Photonics Universe Inverters

[Nabsim]

Just wondering if anyone has experience of the Photonics Universe badged Pure Sine Wave inverters either good or bad? I am tempted to get the one below to run my induction hob during periods of good solar harvesting.

I know cheaper price can often mean unfit for purpose on what you think and inverter can do but Photonics Universe is a good company so I am of a mind they wouldn’t put their name on them if not fit.

12V solar panels charging kits for caravans, motorhomes, boats, yachts, marine

12V solar panel solar charging kits for motorhome caravan boat campervan yacht marine off-grid

www.photonicuniverse.com

Thoughts on this inverter?

 

[wildebus]

Just wondering if anyone has experience of the Photonics Universe badged Pure Sine Wave inverters either good or bad? I am tempted to get the one below to run my induction hob during periods of good solar harvesting.

I know cheaper price can often mean unfit for purpose on what you think and inverter can do but Photonics Universe is a good company so I am of a mind they wouldn’t put their name on them if not fit.

12V solar panels charging kits for caravans, motorhomes, boats, yachts, marine

12V solar panel solar charging kits for motorhome caravan boat campervan yacht marine off-grid

www.photonicuniverse.com

Thoughts on this inverter?

I am, as you know, a fan of Victron kit and if the use justifies it, I would go Victron.
However .... for occasional accompanied use, going for a cheaper brand makes sense given the very high cost of Victron, especially at the larger sizes.
To get to the point .... I think the Photonic Range of PSW Inverters are very good They are a big company with a name to protect so I think, like you, they would only put their name to something safe and decent.
Something that is a plus to me indicating quality build but may be a negative for installation is these inverters are quite large physically compared to others of a similar power. You would need to check dimensions.

You linked to the IPR-1000 Model. FWIW, I bought one of the IPR-2000 (2000W model) last October to fit in a friends motorhome to run the occasional hairdryer and possible microwave. I have not heard back how it is performing, but if it failed, I am sure I would have been told!

How big is your Induction Hob? is the 1000W large enough? most induction hobs powercycle between off and full power to average lower settings, so if you have a 1000W inverter but intend to run at lower power you would still need to be able to support 1000W. For 1000W Hob, I would go for the IPR-1500 model.

Also, the inverters do not mention anything about cabling but from memory they do come with DC cables but you should add a suitable fuse&holder for cable protection.
PS. If you wanted one of the Photonic ones, I can get you one at a better listed price with my trade account.

 

[Nabsim]

I have one of the Vanco single plate induction hobs David, rated at 800W full power so was thinking the 1000W would be big enough?

I may just disconnect my 1500/3000W Kreiger MSW inverter and use the cables/fuses from that. I bought that when I needed to go bigger for the escooter fast charger but it also runs the microwave if I want to use it (tested okay) and if I ever decided to wire in the immersion element (1Kw) on the calorifier

 

[wildebus]

I have one of the Vanco single plate induction hobs David, rated at 800W full power so was thinking the 1000W would be big enough?

I may just disconnect my 1500/3000W Kreiger MSW inverter and use the cables/fuses from that. I bought that when I needed to go bigger for the escooter fast charger but it also runs the microwave if I want to use it (tested okay) and if I ever decided to wire in the immersion element (1Kw) on the calorifier

should be ok with the 1000W then, yes.
Reusing the existing cables sounds like a good idea. Given your possible other uses, going for the 1500W might be worthwhile though for the extra flexibility?

 

[Nabsim]

The 100W is a good bit cheaper and will run what I want to run Dave. If I want to run the microwave and the PSW isn’t big enough I would just reconnect the Krieger. The difference in dosh can go towards a new drum,I want a bugger one

Will pm you

 

[Nabsim]

Hmm, got a reply today, not sure why they say what they have unless it isn’t actually 1000w continuous as stated:



Thank you for getting in touch with us regarding our pure sine wave inverters.



The power rating of the induction hob might be a bit too close to the power rating of the inverter, instead we would recommend for the 1500W model linked below. This would also allow you to run a few low power drawing appliances at the same time.



https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en...power-inverter-with-OnOff-remote-control.html



I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please let me know.



Kind regards,

Ethan O’Reilly
Product Advisor

Photonic Universe Ltd

 

[wildebus]

There seems to be an common opinion/theory that induction hobs (and Microwaves) have a start surge above their rating. maybe that is the logic behind Photonics comment? I have never noticed that myself.

 

[Nabsim]

There seems to be an common opinion/theory that induction hobs (and Microwaves) have a start surge above their rating. maybe that is the logic behind Photonics comment? I have never noticed that myself.

From what I have read and watched they only pull their max rating, in my case that would be 800W. Not sure if it’s worth querying it with them or not.

 

[Nabsim]

I have replied to them pointing out the hob will only draw 800W and I have no requirement for an inverter for anything else as I already have the bigger one. Asked if they mean it cant deliver a constant 800W or if they were thinking it needed extra for start up/cycling.

Will see what they say and update.

 

[Nabsim]

Update on this. I got a response again from Photonics Universe which I will post below and now feel sure it is probably because they are unfamiliar with how Induction works that they recommend the 1500W inverter. Unlike microwave or similar induction uses it’s stated power so no overhead required. I am also posting a link to a YouTube video that shows watts in use of the same hob I intend using and it is well under continuous power of a 1000W inverter.

Thank you for getting back to me.
The 1000W inverter can support a 800W load, but we have found that the power drawn from appliances like these can fluctuate. So the 1000W inverter should work, but usually we prefer there to be a margin so it will work as effectively as possible.
Let me know if there if you have any further questions.
Kind regards,

Ethan O’Reilly
Product Advisor
Photonic Universe Ltd

 

[wildebus]

That is useful confirmation

I think because Microwave literature only ever seems to quote the "cooking power" and the real power consumption is around 1.5x that number there is confusion.
Add to that both Microwaves AND (most) Inductions when set to lower cooking levels cycle between FULL and OFF, they could have assumed (incorrectly) that Inductions also use power above their quoted wattage.

FWIW, if anyone wants to know if they have an Induction that does this cycling, put on a pan of water, set the power to below Max/Full and when the water is close to boiling, you will see the bubbles in the pan come and go as the power goes on and off (you can usually hear this as well).
I've only ever had Induction Hobs that work this way in fact. Never had one that just runs at a continuously lower level. (having said that, the 2kW one I had in the Clarence the Zebra Camper when set to a cooking power under 1Kw would cycle between 0 and 1kW rather than 0 and 2kW.

Neil, did they say what the Inverter will do if you go above the continuous power but below the peak power? does it just cut out?

 

[Nabsim]

They didn’t say anything about what it would do between peak and continuous David. I think peak is a very short time on it, looked at that many though I can’t remember.
Main thing on it is getting something that works for lowest cost. As it is only to save a bit of gas (that I only use to cook with) I am loathe to buy bigger than I need. Too often I see people get a bigger inverter and then just find more things to run on it, then suddenly they need something else.
Truth be told I only got the induction hob as I had the 1500/3000w inverter to handle the fast charging on my escooter. I had sized that to run microwave if I ever wanted to and the immersion element in the calorifier if I ever wire it up. Had I know induction hobs needed PSW I probably wouldn’t have bothered getting one lol
Initially I got the leisurewise twin 1200W induction hob as it said it would start on whatever power you had selected going as low as 300W. I found that wasn’t what happened, it always started on full power (tested in the house on mains) so returned that due to it not being low power as stated and got the Vango. I suspect the Vango Sizzle works the same way as well, just off and on to full but will confirm once I use it.
If I thought I could get enough power all year round to run all electric without having EHU then it may be a different matter but I know the U.K. is roughly 7 months without getting the genny out or moving every day and lpg is cheaper than petrol or diesel

 

[wildebus]

not many inverters can really use the "peak" that is quoted.
The cheap ones just blow the fuses (the really cheap ones just blow up)
The better ones (like I think the photonic will be) will just trip after a very short time and reset
The best ones, like the Victron, will actually let you run over power as long as it is not too long - in the case of the Victron, although the inverter says it is in overload state, it will still run up to the peak for up to 30 seconds (my 1300W Victron has a peak of 3000W!).

I have wondered about the feasibility if using an Induction Hob or Microwave (something that cycles on and off repeatedly on lower settings) with an underpowered Victron inverter so it only goes above the Inverter rating for short times?!
could save money on a more expensive larger inverter but could be an expensive experiment!

Ref using Induction vs LPG. People often quote the energy levels (and cost) of 1 litre of LPG or Diesel vs 1kW of Electricity. However .... when it comes to Induction (and likely Microwaves), it should be remembered that Induction is around 3 times more efficient - so if you use 1kW of Electric in cooking (ignoring inverter losses), you would have to use around 3L of LPG to cook the same amount due to the amount or heat wasted (plus you end up in the summer having to turn fans on higher to dissipate that heat. Cooking on Gas in the winter can be good mind as you can turn off the room heater )

 

[Nabsim]

The conversion in my case isn’t straightforward as driving or genny is running charger(s) to put power in the battery bank rather than anything else. I suppose it could be worked out but beyond me these days.

Those new Ecoflow power banks are interesting, they have something built in that allows you to run getting on fir twice the inverter rating. The 720W inverter model will run the leisurewise 1200W induction hob. Plus 80% recharge in an hour on mains.

Not sure if it’s a Jackery that Mel (Big van, Small world) uses but he also runs the leisure wise 1200W inverter from it.

Of course you are looking at a grand fir the power bank so not a hope in hell of me having one

 

[Polar Bear]

Does a 3000w inverter driving a 1200w induction hob use more electricity than a 1500w inverter doing the same job?

 

[wildebus]

Does a 3000w inverter driving a 1200w induction hob use more electricity than a 1500w inverter doing the same job?

There is a minimum overhead with an inverter, and the bigger the inverter the bigger the overhead. So running say a laptop charger using 20W would very likely be more wasteful on a 3000W than a 1500W, and a 1500W more wasteful than a 300W.
But once you get up to a "decent" load like 1200W, I doubt the difference in efficiency would be noticeable between a 1500W and a 3000W unit. Other factors such as different cable installations and different inverter makes would probably make more impact?

 

[SquirrellCook]

Cooking on Gas in the winter can be good mind as you can turn off the room heater )

Remember some will take you seriously. When cooking with gas in a Motorhome it is very wise to open a window near the cooker. Wise to do it at home too. Carbon monoxide is a killer.

 

[Nabsim]

Remember some will take you seriously. When cooking with gas in a Motorhome it is very wise to open a window near the cooker. Wise to do it at home too. Carbon monoxide is a killer.

Although a factory built motorhome should have been designed and built to have sufficient ventilation so you don’t need to open a window. I usually pen roof vent though to let smells and steam out.
A home built conversion probably won’t have been designed to give adequate ventilation though and vents can be blocked in anything to minimise droughts so good advice