Cobra CPI 1575 1500 Watt 12 Volt DC to 120 Volt AC Power Inverter
by Cobra Electronics
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List Price: Our Price: $100.97 You Save: $88.98 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $85.82 (click here) Category: Automotive Parts and Accessories See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cobra CPI 1575 1500 Watt 12 Volt DC to 120 Volt AC Power Inverter
Customer Review: Lasted less than 24 hours
Summary: 1 Stars
Other reviewers don't seem to have had the problem I did, so this might be a good product but I must tell you my experience with it. I am very familiar with inverters and how to hook them up having lived off of solar power now for over ten years. When I first set up this inverter, the input voltage showed 12.3 volts, the same as my battery voltage but undr a 110 watt load the output wattage meter showed 0 (zero) watts. What I had plugged into the inverter was working fine (a small TV), so I assumed this meter was just broken. If that was all that was wrong I could have lived with it. The next morning I turned it on, turned on the same TV and within 20 minutes the picture on my TV slowly shrank down to a pinpoint and then shut off. There were no low voltage warning sounds. I checked my battery level and it was at 12.2 volts, the same 12.2 volts showed on the input meter on the inverter, output still showed zero, as it always did. I checked the output at all three of the outlets on the inverter and they showed zero. I turned the inverter off and then back on with the voltage meter still in one of the outlets and watched my meter go from 119 volts down to 30 volts, up to 80 volts and then back to zero. The whole time there were no warning sounds coming from the inverter. This fluctuation could very easily damage anything that was plugged into the inverter!!!!
The good news, Amazon's return system is very easy, didn't cost a penny to return it and I got a refund quickly. I thought of getting a replacement instead of a refund because of all the good reviews but decided not to press my luck, no equipment was damaged this time but why risk it again. If I could rate Amazon I would give them five stars but the inverter gets zero xtars since it didn't function as advertised, went dead under much lower load than it is rated for.
Customer Review: it works lol
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this unit to create a back up system for my home hot water steam heat radiator system. We are experiencing more and more power outages during our harsh winter months, and although we have natural gas and the pilot stays on during an electrical outage, there is a small gas valve that needs 25 volts of power to open to allow the gas to be lite by the pilot. There is a standard 120 line going to a small transformer that reduces the voltage on the furnance and without power no heat. BRRRRRRR lol, anyway talked with our plumber when he serviced the unit this year and we came up with the idea of an inverter to do the job. Amazon delivered the unit in 3 days, came well packed, and didn't take long to read the directions and figure out how to operate it. I have 3 vechicles and 2 extra batterys so I decided this was a better way to go than a generator, didnt want the smell, gasoline, or fumes. Have small trickle charger for the battery and when we hear a storm is on the way we will charge up the battery to be sure we have full charge, have operated the furnance unit for 30 minutes and IT WORKS OFF THE INVERTER MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, and the draw was so low the battery didnt lose any power during the 30 minute test. Also tested a house lamp with a 100 watt bulb and it ran for 30 minutes also with almost no lost of battery power. The unit looks good, is relatively silent, and does what it promises to do. I LOVE IT. My only comment is you need to be aware that it does not come with any cables to hook up to the battery, I split a pair of heavy duty jumper cables that I had laying around and use them. Short of that it is well worth the money, and I look forward to using the unit on remote job sites to power my electrical tools during the spring and summer. Again an excellent product.Customer Review: Cobra CPI 1575 1500 watt inverter
Summary: 5 Stars
Now that I worked my way through the confusion on the instruction sheet, I love this inverter. The confusion lays, not in the set up, but what happens after you get it set up. This is what happened. First , my bad, I did not have my ground installed correctly, I loosely wrapped it around the main ground, WRONG, you must firmly install it in the grounding screw on your 110V system. Second Although my batteries read 12.8 volts, I could see them dropping like a rock with only my laptop plugged in, something was wrong, I instantly shut it down and rechecked. The automated help line sucked. The Cobra people also moved their open hours on the Customer service line from 6:00pm to closing at 5:30 pm Central time. So I missed them too. I installed my ground correctly this time, I restarted my inverter and watched the volts fall in tenths, UNTIL it hit the magic number of 12.1 volts, then it stopped. YAY!!!!! , I plugged in a light and my computer and it very very slowly dropped voltage, I knew I finally had it. The booklet never said a word about this plunging voltage, so I was lucky I persisted and found out the it has a threshold where it drops too then stops and begins to work at 12.1 volts. SO yours might be a bit different than mine but CHECK THAT GROUND WIRE, because it not only drained my battery while the inverter was on, but it also drained it when it was OFF> and it's not supposed to do that. NOW it's working so much better and I am happier than a hog in a tater patch, GRINS, good luck folks. SKYCustomer Review: Worst Product Ever
Summary: 1 Stars
I decided to try this product out because it was the only one reviewed extensively and was fairly inexpensive. Well I now know why. Before I begin I would like to state that Amazon is amazing. Throughout this entire ordeal they overnighted the products to me. "COBRA AND THE CHEAP CHINESE CRAP BEING SENT OVER" are the ones to blame for this problem. I have had to return three of these and have since switched products. The first one I received the USB port didn't work so I sent it back. Received the second one two days later (Amazon being great) the voltage output was 95 way below the +- 10% of 120 allowed, and as stated elsewhere the wattage indicator didn't work. Sent the second one back and received it two days later (Amazon again) and tested the voltage this one output 85 volts which is completely unacceptable, and to top it off the wattage indicator still didn't work. I don't know about other reviewers but if something doesn't work (wattage indicator) I'm not happy. I pay good money for this piece of crap and I expect it to work. Amazon is now giving me a refund and I am purchasing a PowerDrive 1500, because it has been recommended to me by Truckers and is sold at most truck stops. Cobra has no quality control and nobody expects anything good from China. Stay away from this product it will give you nothing but headaches and it still won't work. Keep buying from Amazon though.Customer Review: Hasn't proved itself
Summary: 3 Stars
I decided to use this to power a heater in a small SUV as opposed to paying $800.00 to have the heat core replaced. It does not come with cables, so you have to find and install 4 gauge cables that are not more than 4' long to the battery, get them into the cab, and mount them to the unit with compression screws.
My first attempt was based on a pair of jumper cables the salesperson told me were 4 gauge, but are apparently 6 or 8 gauge. I can't even run the heater at 750 watts without alarms going off. Back to the drawing board.
If I succeed, I will update this rating. At this point the project is becoming more a mistake than a solution.
Update: I ultimately had a mechanic install the unit which had a cost of $150.00. Still less than $600.00 for a new heater core. However, since Cobra chose not to publish this information upfront in their information, my review remains ***. Be very aware of installation limitations!
Update: We're beating a dead horse here. I'm going back to my propane tent heater and giving up on the large inverter. I'll still use a small one for computers, etc. when I travel. This is a backup vehicle, so it's not worth a lot of repairs or upgrades. The inverter is going on eBay. I feel the product was incredibly misrepresented, and I would now only give it one star.