I Bought the Cheapest Inverter, So you don't have to!

In this video, I'm going to show you the cheapest 1000W inverter I could find on AliExpress for just $33. I’ll be putting it to the test and comparing it with the Giandel 600W inverter. Here’s what we’ll cover:

Right off the bat, I noticed a few issues. The sales page claims it’s a 1000W inverter, but it turns out it’s only 1000W peak and 500W continuous. The battery connections are quite small, and there isn’t enough thread to support a decent cable lug. Plus, the wires included aren’t suited for a continuous 500W load. It’s also very lightweight compared to the Giandel 600W inverter, and it lacks a USB charger, which is standard on small off-grid inverters nowadays. Additionally, the power cord connection is loose and needs support.

For the load test, I used a hairdryer and heater for a total of 420W. The inverter turned off after a minute or two because of overheating. Overheating is what kills your inverter over time, so definitely not a good start.

Next, I tested the sine wave. Without a load, the sine wave looks okay. With a small 250W load, it’s still decent.

The idle power consumption is 0.31A * 13.12V = 4 watts.

The efficiency under load is about 91%. We measure the output voltage and current, then divide it by the input voltage and current:

When comparing the Easun inverter to the Giandel 600W inverter, it’s clear the Easun has much less heat dissipation. The Easun costs $33, while the Giandel costs $88. Though it’s more than double the price, the Giandel runs more than double the power and is much more reliable,

[ptonpc]

A simple and clear review with no gimmicks or annoying music. Very nicely done. Thank you.

[KUBAofficial]

Except the heat disappation, the quality is actually suprisingly good. It gives you good efficiency with nice sinewave. I would add fans and additional aluminium heatsinking and it could be a nice inverter.

[nelsoncruz]

If you want to buy any Chinese inverter without any issues, multiply your total load by X3
Assuming your total watts is 1000watts its better you buy 3000watts inverter.
Thats what i did and am enjoying my 3000watts inverter for more than 4yrs ans still counting

[dzonikg]

I have the same for 3-4 years, i payed even mor cheap 22$ on ali express, is still working, i use it for caravan to power All-In-One 27 inch Acer computer and few other electronic that need 220V and for that it works Ok, i dont put some big load on it

[retrozmachine]

The lack of an earth terminal on the socket isn't a problem. Most of these portable inverters, including the Giandel, are setup for I class supply, ie the inverter does not supply ground (earth). Specifically there is no connection between the neutral output and the earth pin, if there even is an earth pin. When you see a wire connecting the earth pin in the socket to the chassis, such as the in Giandel, the inverter is IT class. Search for IT, TT, TN-C and TN-C-S to learn more about this.

Regardless there is no situation where this arrangement is dangerous without what is referred to as a double fault, ie there has to be two insulation failures in order for you to get a shock or worse.

[georgivasilev]

I've had this inverter for a year and a half and it does it's job for powering the lights and charging a few laptops and phones in a offgrid house/hut during the weekends in the summer. If that's all that you need it is very good price/performance. I have never tried powering an actual appliance with it though as I'm sure it won't work.

[mikesloper]

I have the 1100w continuous version of that cheap Chinese inverter. I've had it for 2 years. I use it for a 1000w air fryer and a 800w hot water heater every day. It's never failed or shutdown on me. I've only replaced the fan as it got a bit noisy. Think I paid £40.

[SS-gutx]

I got a cheap $100 USD 5000W inverter after using this exact 1000e inverter. I can tell you the difference is night and day. The 5000w is far more efficient maybe double and the sinewave is incredible without it my electronics chug power.

I can't stress enough how badass my cheap 5000w inverter is. Life saving and efficient.

[Partyfreaker]

Isn't it common knowledge that peak and constant wattage are 2 different things? You should never go beyond 500 watt, peak is only a second maybe.

[generalingwer]

Inverters have come so far since i last tested them.i bought a few in the 90s.pretty crazy that inverter is about the size of a dvm now.great job😃

Not as bad as I expected, especially the efficiency at 250W seems to be really good.

Edit: Checked the prices and a legitimate 300W pure sine wave inverter starts at about 45$ here.

[realflow]

I got a cheap 1000 watt pure sinewave inverter for 80$ on amazon that does rated power (Included cables are a bit inadequate though so I upgraded to thick 1/0 gauge to minimize voltage drop and prevent overheating at full power)
and it works fantastic. for 80$ it's a steal. does rated power (full 1000 watts continuous) and doesnt overheat. it's a bit large but its strong. Can start a full window air conditioner (350 watts operation) easily. and full size shop vacuum cleaner.
120v AC and 12 volts DC. Works great with my 100 amp hour 12-volt AGM lead acid battery setup. I use it as a backup electric generator in case of a power outage or emergency.

[buffplums]

Good test buddy, one thing I’d like to test if I wanted to know how reliable it was, would be to stick a thermocouple on the IGBT heatsink inside and monitor the temperature when you put the load on with a moderate amount of current. Then make sure that the operating temperature stays well below where the IGBTs will temperature derate, probably somewhere around 80 degrees C then do the same with the maximum rated power and see if it can sustain the power into the load without the over temperature derate point being reached.
Finally, I would then gradually increase the load current until the unit goes into temperature shut down and see what temperature it does shutdown at. Is the temperature value of the IGBTs at shutdown close to a suitable deration value for the IGBTs ie, probably well lower than 100 degrees C. It’s important to remember that as the temperature goes into the deration range the devices rated power output must be scaled down by the rated % per degree C otherwise the life of the IGBTwill be reduced and the risk of failure will increase.

[jahatkeh]

For cheap chinese brand always buy the spec at least more than twice your real needed power. It will work flawlessly and long lasting. The price will still be much cheaper than you buying a popular brand with a much lower power spec. And even if you buy popular brand once it burned you still void the warranty because they will say you overloaded and burned it so no warranty. 🗿

[slavric]

Really a nice and complete test. I was testing the exact same device yesterday with a 250W load and 3S 117Ah Li-ion battery. Despite good battery cables it drops about 400mV somewhere so it shuts down prematurely. It was working for 3 hours and 20 minutes. Since it is so dirty cheap, it has the potential to be upgraded to become a small UPS. The PCBs are surprisingly well built and I really don't know where they make any profit on this. Maybe I should also note, that the output voltage was falling when the battery was depleting, at the end it was only 200V, but that is OK for most of the stuff.

[robina.jensen]

How do you make Earth of 12 Volt DC???
It's an isolated circuit, so where do you get an earth connection????

[Murgoh]

I have a very similar one, about same size, except mine only claims 300W. Works ok for low power loads like phone chargers etc, the biggest problem is the low input voltage cut off is not adjustable and as it's meant to be used in cars and not drain the battery too much to be able to start the engine it cuts off at 12.5V which makes the usable capacity of the batteries quite small.

[EternityForest]

91% efficient is honestly amazing compared to how things used to be.

Maybe electronics begninners can finally stop going through the "Let's DIY some 12vdc power distribution stuff" that we all seem to have done.

[vanderlindeyou]

It's engineered with the cheapest set of components they could find. On paper they do provide 500W / 1000W RMS but in reality it will likely burn up after a few hour, days of running time. And that is the difference in between a real 500 and a sub-500W inverter. The voltage output quality with a expensive one is likely much cleaner, and better for your equipment then that cheap thing. It's good to run low loads such as 200 ~ 300W's off of it, it will likely last longer. And yes you can increase the cooling and add tricks to make it live or work longer, but eventually you'll run into the cheap components MBTF's, if they have any.

[owolabiadeteye]

Good and eye opening video, thanks for the great job