For those considering a Magnum inverter:
I had a Magnum 2812 experience a melt down causing extensive damage to my boat in 2016.* We were on a dock, Big Bay BC with no electricity, no AC devices running and we were asleep.* Woke up to the smoke detector and the smell of smoke around 3 am.* Boat was full of smoke that smelled like burning plastic.* Though there were no flames coming out of the inverter, sparks, hot air and smoke was pouring out of the inverters grill.* The inverter had not shut down or melted the fuse.* I had to undo the cable at the battery to shut the unit down.* It took several minutes for the inverter to stop sputtering.* The exterior paint had burned off and the exterior was black..
Spent three days cleaning the boat at Squirrell Cove BC.* The entire salon was covered in sticky black soot.* We fortunately had a back up inverter hooked up so switching over was easy.
The Magnum inverter was still on warranty so I contacted Magnum and they said to bring it in.* Magnum tech said he had never heard of one of their inverters self destruct like that.* He asked questions about the size and length of the battery cable, size of fuse, size of battery bank and my installation experience.* When I told him that I sold and installed inverters and I was a Magnum dealer, he backed off.
Removed the inverter after our return and took it to Magnum in Lynnwood.* Instead of going into the Magnum building, the tech told me to wait for him in the parking lot.* He came out with a boxed replacement inverter and took mine into the building.* I opened the replacement inverters box and the inverter had a dent on the top of the case.* When the tech came out with my paperwork I pointed out the dent.* He explained that warranty replacement inverters are "Remanufactured" and showed me the label identifying it as a reman.* I raised a fuss since I used my inverter as a demo with clients and how was I going to explain to the client why I was demoing a remanufactured inverter with a dent.* They gave me a different undented remanufactured inverter.* The tech said again that Magnum has not had any meltdowns on inverters and mine was the only one.* I asked about the consequential damage to my boat and the tech refered me up the ladder to a manager, who eventually agreed to cover the damage repair.
A month later, I was walking across the parking lot at my yacht club, when I see a member loading a burnt up inverter into his truck.* He had the same meltdown happen to him while boating.* He had spoken to Magnum and of course they said that his was the first to experience a meltdown.* We compared notes and the serial number on his inverter was about 50 units older than mine and installed within 6 months of each other.* His was installed by an ABYC certified electrician.
Upon researching the internet, found several more instances of 2812 meltdowns on boats and RV's.
I sold the remanufactured Magnum 2812 on Craig's List immediately, severed my ties with Magnum and began selling Victron Energy inverters, which are more advanced.* I had to repaint the salon and electrical space, replace all the switches, breakers, meters and wiring that was burned, melted or smoke damaged and installed a Victron inverter along with a Victron isolation transformer.* My previous transformer was not damaged but I wanted to have the Victron transformer for its features.
Magnum agreed to reimburse me for the materials to repair the damage, cleanup and my labor which was over 80 hours.*
I bought back every Magnum 2812 that I sold to clients and replaced them with an equivalent Victron inverter at no cost to my clients.* Though the inverter meltdown was not my responsibility, I would have felt really bad if a client had that happen to them.* Luckily, all except two inverters were owner installed and I only had to physically swap out those two.* Sold all the Magnums on Craig's List.
It took me two years to complete the repairs after the fire due to health, vacations and other complications.* By that time, the Lynwood Magnum office staff had been reduced and the service/warranty department moved.* Sensata, a large international firm, had purchased Magnum, a small manufacturer.* I had to contact Sensata to file my damage repair claim.* They had no record of my warranty replacement.* I emailed them all the emails that had been exchanged after the meltdown, the exchange invoice, an email that Magnum had sent me promising to pay for the repair.* Magnum probably did not report the meltdown to parent company Sensata or lost the files during the merge.* They sent me a check after some negotiating and threats.
