Watch the cables
The price on this Coleman line is decent; it doesn't seem to get as many positive reviews as other inverters. I was having trouble with mine powering some power tools off my truck's 12v batt, tools in the 7-8Amp range (900-960 watts). The alarm would go off and the unit would shut down. I was sure the inverter was a dud until I started experimenting with the cables. I ended up using the biggest, fattest cable I could find to connect it to the battery--and keeping it as short of a cable run as possible--and that solved the problem. The 13.5A (1620watt) circular saw still wouldn't work, but it isn't fair to expect that from a unit rated at only 1000watts continuous. If you're triggering that alarm frequently, upgrade to the heaviest gauge cable you can and see if that does the trick...

OK unit
Seeing this unit costing less than I paid for a 800W unit and seeing a lot of poor reviews on coleman inverters, I got one of these in part just to see what it's like myself.

When I got the 800Watt unit, I tried it on my fridge to see if it could run that in a power outage, and it worked. I tried this one (slightly more powerful) and it just went into the alarm (probably for overload). I grabbed the 800 again, and it too isn't able to start the fridge now, so I'm not sure what's changed or if it really is the inverter alone not performing (although I doubt the fridge really has a surge draw of over 1600 watts which either inverter say they can handle). I tried plugging in a 750watt space heater and it ran that fine, so it seems to just be an issue with the starting surge draw (perhaps on that 1 item, but it is one of the more important items in an outage).

A couple other notes on comparing the units: The 800 came with some 3 ft cables for going to a battery and this one came with none. Also the 800 came with some fuses incase of blowing them, but you would have to unscrew things (taking apart the unit) to get to them, while this one has fuse holders on the back so someone can replace them a lot easier.

Cheap and Shows It
I'm very sceptical that the inverter can surge to 2000 watts. More sceptical that it can provide 1000 watts continuous, either. Only 80% efficiency and 120% hype? Must connect directly to battery with 6 or 4 gage copper cables (depending on distance). I plan on using the two I purchased (free shipping, why not?) for light work such as portable/emergency lighting and 1/4 hp or less power tools (3/8" drill works great under load, 1/2" drill untested under load but spins at rated rpm). I wouldn't use the unit to power any electronics unless I use a line conditioner in between. TVs draw much power when first turned on, check the TV specs first. Am I happy? Not jumping up and down but not returning them, either. Want more juice, gotta pay more for a 1500/3000 watt unit or bigger.

Coleman 1000 watt Power Inverter
Hi,

I fully charged up a new 12 volt deep cycle battery and this inverter could not even power up a small 13" inch tv. Pretty sad. I was able to run a small fan, or small room lights if the electricity went off. Don't waste you money if you think this unit will power up your TV. I did not try to run the inverter off my car battery with the engine running. I am going to invest in a generator. Would like to hear what others are able to run with this unit. This Coleman is more like a 300 watt inverter then a 1000 watt.
WH.