I've owned 2 of these affordable ($341 shipped) and reliable full sine inverters installed in my past 2 campers. I love the remote panel that has an on/off switch, depicts battery voltage, and shows load drawn from the inverter. This is a great inverter that is extremely reliable but with one drawback! The drawback is that it has FANS that start running at a very low power load and run constantly until load is reduced below 25 watts. This causes the inverter to draw more power than is necessary. there is no reason for the fans to run at low loads...overkill and poorly thought out design.
I resolved to fix this problem and here is how I did it:
Steps:
(1) Purchase 2 thermostat switches (thermo switch) for each fan
(a) Switch 1 turns on at 100 deg F and turns off at 85 deg F If you use the following switch, you'll need to flatten the terminals parallel to the heat sink.
Amazon.com: Thermostat Switch - Circuit On At 100°F and Off At 85°F - Large Flange: Home Improvement
(b) Switch 2 turns on at 120 deg F and turns off at 105 deg F
http://www.amazon.com/Thermostat-Swi...=thermo+switch
(2) Disassmble inverter (there are 4 sheet metal screws on the front faceplate and 4 on rear faceplate)
(a) remove ground wire to bottom slide panel of inverter
(b) remove ground wire to side of upper box panel of inverter
(c) Slide everything apart
(3) Using sheet metal screws or threaded screws with washers and nuts, mount one thermoswitch on each side of heat sink. There is plenty of room for the thermoswitches but test fit to make sure you can put things back together.
(4) Cut/Splice the red wire from each double wire running to each fan to a lug of its respectively installed thermoswitch and solder. Use a hot glue gun to support and secure the thin wire soldered to each thermoswitch lug.
(5) Heat shrink, glue, tape, ziptie wiring as necessary to secure it. Ensure wire "heat shield tubing" is still protecting run of wire to each thermostwitch.
(6) Reinstall everything ensuring nothing gets pinched or shorted. Don't forget to reinstall the two ground wires to the bottom and top (side) case components.
(7) Marvel at your work and enjoy a nice quiet inverter whose fans don't turn on with small loads such an LCD tv in your RV camper without having to hear two fans running continuously!
Options:
With things apart, replace fans with quiet units. The fans don't bother me when they are running when needed. They move air and moving air makes noise. However, a 1500 watt inverter won't get hot when you are running loads less than 200 watts and having two fans run at this power output level are unnecessary in my opinion.
If you want, you can only install a thermocouple for one fan if you need an extra buffer of "safety"
Enjoy and I hope this tip helps others. Contact me if you wish for me to do this modification for you or need help.
Drew D.
PS: If you tow in hot climates, you may wish to use two 120 deg F thermoswitches of your fans will be running in a hot camper even when inverter isn't being used!
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