I bought this inverter at you-know-where. I will be calling the tech
support number given in the manual, but I thought I'd run my questions by
you folks also.

http://t.harborfreight.com/1000-watt...oogle.co m%2F

1 -When I power it on, the fan starts, runs for about a second and then
stops. Is this normal? Will the fan start again if required?

2 - When I plug in a lamp with a 72W bulb, it works fine. When I plug in a
air mattress pump (120V, 1.0A) the pump may or may not start and the
inverter chirps its alarm. Sometimes the pump seems to run fine, other
times, not so much. The chirping is more evident and consistent when the
pump is running at what appears to be full speed.

Shouldn't even a cheap 1000W inverter be able to handle the pump without
breaking a sweat?

(I'd return it and try another inverter, but both of my local stores are
out of stock right now.)