POTEK 1000W Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC Dual AC Outlets and Dual USB Charging Ports with Digital Display Car Converter with Remote Control

Draws Significant Power When it's OFFI really like the idea of these inverters, with the gauge that shows the input and output, and I appreciated the seller listing the standby power draw of 0.3 A (which is turned on but not powering something); based on this, and some good reviews, I bought both the 300W and 500W. Since they draw too much power for a 12V receptacle I wired them directly to the batteries in my camping trailer. Then I noticed my batteries were running down with nothing turned on in the trailer, so I started looking for the reason; which led to testing the Potek 500W inverter, which was currently wired in. To my dismay I noticed that it is drawing 85 mA when it is turned OFF! That's nearly a tenth of an amp doing nothing. Then I turned it on, with nothing plugged into it, and it draws 570 mA, nearly twice what is stated. So I tested the 300W Potek and found it was drawing a whopping 180 mA while it was turned off, and around 490 mA when it is on with nothing plugged in (also no fan running). The "power on" draw is significantly more than the others I've tested, and that is a concern, but when the switch is turned off it shouldn't be drawing power, and that is my big objection. If you're just going to hook this to a battery with the clips, then unhook it when you're done, it would be less of a problem, but if it is wired in permanently it becomes a constant drain. Naturally I had to test my other inverters, so here is a list. I use different sized inverters to match my requirements, figuring larger inverters use more power just to run, though I hadn't tested them before. Most of these units have fans that are heat sensitive, so they did not run during this no-load test, except for the Bestek which runs all the time.In all tests nothing was plugged into the inverter, a digital multimeter was hooked into the power line to measure amperage used.Triplite 150W, off=0, on (no-load)=280 mAPowerline 200W, off=0, on (no-load)=126 mABestek 300W, off=4 mA, on (no-load)=330 mA - fan runs all of the timeFonPeak 300W pure sine wave, off=0, on (no-load)=405 mAEnergizer 500W, off=8 mA, on (no-load)=380 mAPotek 300W, off=180 mA, on (no-load)=490 mAPotek 500W, off=85 mA, on (no-load)=570 mAI have returned the Poteks, but I don't even like the Energizer drawing 8 mA when it's off, and, since I would like the option of easily changing the inverter I use hard-wired to the battery, I'm going to use Anderson plugs to connect the inverter instead of just the eye connectors.

There are a bunch of us at the RV resort, where we spend the winter, that own UTVs for riding in the desert. At Christmas we decorate our machines with lights, in my case, a lot of lights. Needed a good high output inverter that could handle the large number of lights and this Potek 500 did that with ease. I really came to appreciate the meter(s) that would show me the inverter's output and the input/output of the battery. Very easy to see exactly what is happening and there is even a fail over system to shut the inverter down should the battery's voltage fall to an unsafe level. Makes it very easy to set up a load that is easily supported and should something happen to the vehicle's charging system, would shut down the inverter's load on the battery. Would I buy it again? You bet.

Got a Bestek 300 watt inverter first, it wouldn't power the intended tool. Sent it back, ordered the 500 Watt unit as it met the AC amperage that was advertised. This unit wouldn't operate the tool either as it would run the unit through half a cycle and stop, then a second later give another jerk - half cycle and stop. Contacted customer service with a detailed email noting voltmeter readings both AC and DC noted. Customer service got back to me in a reasonable amount of time noting that the "sine wave" wasn't appropriate for the tool being used. They recommended getting a 750 Watt replacement unit. This one will be sent back after the holiday as was the 300 watt unit previously noted. I intend to get a Lithium Ion tool to replace the AC unit which won't run on inverters to do the task at hand. The return postage is adding up making further adventures with inverters cost prohibitive.

Best power inverter I have seen. The on off switch is a press and hold just like a cell phone. Once powered on, the bright, easy to read red light emitting diode display shows the car battery voltage going into the inverter (usually around 12 or 13 volts). Push the button again and it displays the output voltage (110 to 120). When pushed again , the display shows how many watts the device plugged into it is using. This is a very useful feature so you can know how much power is really being used and how much may be needed. The case has smooth edges so you can put it in your computer bag and carry it with you without worrying about sharp edges cutting anyone or anything. The fan is quiet when it runs. Most inverters exaggerate their output capacity but this one will absolutely and flawlessly power any notebook or laptop computer without any problems. Many other inverters claim to provide 200 or 400 watts but really don't and they screach and squeak at being overtaxed when you try to run a notebook computer or other devices. The price is very reasonable for the quality and features this inverter has.

I've only been using it for a week now but so far, so good. I am able to charge my laptop with an 85W Magsafe Macbook Pro charger. I've also used it to power a 100W guitar amp and a 32" LED TV with an Ouya running a movie off thumb drive. Since it's not a pure sine wave the amp had a lot of noise to it but still enjoyable for playing, you just couldn't use it to record off of. I didn't have any noise from the TV.I've been using a 100ah 12V universal battery as a power source.The digital readouts seem to work as advertised. I've not blown a fuse or anything but 85-100W is the total I've pushed through it so far. I've not heard the fan come on yet so I hope that part works, I won't know until I push it harder. I'll update in a couple months once I've really put it to regular use in the spring.