Seeking to purchase a Power Inverter. What Size?


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Old 06-05-17, 12:02 PM
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Seeking to purchase a Power Inverter. What Size?

I am in the market for a Auto/Truck Lighter socket power inverter. I would be using it basically to turn on electrical equipment at the flea market. I am sure I am going to find other uses for it IE: charging tools amongst other things.
However I am a little daunted in the range they start at 20 bucks and go up to 300 plus. I know you get what you pay for etc. I am just curious as to whether one around the 50 to 75 price range will last awhile. I also can see you get extra features but I am not exactly sure what you're getting beside extra ports/sockets etc.
thanks for getting me up to speed
 
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Old 06-05-17, 12:44 PM
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It isn't the price that is important. It is the output amps (watts) compared to how many amps (watts) required for what you want to run and if what you want to run is electronic and needs a pure sine wave. Pure sine wave inverters cost more.

I would not try to run it from an auto or truck. I'd suggest a separate deep discharge battery. That could be wired to your auto charging system through an isolator. More/longer power and no dead battery when you go to go home.

I'm moving you to Electrical because it isn't car repair help you need but electrical.

Have you considered a small generator? Might cost more might not depending on your power needs. Using a car power outlet limits you to its fuse size. Usually 10-15 amps. Tha means the limit for a power inverter would be 120v at ~1 amp or 120 watts. Hard wiring of course would enable you to use a larger inverter.
 
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Old 06-05-17, 01:39 PM
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Check the cigarette outlet in your vehicle. Many are fused for 10amps or less so you will be severely limited in how much 120 VAC you can get. You may need to connect the inverter directly to the battery to get the output you need.
 
 

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