SCA Inverters

[Mc4by]

I am about to pull the trigger on a Pure Sine Wave Inverter.
Does anyone have any experience with the SCA models?
I don't know a watt from a volt but need to charge camera and laptop while on extended trips.

[PeeBee]

I dont know anything about brand, however your demand load is going to be low, so I would have thought the only issue is reliability? I run a 3500w/7000w pure sine wave unit, unsure of brand but chinese I suspect and it runs a coffee machine and power tools without effort, so maybe not the need to head 'high end' for this application. Cuppa is probably a good start as he has a reliability requirement with his use I believe.

[10G]

I was on a trip and the first time I went to use our inverter it was a complete flop, I suspect even though it was rated at 300W and I only needed low 200s, it wasn't up to it.

I dropped into the local Autopro where I was and got an 800W Aerpro inverter. Used it every day through the Simspon charging a small battery & it worked perfectly.

The only suggestion I'd make is work out how much power you're going to consume then buy an inverter rated at twice your requirement.

[PeeBee]

I was on a trip and the first time I went to use our inverter it was a complete flop, I suspect even though it was rated at 300W and I only needed low 200s, it wasn't up to it.

I dropped into the local Autopro where I was and got an 800W Aerpro inverter. Used it every day through the Simspon charging a small battery & it worked perfectly.

The only suggestion I'd make is work out how much power you're going to consume then buy an inverter rated at twice your requirement.

A few of the inverter suppliers have lists that correspond to load V inverter size, no doubt on the net generally also

[Mc4by]

Good advice PeeBee and 10G.
I will seek out the draw information and work from there.
The laptop is approximately 60 watt but no idea on the camera batteries.
SCA do some good stuff but I am thinking for an inverter I will go up a level.

[Cuppa]

Be careful, buying the wrong inverter could cost you big time. The property where we are caretaking has a big solar/battery/inverter set up. As far as we can tell the inverter is a Pure sine wave, or at least was. Plug my laptop or ipad in to charge it & the power brick emits a quiet buzzing, which it doesnt when plugged into the inverter in our car. It also gets hotter than normal, & the laptop if used whilst plugged in ran a fair bit hotter than usual. Then it died. Macbook Pro's are not cheap items & the fried main logic board (motherboard) was going to cost as much as a 5 year old laptop was worth. Ended up getting a new one. My belief is that the Pure sine wave inverter has somehow failed & is no longer putting out a pure sine wave, but something 'dirtier' with greater harmonic distortion - much like using a modified square wave inverter. Not good with sensitive switch mode electronics as in computers & computer chargers. Buzzing & running hot is the classic symptom.

I have no knowledge of the quality of SCA inverters. I have always bought Pure sine wave inverters, but have had some premature failures with cheapies, one failed the first time I used it, cutting in & out every 30 seconds as it heated up, it needed an internal cooling fan & didn't have one. We were on the road at the time & relying on being able to use it. Royal PIA!. Threw it in a bin & bought a replacement in Mt Isa.

We now have two inverters, one in the Patrol & one in the Tvan. Both are Victron Phoenix,a 350w & a 180w. I thoroughly recommend them. They are high quality, able to exceed their stated output without breaking a sweat (I ran a 500w load on my 350w inverter for an hour to test it) , weigh twice as much as other inverters of the same output (extra weight is generally not good, but with inverters is generally a sign of better quality) & are surprisingly well priced. If just charging camera & laptop a 180w one would be fine, I have the 350w one to also run a Makita 18v battery fast charger. The 180w doesn't have a fan & doesn't need one.

This is the one I have https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Victron-Phoenix-Inverter-12V-180VA/162482175087?hash=item25d4b13c6f:g:6SkAAOSwImRYM62 I:rk:24:pf:0

However this one (200w) is on sale at a pretty amazing price. Allows use with a phone app too. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VICTRON-12V-250VA-Phoenix-VE-Direct-Inverter/292805063995?hash=item442c8ab53b:g:eK0AAOSwAThb4NW V:rk:13:pf:0 Not sure whether it has similar construction to my ones, but imagine it would. Victron have a good name.

If it's reliability you want at a good price I reckon it's just about impossible to go past the Victron Phoenix range! I think it almost certain that anything SCA are selling under their own brand would be way down the scale in comparison quality wise.

EDIT: Oh & the Victron's come with a 5 year warranty too.

[Mc4by]

Cuppa
I really appreciate the effort you put in to your reply.
Based on your comprehensive response I am looking into Victron now.
Pure sine wave is something I have heard about being better for laptops.
I don't think I need more than 200 watts for my needs as I have USB and Cigarette sockets already running.

[VK2FMIA]

Have been running a laptop in the workshop powered by an inverter for a couple of years now. I`m using a 200w ebay cheapy. Also have a power meter hooked up to the 12v battery I run the inverter off. Average is around 60 watts depending on what the laptop is doing. Maximum watts the laptop pulls is around 75 - 80 watts when recharging the laptop battery.

[Brisey]

Hey Steve
Does your camera charge from USB? An option could be to get a 12 volt powerpack from Jaycar & charge the camera from the laptop.

Cheers

Bri

[Mc4by]

Hey Steve
Does your camera charge from USB? An option could be to get a 12 volt powerpack from Jaycar & charge the camera from the laptop.

Cheers

Bri

Brisey, my laptop (surface) doesn't have a 12 volt option yet that is supported on warranty by microsoft.
So it looks like the inverter may be the only way out for now.

[Coldcomfort]

I think that I would just go with REDARC. With inverters you only get what you pay for. And even that isn’t certain

[PeeBee]

I think that I would just go with REDARC. With inverters you only get what you pay for. And even that isn’t certain

Well, that a definite recommendation, I think?