@@mannyfragoza9652 Prices are down across the board for sure! Check out the Battery Finder tool batteryfinder.net collectively showing all prices on Amazon.
Bummer, man. BTW I've been using the 24v version of that reliable inverter in my garage running a 12000btu A/C for two years. Hasn't failed me yet. Only complaint I have is the fan noise. Great video.
@@LithiumSolarcheck the outlet polarity of that model. All the ones I’ve opened up have reversed outlet polarity. The neutral on the terminal bus is connected to the load/hot on the outlet. This applies to the units with a vertical outlet. The newer black units with the white 20amp outlet(s) are wired correctly. I’ve made a few low quality videos of the issue if you want to check them out. I too have a 24v but 5000w that’s been running a full size fridge for several months. If you can get the black “off grid” unit with the white duplex receptacle 20a. I also have a 24v 3000w of this variety. It runs my air compressor, demo hammer, saws, a spit welder (titanium flux core), ac unit 12000 btu etc…. Feed it plenty of amp hours, and heavy cable and it will make it happen.
I've had my WZRELB inverter since 2019 been running my home 24/7 it gets stressed alot! They are great inverters. And I do run Air compressors on it a ton can't get it to blow.
I can recommend the CNswipower 3200 watt inverter. Very quiet, and pure sine wave if that matters to you. Replaced a modified sinewave inverter I bought 3 years ago at tractor supply that was very loud. Now I can actually hear the window unit run.
I bought a new 800w version of this inverter but it could not handle the surge of a small chest freezer. Returned it. Bought the 700w from Renogy and powered it without problems. Big difference in quality.
I added a 1500w Aims inverter with a cut end from a wire loose inside the inverter. After 5-6 uses, I move it and the piece short the full inverter. 3 months after the end of the warranty, their answer was, we will not replace because you open the Inverter. No more Aims
I have a WZRELB inverter that I plan to use for a mini fridge and a 5,000 BTU air conditioner. So far, it's run both for several minutes no problem, and it's run the mini fridge alone for over a week. Also no problems. I plan to do more testing next summer when I can actually use the A/C for extended periods. If it all works, it will be going into a camping trailer. So far I've been very impressed with the low THD. Now I want to open mine up and see if I've got a green/yellow wire.
Strip a bit of the heavy DC wiring in the Bestek and put it to a flame. If it curls up when burnt it'll be CCA rather than solid copper. It wouldn't be the first time that I've found the flyleads and internal wiring in one of these portable jobs to be CCA. If they are undersized as copper they are even more so as CCA.
Having worked for a few companies over the years I can tell you that there are many counterfeit certifications out there. At one company we had to pull a product because the factory in China was not using the UL approved plastic we specified for the product but was marking it as if they did.
Same experience here with an induction cooktop which was DOA, and the best part is they wanted I paid for the return. Luckily the Amazon store is one block away and I dropped it there.
Amazon is great with returns. I just drop mine off at the UPS store, don't even need a box or anything, and they handle all of the packaging and logistics free. It's just a major inconvenience.
I have 2 broken WZRELB inverters, one 5000 and one 8000 W. People are telling the control circuit is bad and allows peaks of current into the mosfets which burns. Quite expensive parts to replace.
Funny, I have had the exact same issue with the exact same inverter with fuses. Easy fix. I did some interesting tests on how many amps one half of the inverter circuit could hold until the fuse popped. About 160a. I got mine for 200 on ebay. I have 3 of these units now lol
I found the video interesting. I think I would've tried to fix the inverter and improve on the shoddy workmanship, even though you made a great point of something else beyond the temperature control circuit. I guess I have too much time on my hands.
I might still try and can use it for supervised discharge tests. Get rid of that whole DC board, wire fan so it's always on, and put a nice set of terminal blocks.
I have two 12 volt 3000's and no problems, i received a 48 volt 3000 watt and it was marked as a 48 volt and it tasted immediately, found that it was marked wrong, check box in the top shows 48 volts but the data tag underneath says 12 volt, marked wring at factory but manufacturer won't help me, i like reliable inverters but at a loss on why i cant get help
Ya I quit buying warehouse deals I came to the conclusion that people buy a new one and then claim it doesn't work and send back the old one which never gets looked at because it was new. It happened to me a couple of times so won't use that again I will say Amazon did come good for all purchases.
In the past 3 months....... Purchased a "pop container", lid is supposed to form an airtight seal, and pop up when you want to open it. Listing shows it with a lid, the label on the container shows it with a lid. The item came with no lid. Returned with the "problem" being no lid, the replacement arrived with no lid. My sister just today (really) received a bottle of bodywash rather than a case of canned cat food. For computer components I will no longer order from Amazon. 3 sets of disk drives listed as "with warranty of X years" arrived and were rejected by the manufacturer as "warrantied by vendor" rather than the manufacturer. Newegg has filled 3 new NAS for me this year, because their drives arrive with warranty. B&H filled another.
I'm not sure what kind of metal they use for a lot of the hardware but it seems like a corrode very easily cuz I have a similar inverter and it also shows the signs of corroding and I do live in a high moisture environment so I'm not sure it's probably just low-grade steel and that's probably why it's corroding easily
Low grade steel and equally bad paint. My own portable jobs had the paint flake off and the bare metal go rusty around the fan cutouts so I wire brushed it clean and hit it with some cold gal spray paint and it's been fine ever since.
Here's my best guess with the Reliable Inverter... Someone had that unit in service for quite some time. Something happened and fried the internals somehow. So they bought a new one off Amazon. After receiving the new one, they returned the old one for a refund stating that the unit was no longer needed/wanted. So Amazon just took it at face value and expected it to be the new one they originally sent, but the Buyer was a scammer and got a new unit for free. Best guess, assumptions, speculations, of course.
All that rust or corrosion, the poor reliable looks like it was installed in a very wet environment and eventually shorted out, blowing the fuses. It couldn't be just warehouse breakage, unless like an Amazon warehouse flooded or something. I'll bet it was a warranty repair return or something like that which made its way into Amazon's warehouse deals program somehow. I have six of the reliable's... 24V and 48V models. Plenty of little annoyances like the fan automation is "off" most of the time, and then goes full speed for 20 seconds making racket for no reason, then "off" again for the next 30 minutes. And some of the models were shipped with DC studs that didn't stand out enough to even get a lock-washer on (they don't include lock washers and really should). But they do all work. Some have been running for over 2 years now. I don't load them down more than 50%. I have a besttek or two... just a few of their low-wattage car inverters. I definitely would not trust them for anything bigger.
Yeah it's a pain. I don't have much time these days and I plan an hour here and there, usually on lunch breaks, to film pieces of things then it gets delayed because of, yet again, someone else's fault. Oh well, can't do much about it...
Looking forward to your battery tests. I have 4 of these Ampere Time / Li Time batteries. I think it's pronounced Lee. I had a Cambodian girlfriend with that same last name.
They told me it's "Lih" like how you pronounce the first two letters of "Lithium". Originally I thought it was "Lie" Time and that's when they corrected me. Ha.
I had A Few inverters (UK 240V AC) Where the Component Power Chain For the FANs Had Broken Down instead on the Fan Getting 12V DC i Found a over voltage of 80V AC Going to the fans Fan died due both Reverse Polarity & Over Voltage
WZRELB are excellent inverters. Buy a new one. Obviously someone returned one that had been run for many years at max capacity. WZRELB is the only brand i buy these days.
Amazon does this kinda crap even with purchases of brand new items. They ship you used garbage as "new" all the time. Amazon is the worst but it's just par for the course now days. I can't tell you how many items I have shipped back because of this and I demand courtesy credits each time they waste my time.
Those "Reliable" inverters pop fets all the time. Used to be able to get a rebuild kit from them, but I have not been able to recently. For anyone that is looking into one, DO NOT BOND THE GROUND AND NEUTRAL. You have been warned.
I've become very skeptical of amazon warehouse. Same kind of problems you've experienced - obviously damaged, or even broken or entirely the wrong item. No way were they inspected much less tested.
I'm in Asia where there is a 7 day return policy everywhere so the product sent here are 100 percent crap and made for this market because the manufactures know, with such limited return policy, they won't have to replace much. Even things like Dell computers, Samsung cellphones, after 7 days, if they break they send them to a repair center ... no replacement and no offer to borrow a unit while yours is being repaired. NUTS!! That's life outside the US. It is very difficult to find brand name products here. At least in the US, you can take a chance buying no-name brands due to the good return policy. Here it is a high unavoidable risk when buying anything. There are big online retailers here, but all the reviews are mostly 10 word comments related to delivery which is so unlikely Amazon reviews.
That fuse gap reminds me of Apple's phone chargers. I have seen one disassembled and there is similarly tiny gap between the 240V AC and 5V DC traces on the PCB. I am amazed that thing never shorted.
Typical Amazon anymore. Horrible service. 10 to 25% of my orders get lost or are days late. They will often NOT allow detailed reviews regarding bad items when its obvious people were being taken advantage of etc. You can no longer get CS reps in the states etc.
You can buy 10 crappy inverters for the price of a victron. If those crappy ones survive 2-3 years then its still better assuming you don't need reliability.
@@LithiumSolarDepends. The 1200va Phoenix inverters work well for capacity testing 12v batteries, the 48v models not so much since they are less likely to get you to 0.2C (talking about the 1200va 48v Phoenix inverters).
LiTime Battery... www.litime.com/discount/lithiumsolar?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Flitime-12v-100ah-lithium-lifepo4-battery%2F%3Fref%3Dlithiumsolar
Reliable Inverter... amzn.to/3uxnm80
Bestek Inverter... amzn.to/40Q9rGn
(affiliate links)
2024 Black Friday sale: Same battery, $189.00, $41.00 difference. Solar prices have dropped quite a bit from last year.
@@mannyfragoza9652 Prices are down across the board for sure! Check out the Battery Finder tool batteryfinder.net collectively showing all prices on Amazon.
Bummer, man. BTW I've been using the 24v version of that reliable inverter in my garage running a 12000btu A/C for two years. Hasn't failed me yet. Only complaint I have is the fan noise. Great video.
They are great inverters! Hopefully the new one that's actually "new" works better than this haha.
@@LithiumSolarcheck the outlet polarity of that model. All the ones I’ve opened up have reversed outlet polarity. The neutral on the terminal bus is connected to the load/hot on the outlet. This applies to the units with a vertical outlet. The newer black units with the white 20amp outlet(s) are wired correctly. I’ve made a few low quality videos of the issue if you want to check them out.
I too have a 24v but 5000w that’s been running a full size fridge for several months. If you can get the black “off grid” unit with the white duplex receptacle 20a. I also have a 24v 3000w of this variety. It runs my air compressor, demo hammer, saws, a spit welder (titanium flux core), ac unit 12000 btu etc…. Feed it plenty of amp hours, and heavy cable and it will make it happen.
I also have had a 60 day old WZRELB 24V inverter fail. It took over 60 days to finally get a replacement. Thanks for the update.
Did WZRELB honor the warranty or did you exchange it through Amazon or similar?
I've had my WZRELB inverter since 2019 been running my home 24/7 it gets stressed alot! They are great inverters. And I do run Air compressors on it a ton can't get it to blow.
I was thoroughly entertained by your righteous rage! 😄
LOL, glad it was entertaining :)
I can recommend the CNswipower 3200 watt inverter. Very quiet, and pure sine wave if that matters to you. Replaced a modified sinewave inverter I bought 3 years ago at tractor supply that was very loud. Now I can actually hear the window unit run.
I bought a new 800w version of this inverter but it could not handle the surge of a small chest freezer. Returned it. Bought the 700w from Renogy and powered it without problems. Big difference in quality.
I added a 1500w Aims inverter with a cut end from a wire loose inside the inverter. After 5-6 uses, I move it and the piece short the full inverter. 3 months after the end of the warranty, their answer was, we will not replace because you open the Inverter. No more Aims
I have a WZRELB inverter that I plan to use for a mini fridge and a 5,000 BTU air conditioner. So far, it's run both for several minutes no problem, and it's run the mini fridge alone for over a week. Also no problems. I plan to do more testing next summer when I can actually use the A/C for extended periods. If it all works, it will be going into a camping trailer. So far I've been very impressed with the low THD. Now I want to open mine up and see if I've got a green/yellow wire.
Don't apologize. I found the real issues you are sharing helpful. Let us know if Amazon takes it back
You do good work sir, which is much appreciated. BTW, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family
Happy Thanksgiving! :)
Strip a bit of the heavy DC wiring in the Bestek and put it to a flame. If it curls up when burnt it'll be CCA rather than solid copper. It wouldn't be the first time that I've found the flyleads and internal wiring in one of these portable jobs to be CCA. If they are undersized as copper they are even more so as CCA.
Having worked for a few companies over the years I can tell you that there are many counterfeit certifications out there. At one company we had to pull a product because the factory in China was not using the UL approved plastic we specified for the product but was marking it as if they did.
Same experience here with an induction cooktop which was DOA, and the best part is they wanted I paid for the return. Luckily the Amazon store is one block away and I dropped it there.
Amazon is great with returns. I just drop mine off at the UPS store, don't even need a box or anything, and they handle all of the packaging and logistics free. It's just a major inconvenience.
The QA guy probably has to inspect so many devices a day, and in order to meet his quota he signed off on this one without testing it.
Or maybe he could not get that one screw out! 😄
Companies inlcuding Amazon are getting dubious glad you are calling them on this fact.
I have 2 broken WZRELB inverters, one 5000 and one 8000 W. People are telling the control circuit is bad and allows peaks of current into the mosfets which burns. Quite expensive parts to replace.
Did you have the bus terminals connected to a panel? Or did you ground the unit?
Funny, I have had the exact same issue with the exact same inverter with fuses. Easy fix. I did some interesting tests on how many amps one half of the inverter circuit could hold until the fuse popped. About 160a. I got mine for 200 on ebay. I have 3 of these units now lol
Great video! Thanks for keeping it real!
Thank you for your courage.
I found the video interesting. I think I would've tried to fix the inverter and improve on the shoddy workmanship, even though you made a great point of something else beyond the temperature control circuit. I guess I have too much time on my hands.
I might still try and can use it for supervised discharge tests. Get rid of that whole DC board, wire fan so it's always on, and put a nice set of terminal blocks.
Looking forward to the video if you decide to make one.@@LithiumSolar
I have two 12 volt 3000's and no problems, i received a 48 volt 3000 watt and it was marked as a 48 volt and it tasted immediately, found that it was marked wrong, check box in the top shows 48 volts but the data tag underneath says 12 volt, marked wring at factory but manufacturer won't help me, i like reliable inverters but at a loss on why i cant get help
Probably the transistors. I have a couple of those that I bought used that didn't work.
Ya I quit buying warehouse deals I came to the conclusion that people buy a new one and then claim it doesn't work and send back the old one which never gets looked at because it was new. It happened to me a couple of times so won't use that again I will say Amazon did come good for all purchases.
Perhaps I could buy a LiTime battery, claim it’s faulty and send back an AA battery and see what happens. 😊😊😊
@@kevinmills5293
In the past 3 months.......
Purchased a "pop container", lid is supposed to form an airtight seal, and pop up when you want to open it. Listing shows it with a lid, the label on the container shows it with a lid. The item came with no lid. Returned with the "problem" being no lid, the replacement arrived with no lid. My sister just today (really) received a bottle of bodywash rather than a case of canned cat food.
For computer components I will no longer order from Amazon. 3 sets of disk drives listed as "with warranty of X years" arrived and were rejected by the manufacturer as "warrantied by vendor" rather than the manufacturer. Newegg has filled 3 new NAS for me this year, because their drives arrive with warranty. B&H filled another.
I'm not sure what kind of metal they use for a lot of the hardware but it seems like a corrode very easily cuz I have a similar inverter and it also shows the signs of corroding and I do live in a high moisture environment so I'm not sure it's probably just low-grade steel and that's probably why it's corroding easily
Low grade steel and equally bad paint. My own portable jobs had the paint flake off and the bare metal go rusty around the fan cutouts so I wire brushed it clean and hit it with some cold gal spray paint and it's been fine ever since.
Here's my best guess with the Reliable Inverter...
Someone had that unit in service for quite some time. Something happened and fried the internals somehow. So they bought a new one off Amazon. After receiving the new one, they returned the old one for a refund stating that the unit was no longer needed/wanted.
So Amazon just took it at face value and expected it to be the new one they originally sent, but the Buyer was a scammer and got a new unit for free.
Best guess, assumptions, speculations, of course.
I thinks your spot-on there...
All that rust or corrosion, the poor reliable looks like it was installed in a very wet environment and eventually shorted out, blowing the fuses. It couldn't be just warehouse breakage, unless like an Amazon warehouse flooded or something. I'll bet it was a warranty repair return or something like that which made its way into Amazon's warehouse deals program somehow.
I have six of the reliable's... 24V and 48V models. Plenty of little annoyances like the fan automation is "off" most of the time, and then goes full speed for 20 seconds making racket for no reason, then "off" again for the next 30 minutes. And some of the models were shipped with DC studs that didn't stand out enough to even get a lock-washer on (they don't include lock washers and really should).
But they do all work. Some have been running for over 2 years now. I don't load them down more than 50%.
I have a besttek or two... just a few of their low-wattage car inverters. I definitely would not trust them for anything bigger.
Enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing
Many returns to Am... are just set back on the shelf and resold to the next victim. Speaking from experience.
As long as I can send stuff back. But as you say you’re on the clock ⏰
Yeah it's a pain. I don't have much time these days and I plan an hour here and there, usually on lunch breaks, to film pieces of things then it gets delayed because of, yet again, someone else's fault. Oh well, can't do much about it...
Looking forward to your battery tests. I have 4 of these Ampere Time / Li Time batteries. I think it's pronounced Lee. I had a Cambodian girlfriend with that same last name.
They told me it's "Lih" like how you pronounce the first two letters of "Lithium". Originally I thought it was "Lie" Time and that's when they corrected me. Ha.
I had A Few inverters (UK 240V AC) Where the Component Power Chain For the FANs Had Broken Down instead on the Fan Getting 12V DC i Found a over voltage of 80V AC Going to the fans
Fan died due both Reverse Polarity & Over Voltage
I like to see u debugging!
WZRELB are excellent inverters. Buy a new one. Obviously someone returned one that had been run for many years at max capacity. WZRELB is the only brand i buy these days.
They have been good to me. I have a 1500W 48V and a 500W 12V, neither of which I've ever had issues and that 48V has powered a LOT.
Meanwell makes really good inverters
I should also mention they are expensive af
Amazon does this kinda crap even with purchases of brand new items. They ship you used garbage as "new" all the time. Amazon is the worst but it's just par for the course now days. I can't tell you how many items I have shipped back because of this and I demand courtesy credits each time they waste my time.
Happy Thanksgiving
The inverter was well used/abused. Not wharehouse damage.
Those "Reliable" inverters pop fets all the time. Used to be able to get a rebuild kit from them, but I have not been able to recently. For anyone that is looking into one, DO NOT BOND THE GROUND AND NEUTRAL. You have been warned.
I've become very skeptical of amazon warehouse. Same kind of problems you've experienced - obviously damaged, or even broken or entirely the wrong item. No way were they inspected much less tested.
Trucking industry Thermo King Apu used Xantrex inverters. I have this inverter im my semi for 10 years with 0 problems. Just saying.
I'm in Asia where there is a 7 day return policy everywhere so the product sent here are 100 percent crap and made for this market because the manufactures know, with such limited return policy, they won't have to replace much. Even things like Dell computers, Samsung cellphones, after 7 days, if they break they send them to a repair center ... no replacement and no offer to borrow a unit while yours is being repaired. NUTS!! That's life outside the US. It is very difficult to find brand name products here. At least in the US, you can take a chance buying no-name brands due to the good return policy. Here it is a high unavoidable risk when buying anything. There are big online retailers here, but all the reviews are mostly 10 word comments related to delivery which is so unlikely Amazon reviews.
That fuse gap reminds me of Apple's phone chargers.
I have seen one disassembled and there is similarly tiny gap between the 240V AC and 5V DC traces on the PCB.
I am amazed that thing never shorted.
My reliable inverter died after 6 months, company was not willing to honour the warranty.
Recommend staying away from them going forward
You got what you paid for, theres a reason there prices are so low.
That has nothing to do with this product or the problem I described here.
I feel the same way about certain camera makers these days, everything’s disposable so they can keep making money!
I would have paid extra (full price) for new.
Yup …..
Amazon is dreadfull on second hand ….🤬
I've not had any problems really but I'm gathering others do so that's enough for me... No more next time.
WZ-RELB 'Waz Reliable But'...no longer.
Typical Amazon anymore. Horrible service. 10 to 25% of my orders get lost or are days late. They will often NOT allow detailed reviews regarding bad items when its obvious people were being taken advantage of etc. You can no longer get CS reps in the states etc.
Don't get me started on Amazon Frack puppet's and how they lie, misrepresentation I won't go on.
That's Amazon for you
G.P.o.C - Technical term - LOL
whole lot seems crappy= go victron
You can buy 10 crappy inverters for the price of a victron.
If those crappy ones survive 2-3 years then its still better assuming you don't need reliability.
buy once cry once @@hubertnnn
Victron inverters are nice but they're irrationally expensive for use on a test bench as I'm doing.
@@LithiumSolarDepends. The 1200va Phoenix inverters work well for capacity testing 12v batteries, the 48v models not so much since they are less likely to get you to 0.2C (talking about the 1200va 48v Phoenix inverters).
Steaming pile of......
Indeed! Haha
trillion-dollar company
Pronounced as “Lee Time”
Nope. They told me it's "Lih" like how you pronounce the first two letters of "Lithium"
Second video I came across with this gay having nothing but trouble with inverter
well there's ya problem...MADE IN CHINA!
Pretty much everything is made in China these days, can't avoid it
LOL that's funny "It's like a gigantic pile of crap to be honest. I don't understand - I don't understand..."