Electrical Power. It’s such an integral part of our everyday life that we don’t give it much thought until it’s not available. The BESTEK 3 AC Outlets 2000W Power Inverter is a great solution for just such a situation.
What is it?
The BESTEK 3 AC Outlets 2000W Power Inverter provides up to 2000 watts of 115v power from a 12v battery (or two). It coverts 12v DC power to 115v AC power.
Hardware specs
Rated Power: 2000W, Max Power: 2300W
Peak Power: 4600W
Input: DC 12V (12V Car or Boat but not 24V)
Output: AC 110V-120V
Outlets: 3 AC
Weight: 10lb
Fuses: 6 external 50amp fuses
What’s in the box?
- BESTEK 3 AC Outlets 2000W Power Inverter
- Two sets of cables to hook up to batteries
- 12v cigar type plug for low power use (300w max)
- Instruction sheet
Design and features
This review isn’t designed to be a primer on the ins-and-outs of power inverters, so you’ll want to do little research on your own for what you intend to run off the inverter. I don’t recommend just plugging things in just to see if they’ll work, a little research is best. I will say though that questions like “how long will it run” or “how much stuff can it run” will vary depending on how many and what kind of batteries you’re using, and the power requirements of the devices you’re connecting to it. Good Deep cycle marine rated batteries are a good source for things like this.
This is a modified wave inverter. Some motorized items such as water pumps may need a more expensive true sine wave inverter. This inverter should run just about anything that has a power plug that converts to DC such as a phone charger, laptop charger, clocks, etc. However, for those DC items that are less than 12 volts, you would be better off connecting them to a straight 12v source, as you’ll lose a lot of battery potential by converting the 12v to 115v just to then have its power cord convert back to 12v.
It can run most refrigerators, freezers, small kitchen appliances, microwaves, lights, and TV’s just to mention a few. Some items like some high end blenders might not work as they take quite a bit of current to get started. For example, something as simple as a toaster can draw up to 1600 watts!
The clamps are pretty good, I’ve seen heavier duty clamps but these seem like they will work and last just fine for the job they are intended to do. The wires are both crimped and soldered to the clamp, and the entire clamp is copper. The eyelet of the wiring is very good, it is also crimped and soldered very nicely – and I’ve got a military electronics background.
Although the instruction sheet doesn’t mention it, there is a warning label on the 12v cigar plug cord that states connections using that are limited to 300w. That’s perfectly normal because the wiring in a vehicle and its fuse won’t handle more than that.
The inverter also has circuitry to automatically shut down in the event of a short-circuit. The unit will also resume working automatically after these events are eliminated. This prevents damage to the unit.
I tried various items like my Surface tablet, phones, clock, and some lights. All worked just fine. Most importantly, the coffee maker worked!
What I like
- Carry handle for portability
- Beautiful anodized finish
- Auto protection circuitry
What needs to be improved
- Would be nice to have 12v plug outlet incorporated into the unit for charging phones and such.
Final thoughts
This unit is a nice thing to have around for emergency uses. If you’re planning on using an inverter for continuous or frequent use, or off-grid use where it’s really important you might want to find a unit that has more features.
Price: $139.99
Where to buy: BESTEK
Source: The sample of this product was provided by BESTEK
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2300W is a lot of power, and if it’s 50% efficient (typical) the current draw from a 12V battery will be huge. You’ll need a lot of batteries in parallel to keep from sucking down too quickly.
Well, that’s just the math of electricity. I suppose I probably could have mentioned that the fact that it has two battery hook-ups should be an obvious hint that two batteries might be best for heavy use.
That is heavy duty!
A ‘Pure Sine Wave’ Output – need I say more? These days a ‘Pure Sine Wave’ Output is required. Anything less than that needs to be referred to Engineering and Quality Control. Get back to the drawing board. A ‘Modified Sine Wave’ is totally unacceptable.
It really all depends on what you intend to run with it. Where I am we usually only have power outages lasting a few hours to a day or two. The only thing I would need it for would be the refrigerator, which it would work fine when used in cycles. However, you are right that a pure sine wave is better.
“It can run most refrigerators, freezers, small kitchen appliances, microwaves, lights, and TV’s”
Dude you will shorten the life and/or damage all of those things by running them on this.
Modified sine wave is OK for lights and heaters and that’s all.
Anything with an inverter (i.e. device chargers) and anything with a motor (anything with a pump, compressor, or fan, and anything that rotates) is a no-go.
PS just noticed that the vendor “provided” the unit which you have glowingly and completely falsely reviewed.
The Gadgeteer used to be quite a bit different back in the 90’s and 2000’s.
But maybe I am just sentimental.
I’m not an electrical engineer, so I can’t attest to the damage comment, but yes, some items might not run on a modified sine wave.
No Engineering credential required.
Just spend 10 minutes on the internet learning about what you are reviewing.
Preferably prior to telling everyone it’s a great idea to buy it using your affiliate link.
I don’t know why most of the Bestek inverters are modified sine wave. Since, Bestek is a popular brand, it should make pure sine wave inverters mostly because pure sine wave is the highest quality electrical output.
Well I’ve used this bestex since 2019 when I bought my kenworth. Wired directly to batteries. I run a galanz 3 in 1 oven,microwave, airfryer a 40 inch Samsung tv,a iceco vl45 frezzer a surround sound an a coffee pot. 3 years without a problem. I charge phones n laptops everyday. Never a problem. Just saying.