I went shopping today. Allways good deals between christmas and newyears. In another post I showed the trailer I am working on and thought I would pick up a canadian tire 3000 watt inverter to use to power it . I have been recommending this inverter to everyone since 2000-2001. They listed at 499.00 but twice a year they would go on sale for 249.00. Always on sale at Christmas.. I hadnt bought one of these since maybe 2010. http://www.amazon.com/Motomaster-Eliminator-000w-Power-Inverter/dp/B00563OU9I/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t
I found out that this model has been discontinued..they had another that was its replacement, I looked at it and came to the conclusion its....crap....
They couldnt tell me when the other model had been discontinued. I am posting this just incase you walk into a ct store with old stock, or if you see one on flybay, or kijiji......look at the pic in that link to recognize it.....
I dont recommend anything unless I have used and tested it......if you are looking for a inverter to run your house or for any purpose this one kicks ass... I have never tested a inverter that had lower idle current or a better efficiency. it would punch out more than 3000 watts no problem. just down the road from me is a house that has been running on this model since 2001-2002?.
Thats 13, going on 14 years without a single problem, and for a cost of 249.00 when they bought it, anyway if you stumble across some old stock somewere do yourself a favour and pick one up... I always felt like I was wearing a ski mask when I left the store with one of these, and I only know of one failure and that was because the guy hooked it up backwards (we were able to fix it)
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
Good info. I don't think Canadian Tire actually manufactured these inverters. They were probably made by Xantrex and OEM labelled as Motomaster Eliminator. If you can't find the inverter under the Eliminator name, you may still find them under the "Prowatt" or "StatPower" brands. Again, made by Xantrex.
Happy hunting!
Your right on the money..they were made by xantrex..and sold for more under the xantrex name....been doing some checking and it looks like xantrex was taken over by Shnidder electric and they have discontinued some of the good old products and replaced them with "cheaper" to manufacture products....I wonder if they have changed the good old xantrex C60 charge controler. I think I will order one if its still the old style just to have a spare in case they drop that product too.One of the only charge controlers a average joe could repair if it broke..not that they break but atleast it had no surface mount components on it so you could replace anything on the board easly.
come to think of it that house running into its 14th year on that CT inverter is running on the same C60 charge controler as it was bought at the same time, 150.00 dollars back then. pretty good value for the money.
update.......well it took me a while but I found a used one..140.00 with shipping. I expected it to be broken, and would have to repair it but no, it powered right up, a 8 year old unit that looks like new inside..I opened it up to blow it out.
bottom board is your boost board just boosts your batt voltage up to a more useable DC level, this DC level is fed to the top board that looks to be nothing more than a h bridge configuration that outputs AC, look at the room inside, easy to repair and in looking at it very hackable, infact I am thinking I may get another just to hack into a ac motor control for the electric bike/velomobile I want to build.
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
Found another one this time in Edmonton. This one isn't the moto master brand but the xantrex 3000 xpower..same thing.. here is a pic if you come across one. its silver, the motomaster is black. Note the knockout on the front for hard wiring.
got a better price 100.00 for this one. I am good on this model now. These are very large units, with large cases that dissipate the heat really well.
I have been hearing interesting things about a brand of high out put (5000 to 12000) watt pure sign inverters that have a good price but a bad rap, they retail for a few hundred bucks, but I am hearing that they are hackable and with a little work can be turned into good units so I think I will order one of these to play with and if I confirm that they can be made reliable will post the model. I just refuse to pay 4 plus figures for inverters, I should say that I did once pay such amount for one...I just wont do that again.
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.