Review on GudCraft WA600 12 Volt Power Inverter by Charles Fowler

Since 24V input inverters typically cost $150 (or much more) I was hesitant to buy this recently launched good value product. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the case to find high performance components firmly bonded to the board and excellent solder points throughout. It uses three 20A automatic fuses for excellent circuit protection and has two AC outlets on the front panel (but no USB outlet). The first thing anyone should do with this or any other inexpensive inverter, before plugging it in and turning it on, is to open the case (easy to do) and inspect the assembly inside for any missing components or wires. A NOTICE. Although a generally good user manual will state that these inverters can operate from 12V to 24V, this is not the case. Mine only accepts 24V. When I tried to connect the 12v battery the unit was unaffected but all it did was a red light and a warning buzzer. They make them in 12v and 24v models so make sure you get one that supports the voltage you need. Mine works very well with a 24 volt battery. It runs very quietly and although I have it between my TV and stereo and both are connected to this inverter there was absolutely no signal, sound or picture interference. I hooked up some accurate watts/ammeters to it and you know what? It's actually 95% (!) efficient and only draws 0.22 amps (22mA) when it's on and no AC devices are connected to it. I was very surprised by this and have tested it again and again and got the same results every time. NICE FEATURE: Unlike most inverters, the fan turns on briefly when you first turn on this unit, but it only stays on for about 10 seconds. . This tells you that the fan is working. A common problem with many inverters is that the fan circuit stops working without you knowing it and the inverter can burn out. With this device you will always know if the fan is working or not. I ran 250 watts through this unit for 8 hours of continuous use and it barely got warm. The fan would turn on for 60 seconds and then turn off again about every 30 minutes. So although I never run any electronic device at a load greater than 50% of its rated load, it looks like this inverter can easily handle 350W and only heats up a little. Even at 500-600 watts rating it would probably run fine, although I'm sure the fan would run much longer. FINAL NOTE. The only thing I didn't like about opening the case was that the circuit board was actually mounted under the *top* of the device. Of course, heat rises, so this design exposes circuits and components to the heat trapped from above. Strange design I've never seen before. But the case has a lot of ventilation holes on the ends and on the front, so if it is installed in a vertical position (there are mounting holes in the bottom panel for that), the heat will come out the end and from the sides and the PCB will not be trapped exposed to heat. I would recommend using this inverter only in the vertical position for this reason - unless you find upon opening your box that the design has changed and the circuitry has been installed below next to the base board as it should be. Despite this oddity, this GudCraft inverter (also sold under the Aleko brand) is a solid value.