Anybody own a power inverter that they have been very pleased with or know someone who has one that they like. Just need to know the brand name and how many watts it is rated at. Just need one to run a drill, grinder, and electric impact. I have researched all the brands and know the websites just would like some personal experience info. Looking for a commercial grade in quality.

Thanks!!!

Diesel

Are you talking about one running from a battery?  With that kind of equipment, I really would go for a gas powered generator, and might be cheaper.  Big inverters get expensive.

All at once or one at a time?  What's the  longest time that you think you'll continuously use the equipment?  Typically, if you run the equipment like the drill for a few seconds then leave it off for a longer period of time, you'll give the inverter time to cool down.  If you take it easy, you can get away with spending a lot less on an a smaller/cheaper inverter.  I ran a drill and jig saw for years off of a $40 Rat Shack inverter.  They worked perfectly until I went to cut a 8' long piece of sheet metal with the jig saw.  Running it on a heavy load for several minutes overheated and ruined the inverter.z

I have a Statpower 1500W inverter. It will run any power tool I have, including a small table saw. It's been mounted in my truck for about 7 years without a problem. But these days, I only use it occasionally. I'm not sure how it would hold up under constant daily use. It does have several self protection features so it will shut down if you overload it or it gets too hot. It obviously can withstand the shock and vibration from being in a truck for a long time.

Be sure to size the inverter for the largest power tool you plan to use with it, and then some. A big one like this pulls close to 200A from the battery when starting a large motor, so it needs to be very close to the battery with big cables. Mine runs off a seperate battery that gets charged when the truck is running.

I have a Heart Interface Freedom 10 inverter that's been in constant service (float-charging the batteries) for, what, maybe 8 years now? Very reliable, except that the AC transfer switch section doesn't like my old Onan generator. It's rated at 1KW, which is plenty for running the microwave oven, hair drier, steam iron or most power tools.

Trace Engineering used to enjoy an excellent reputation, and Statpower's wasn't too bad, either. However, all three of these companies were recently bought by Xantrex, and I'm not sure whether the quality is still being maintained.

Several generic considerations:

1. Linear-type inverters (the ones with a big, heavy power transformer) tend to have much higher surge capability than the much smaller, lighter switching-type models.

2. Most of the linear models also include a high-capacity battery charger at little or no extra cost — a happy consequence of the fact that most of the inverter components can also be used for the charger circuit. Only a few switching-type inverters include any battery charger capabilty.

3. Switching-type inverters operate at very high freqencies, which makes them more prone to interfering with radio and TV reception.

For these reasons, I prefer linear-type inverters, (except in the smaller sizes, where switching-type inverters are the only kind commonly available, and in situations where minimizing size and weight are crucial).