Customer Reviews

Cobra CPI 2575 2500 Watt 12 Volt DC to 120 Volt AC Power Inverter

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Beware of all those talking about failures of the inverter - one guy says that he returned his, because two 70Ah batteries couldn't power it to run a 1/2 horsepower motor.

Well...guys, there are a few things you need to know about inverters before buying a big one...which does NOT directly substitute for a generator! The little ones are WAY DIFFERENT than the big ones.

First off, at 2500-watts, you are pulling 200+ amps across the wire...so, unless you are hard-wired with some 4/0 solid-strand wire, you really need to go with DOUBLE 4-AWG strand wires...basically, buy TWO sets of 4-AWG jumper cables, and after you cut the ends off both, then run double-strand (both red AND black) of a complete set to EACH POST of the inverter...yes guys, that's a LOT of wire...and due to heat, I wouldn't run that more than 5-6 feet!

Now...batteries...let's laugh at the guy trying to get 1600 watts of batteries to run a 2500 watt inverter...and consider what you REALLY NEED...for deep cycle batteries rated on the 20-Ah system, and rated at, say 500-Amps, then buy 6 of these and wire them in PARALLEL circuit to power the inverter. Yep...$600 in deep cycle batteries! Now, you have enough batteries to power the inverter for 2-6 hours, depending on loading, before you will need to recharge your 6-battery bank. Plan on a charger that can throw 50-100 amps into the charge...so your little $50 Schumacher charger is NOT going to charge this battery bank overnight! Try more like a $300 charger to charge them in 12-hours...or, if you want solar, good...you need to throw about 70-amps of charge into these for 12-hours solid...so that is $300-$500 in solar panels. Also note...batteries get weak after enough cycles...so pay attention to your charge circuit...and a charging circuit MINDER isn't a bad idea, either!

How do I know this? Because these are all the big troubles encountered when I was a Director of Engineering for an RV Manufacturer...and when you get over 1500-Watts of inverter involved...you start playing by a whole new set of rules! It is MUCH CHEAPER to go with a 3000-watt generator, than to even CONSIDER getting a 2500-watt inverter.

This is a good inverter...but buying one this big and not knowing how to care for and maintain it, is like buying a big chemistry set and giving it without supervision to your mischievous 12-year old...it is NOT a good idea.

We have alot of experience with inverters, and this inverter is just average. It does produce quite a bit of power, but we seem unable to run both of our energy efficient freezers simulatneously (about 1.7 amps draw each freezer --200watts). Also, it does not come with cables to attach it to the batteries, so expect to buy those too. Lastly, and most importantly is the noise. The inverter cooling fan starts up at even the smallest load, and it is loud. As more load is applied the cooling fan ramps up louder and louder. It is not so loud as to hurt your ears, but it is loud enough to be annoying and to heard throughout whatever room it is in, so I recommend you buy the remote start if you choose to buy this unit. Locate it in a closet or shed so you don't have to listen to it.
We have had other inverters that cost much less, but of course only 1200 Watts of power, that had NONE of the shortcomings of this one (our old 1200 Watt model simultaneously ran both freezers, T.V. VCR, DVD player, speakers, and lights; it came with a connector cable, and its fan was quiet and only came on during high loads). The reason we purchased this one is because all the previous inverters, although quiet and efficient, eventually died, and we hoped that this one could handle the peak loads better.

9 April 2009: Just a brief update. At this point in time the inverter is useless, the cooling fans quit working so I am hesitant to use if for fear of a fire (that happened with another inverter several years ago). To be fair, we used that inverter nearly every day at times for up to 12 hours straight. But it never did meet our expectations, and now we are looking for replacement.

To all the people who have issues in getting full or high wattage out of this or any other unit: you MUST have thick (#4) and short (3-4ft) 12v cables to your battery bank. Otherwise the inverter will be starved for current and cause the "low voltage protection" to kick in. Make sure your battery/ bank are up to the task as well.

This unit works great for me. I tested it with combination's of differing equipment (electric chainsaw, power saw, A/C unit, refrigerator, electric heating unit). No problems for me. Do your homework before giving out 1 star reviews people...

i have recently purchased the inverter 2575 by cobra. i installed it into my car and it runds great. i found the inverter to be smaller than expected and was able to install it into the dash of my car.

The instructions for the inverter are clear and precise, however i am still unsure it i can run it with the engine on. I also used the cables that were recommended 4000W for around $30.00 it was by far the cheapest around. Be careful when installing the inverter, i took almost the entire 10feet to get from the battery to the dash via the left hand front guard.

from an earlier "feedback" they said the inverter made quite abit of noise, i mesured it at around 55Db from one foot. which isn't all that loud but if you were running a fridge all the time and the inverter was close to you it would get annoying. I use it for a 800W microwave, it has plenty of power left o could run a tv and Wii system at the same time.

I recommend it for the price ($200.00)i felt it was a bargin, and they have a support phone number if you get stuck. having it for my ipod is also great.

I purchased this for my semi-truck. The inverter requires 2 sets of 4 awg wire. I soldered my ends first and used heavy duty ends for the battery contacts. The cables are 3'9" long.(Cobra said no more than 4') I tried to overload this inverter with a 6hp shop-vac and could not. The remote for me is a must but the remote is another story. If you are looking for an inverter that will power just about anything, I highly recommend this one. The only reason I did not give it five stars is that the length of the power cables limits where the inverter can be placed. All other aspects of this inverter are very impressive. As a side note, I use this inverter for a microwave in my truck,(among other things)and the modified sine wave is no problem at all.

This is my second try with this inverter and the second one I am returning to Amazon. Regardless of your battery bank and regardless of the cables used, this product is pretty much worthless for one reason. That reason being the Low voltage alarm. On this product it comes on as early as 11.7 volts which is totally unacceptable. 11.7 volts is way to early to be setting off alarms. At that voltage you still have A TON of battery life left before you should even be concerned. The threshold for the alarm is 11.3 +/- 3% which max is 11.669 volts. Both of the inverters I had were on the high end of that scale. The first setup was connected to 3 brand new deep cycle Interstate batteries with 4, 18" long 4 gauge cables running to the inverter (Overkill if anything). The second try was 2 brand new deep cycle 6 volt golf cart batteries with 4, 30" long cables running to the inverter. After the first day of camping the batteries have already drained off into the mid 11 volts and these inverters start sounding alarms and don't stop beeping until you turn them off. The industry standard for low voltage alarms on inverters seems to be 10.5 +/- .5 volts which max would be 11 volts and that is a lot better then 11.7. I returned this inverter and I am purchasing a Vector brand inverter with the best alarm threshold with a max of 10.6 volts before the alarm sounds. However, when these inverters are getting the volts they need with the heavy cables they need they do put out the advertised 2500 watts no problem. Amazon's return policy is amazing by the way.

Update 2/17/10....The Vector inverter even though advertised as 10.6 max for the alarm started sounding it's alarm at 10.97 volts. That inverter was not much better then the Cobra in any aspect but it was a lot more money. So my final verdict is that these are good inverters for a great price with the only downfall being the low voltage alarm coming on way too early.

At first i conected a number 4 cable with large battery clamps to
one end of my bank of eight batterys was not happy at all
wasn't even half that my old 3000 watt was. Wouldnt run,
small air compresser, toster oven, it would run small fridg
and dehumidapher if only pluging one at time.
So after a time i disided to connect it anyway
I made two sets of cables about 3 feet each solderd
some homemade copper ends with a hole to screw one end of
my batterys. then dipping the other end of cable in hot solder
for the inverter side. connected to both ends of my battery bank
To my surprise now it was running all that
my old high end 3000 watt inverter would run. very happy. just hope it will
last for a few years

just wanted to let some of you all know that the inverter needs alot of battery
and both sets of cables to get the best from it

Only a expert that knows what they are doing should connect this inverter!!!

I bought this unit to replace a very high end unit on my boat, and found the performance to be equivalent to the earlier one. It powers a TV and microwave with ease, as well as other units connected to the AC outlets on the boat.

The unit is small and only is a bit noisy when pulling a fair amount of current - it is silent when not drawing much power, so that is no problem in my application. The design seems well thought out and the LED measurements are very useful to see how the unit and power input is doing. The remote switch accessory is very useful if the unit has to be mounted away from easy user access - and the indicator light on the unit helps too.

All in all, I am pleased with this unit, especially at this price.

Ive owned several types and brands of inverters and still prefer the cobra........my current inverter is the 2500 cobra....it runs a tv, a/c, refridgerator, micro wave, blu ray player, and stereo in my semi and has never missed a lick. I have left the truck shut off for as long as 20 hours so far and not had a problem.....most time inverter problems are due to cheap batteries.small gauge wire,long runs of dc current cable.or just not using good sense like trying to run and coffee pot and microwave at the same time......I ran 1/0 cable for 5 feet into a distribution block and two runs of 4 guage about 4 inches long to both pos and neg and also to the frame ground which is a must....if your camping and using 1 or2 batteries be realistic...they wont hoss a 2500 watt inverter very long and will wind up burning it up......thats user error not a flaw in the inverters design.....

This inverter really helped out in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. It allowed me to save my freezer and refrigerator by essentially turning my car into a generator. Now I can tuck it into a box until I need it in 10 years without worry. If I did that to a generator, it would be difficult to start when I needed it, and it would need a much bigger box!

I have to question the 2500 Watt rating though. According to the inverter's digital display, my fridge took about 600 watts to start, and 300 to keep it running. According to the display, my freezer took 500 to start and 200 to keep it running. Add them up, and they would need between 500 watts and 1100 watts to run. This inverter could not reliably run both at once, even if I plugged the two appliances in 5 minutes apart. Most of the time, the freezer would not start. Occasionally, both would start, but the fridge light would flicker and both the fridge and freezer would buzz and click. While this was going on, the inverter's display said it was putting out around 800 watts, while the input voltage was between 12 and 13 volts. I was able to get around the problem by running the fridge for a while, then switching to the freezer, but based on what I saw, I'm not convinced this 2500 watt inverter can even put out 1000 watts.

Perhaps the 1500 watt or 1000 watt model would have done as well for much less money.