Xantrex Technologies Prosine 1000 Prosine 1,000 to 1,500-Watt Power Inverter

by Xantrex

Product Features

• True Sine wave AC output
• 1000 watt continuous power
• Surges to 1500 watts peak
• High frequency switching technology
• Multi-stage charging capability

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 15.4 x 11 x 4.5 inches ; 14.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 17 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000225DB
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: Prosine 1000
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,237 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

A true Sine wave provides a smooth, accurate representation over a cycle from zero volts to peak voltage, not a rough estimation like modified sine waves. It also helps motor loads start easier and reduces the stress on surge protection circuitry. Features backlit LCD graphical output display that can be mounted on unit in four positions or used remotely. Inverter protects against automatic overload, short circuit, over temp, reverse polarity, AC backfeed and over/under input voltage. Standard duplex outlet, 85% efficiency at a full load, 12V. Dimensions: 15.4 in. x 11 in. x 4.5 in.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One killer inverter at a great price, December 25, 2007

By 

HMMWV "God, Country, Corps" (santa clara, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Xantrex Technologies Prosine 1000 Prosine 1,000 to 1,500-Watt Power Inverter (Lawn & Patio)

UPDATE - I bought this 12/07 and it's now 08/09. Amazon is selling a remote faceplate along with the prosine inverters. YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY IT. The inverters come with a built in faceplate and 4 screws - remove the screws and insert a male-female modular phone cable to extend the remote control to wherever you want it. Amazon did remove the cautions about generators, so I am removing my paragraph about the difference in generators and inverters. My pro-sine 1000w nominal, 1500w peak has proven to be as reliable as a power outlet in my home, and in analyzing the power quality with fluke tools it is equal to or better than the power from the grid, which says alot.


Note - when this was written the price was $549 and was the best deal on the net. Amazon has raised their price but the Xantrex prosine series is still in the top tier of inverters. Also note that Amazon's description makes reference to a staged charger - the prosine series HAS NO CHARGER and is reliant upon an external charger (alternator, AC, or solar etc) so amazon should correct their description. I later purchased a D31M Optima battery and a 1.5 Farad capacitor Optima Batteries OPT D31M Group 31 Marine Battery, BlueTop POWER ACOUSTIK 1.0 FARAD Digital Power Capacitor (POWER ACOUSTIK PC10F) to improve the surge performance of this inverter for starting an air compressor. I also added a 50 foot 10/3 extension cord to use with it so that power would not be wasted in the extension see: Coleman Cable 10/3 50-Foot Vinyl Outdoor Extension Cord #02688-88-02 Updated 1/2008. Using these add-ons makes a very functional 1000W continuous inverter with 1500 watt surge capability that operates in my car and doesn't complain what I operate from it.

(paragraph wondering why amazon put generator info on this product now removed - it is not a generator - it converts 12 volts DC from a battery or car alternator to 117 VAC with a true sinewave output that won't damage delicate appliances)

PROS:

Lets start positive: Inverters are almost silent. They make a very very slight buzzing sound on the poor quality models, but a true sine wave inverter is almost completely silent except for cooling fans which only come on under high power use and turn off when it is cold outside or you are running a transformer adapter)

A true sine wave is just like the power that comes from the utility. A modified sine wave is squared off without round corners - this causes heat generation in alot of electronic devices and can blow fusses even blow transformers. For those non-electricians it's like using square tires on a car meant for round tires! I have used alot of modified sine wave inverters in my time - they are much smaller, much cheaper, and tend to DESTROY your expensive electronics. That is why I bought a TRUE sine wave inverter - the power is just like what comes from the wall socket, but you pay more for the inverter and get less power out. It's a tradeoff that can save your valuable electronic parts. For me, this one will drive > $250,000 in Agilent test and measurement gear in my truck, so $549, which is the best price around, is cheap! (revised: 1/08 not any more - several companies sell it for 599) revised 08/09 - now they are $750 - inflation.

OK - more pros - the Xantrex brand comes with a nice LCD display showing volts, amps, and watts. This display can be removed and relocated in your vehicle with a simple telephone cord for $5. REVISED - YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY THE SEPARATE CONTROL PANEL - JUST RELOCATE THE BUILT IN ONE using a phone cord. No exposed printed circuit boards are present and the remote display is self contained as it comes from the factory. Other higher wattage Xantrex sinewave inverters do not include this display and sell it optionally for $400 alone. Some sites advertise the display board as an optional item. I don't know why - it comes with the inverter in the 1000/1800 watt variant. Cheaper brands have red/green lights on the front that are permanent. Like a fine auto, guages are essential to proper operation to know when your battery is dying or if you have a bad connection somewhere. The LCD display shows Volts, Amps, and has a bargraph showing your instantaneous wattage including surge to 1500 watts.

You should know the two prosine models (1000/1800 watt continuous) each come in 3 models - version 1 is hardwired for an RV by an electrician (no GFCI, conduit fittings in/out), version 2 is hardwired with an auto switchover when AC is present (just like a UPS but meant for LONG runtimes), and ver. 3 has a GFCI outlet on the front panel to just plug into but no AC connection at all. This model is the 3rd variant. You give it a 12VDC source and it gives you 1000 watts (1500 surge watts for a few seconds to start lights, motors, and such). Keep in mind that to get 1500 surge watts, you need 150 amps at 11 or so volts. That is not going to come from the cigarette lighter - this must be installed with heavy wire going to a top of the line battery as startup currents for some devices may be 130+ amps. Motors and incandescent lights can draw as much as 10x their operating power at startup, which is why a good inverter gives you both max and surge values.

Also use caution when buying any inverter - advertising will push the "surge" value which may be for only 1/2 second on some models (about 3 seconds on this one). Your real operating power is the lower number.

If you want one of the other models they are more expensive and you can add features later if you really need them, but its not an easy task. Odds are you don't need these features but if you think you do, this is the wrong model - it is the entry level model w/o all the features. There is also an 1800 watt version available for more money. I bought this because of the value at the $549 pricepoint. Today I'd probably buy the 1800 watt model as the prices are closer. Everyone else is $680. (note prices are higher now)

Another "PRO" of this is the xantrex inverter has a power down (sleep) mode where it will wake up every 2.5 seconds and look for a load connected to it - if there is no load of 10 watts or more (i.e. lights are turned off) then it goes back to sleep for 2.5 seconds. In this mode it only uses 1.5 watts from your batteries. It's very efficient this way to not drain your batteries if you turn off your load when it is not in use. Idiling (running the inverter without a load) takes about 22 watts instead of 1.5 watts in sleep mode. You can turn sleep mode on or off if you want full power 100% of the time. In sleep mode you will notice the NEON lights of your power strips blink every 2.5 seconds during sleep mode - that is the inverter searching for a load to run.

Another design pro is the LCD dot matrix display can be removed and extended from the chassis for remote mounting (i.e. keep the inverter near your batteries and put the monitor near the drivers seat in an RV). I used a $5 phone extention cable to do this. If you plan to use it in a vehicle look into battery isolation modules - these allow your batteries to charge while driving and drain your EXTRA batteries with the inverter while not draining your engine starting battery (kinda important!) - I used a system like this to run an electric heater in my truck camper in the nevada winter - batteries charge during they day while driving and keep the truck warm at night, even running cooking tools for dinner.

Back to the inverter, now let's address the cons.

One sorta con and sorta pro is that the inverter is air cooled. The fan is VERY fast. Under light loads (50 watts or so) it doesn't even run the fan. As soon as you run 1000 watts (ex: printing on a laser printer) it runs the fan at full speed. In between it runs slower to minimize noise. It's a good compromise between needlessly running the fan and quickly cooling the inverter under heavy load.

Another con is that "TRUE SINE" inverters are not as efficient as "Sorta Sine" inverters are. In a perfect world if we need 1 amp at 120V, it will take 10A at 12 V to get it. Due to the fact that this not a perfect world, it's more like 14A at 12VDC to get 1A at 120VAC. Because this inverter can make 8.3A @ 120V (8.3A x 120V ~= 1000W neglecting the power factor which is beyond this review's scope - google "power factor" to understand it.) You need 8.3 * 12-14A at 12VDC. That's alot of amps, over 100 amps give or take the efficiencies and surges. YES IT TAKES >100 amps at 12VDC if you want 1000 watts out! This means HEAVY wire to your batteries. Notice I said batteries. You can wire more than one in parallel (all positves touch, all negatives touch, AND *NO* positive touches any other battery negative such as in 24V battery systems) and you can divide the load - 2 batteries in parallel and your 100 amps is only 50 amps per battery. With 4 it's only 25 A per battery. Think lots of matching batteries. A hidden "PRO" here is that the connector for the heavy cables is up to the task and won't fry when you run 100+ amps through it for hours at a time. Most inverters lack such a heavy duty connector. This unit can run 1000 watts continuous which means 100 amps continuous - be sure your wiring is up to the task or it may melt. You'll want #2 to #2/0 cable to wire this up which is between $2-$8/foot.

This is simple power conversion theory and regretably there isn't anything you can do about it except add more batteries to your battery array if you intend to pull 1000 watts for an extended time. If you seldom need the full 1000 watts or 1500 watt surge rating, then... Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tough as nails, hands down!, January 12, 2011

By 

Dactler - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Xantrex Technologies Prosine 1000 Prosine 1,000 to 1,500-Watt Power Inverter (Lawn & Patio)

Had this unit now 2 years in an 18-wheeler. it survived a voltage spikes of 17+ volts from an alternator that spiked whenever it got wet from a truck wash, Its been in 3 different trucks since. We use a hot plate, a 900w microwave, a hotel sized fridge, lots of ham radio gear, and a 40-amp 0-20v DC power supply. I also use my 1/2" variable speed drill and a 200W soldering gun with it whenever I am building custom antennas for my radio gear...Like I said,.. tough as nails. It produces NO "birdies" or electrical noise whatsoever on any of the ham bands as long as the control unit is not mounted separately. If you mount the control unit with a long cable remotely, you need a shielded cable, because it will produce some noise on the lower HF bands.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not reliable nor repairable, July 16, 2011

By 

J. Stooks "Joe S." (Purcellville, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Xantrex Technologies Prosine 1000 Prosine 1,000 to 1,500-Watt Power Inverter (Lawn & Patio)

I bought mine in 2007, installed it in Summer 2008, it has been used less than 50 hours total and this Summer (2011, it's out of warranty) it went belly up, took it to the local Xantrex "REPAIR" center and guess what, it can't be repaired; OH THE IRONY! The AC board (they think) went bad and can't be replaced. What an expensive piece of garbage, no more Xantrex for me. I was told by the repair center that Xantrex is making them irreparable as their objective. I don't see how something that costs close to a grand is built with intent that it cannot be repaired. Thanks Xantrex!!!!!