just go right for PSW.

Downsides of MSW is motors run less efficiently (and hotter), microwaves run less efficiently, some equipment can be damaged by it.
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Old 01-23-2015, 01:48 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smarks1632 View Post
Whats the difference between a MSW and a PSW?
Pure sine wave is much closed to a 110v cycle. where Moderated sine way has a lot more flat areas. Only way to go PSW, cost more but much better for todays electronics.
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Old 01-23-2015, 01:56 PM   #9
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Actually modern electronic's power supplies are designed to accept awful power quality, many will even accept DC voltage. That said, sound and video equipment may display/emit noise when run from MSW.

This applies to traditional generators vs. inverter-generators. I've seen a lot of claims that modern electronics must be run from the clean output of inverter-generators, when most don't need it at all. One usual exception is many modern furnaces must receive clean power and the generator must be neutral-ground bonded - and most smaller gensets aren't unless you modify them.
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Old 01-23-2015, 04:54 PM   #10
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spend the money on psw and you have no worries. I read all the post and shopped and shopped and just bit the bullet and have been very happy with my 2200w psw
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Old 01-23-2015, 10:17 PM   #11
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I have a Magnum 2500W MSW. So far I haven't found anything that won't run on its output. It may be true that some appliances have a shorter life span with the MSW. However, It's been three years now with no electronic failures. Perhaps the caution about incompatibility relates to things like older CRT televisions. Also cheaper bargain basement inverters like those from Harbor Freight may produce less compatible output. Anyhow, if you can afford the higher cost of the PSW inverter, I would go with it.

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Old 01-23-2015, 10:55 PM   #12
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Thank you to all who have helped. I actually already have a very nice PSW inverter/charger (Xantrex ProSine 3.0 complete w/external control panel), but it's WAY overkill for my needs, and 10+ years old. I was considering selling it and replacing with something smaller and new. It's current value wouldn't allow for me to replace with another PSW without adding more cash than I want to spend on this project though, which is why I was thinking about MSW.

I will likely just go ahead and install this Xantrex and hope it lasts a few years. The inverter won't get used more than a week or two a year, but I was hoping to utilize the charger as a nice upgrade to my trailers crappy WFCO unit. My trailer is plugged in to power pretty much year round.
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Old 01-25-2015, 08:35 PM   #13
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I'd keep the one you have, just be prepared for it to die soon, many in that line are, now.
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