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Inverter description meaning

lexicon

By lexicon
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bottle Veteran II

bottle

Posted
Posted (edited)

Inductive load is one where there is an initial high power input which then settles to a 'normal' state.

 

An inductive load would for example be a fridge motor where it takes a lot of 'ooomph' to get going but then settles down.

 

If this inverter is unsuitable for inductive loads do not put any motors or similar on it.

 

A resistive load for example an electric lamp (bulb) would be OK

 

I am sure others can give a better desecration.

 

Edit: I am sure I typed description. :(

Edited by bottle
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Gibbo Veteran II

Gibbo

Posted
Posted

Inductive load is one where there is an initial high power input which then settles to a 'normal' state.

 

An inductive load would for example be a fridge motor where it takes a lot of 'ooomph' to get going but then settles down.

 

Not really. It's true that a motor is inductive, it's also true that they draw an intial high load. But the initial high current isn't because of the inductance.

 

A purely inductive load will actually draw very little current on first power up, it will then increase.

 

But to answer OP's question: What it means is that it's either very badly designed, or some buffoon in the marketing department is still blathering on about something he was told 25 years ago about a different type of inverter that no longer applies.

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steelaway Influencer

steelaway

Posted
Posted

Hi

Am looking at inverters and have found of the right wattage and pure sine wave but in the specifications it states not recommended for inductive loads, what does that mean?

 

 

 

Hi

 

Why would you want a pure sine wave ? - I've found quasi sign wave seem to work everything fine.

 

Alex

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Paul C Veteran II

Paul C

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because with a pure sine wave you know everything will work, with a modified sine wave it is a lottery.

 

:cheers:

 

Its a lottery with the odds very much stacked in your favour, though. For example, if you had a particular device you wanted to run in mind, you could simply Google it and read up others' experiences of being able to run it on a MSW, or PSW inverter. And with the cost difference between the two types, it is definitely something worth spending time looking into. I can understand some people NEED a PSW inverter, many don't need it for the mains electrical devices they are using, and are either running a much cheaper inverter, or needlessly running it using a PSW one.

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi

 

Why would you want a pure sine wave ? - I've found quasi sign wave seem to work everything fine.

 

Alex

 

are not some washers with electronic timers a bit 'sulky' about quasi wave inverters?

Edited by The Dog House
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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

Ok so in the opinion of the collective would a 1500w msw run power tools and a Hoover? As that's the main things I will be using it for certainly at this stage of fit out?

Lots of tools now have electronic controls. I wouldn't put money on it or try it, but maybe others have. We will soon see.

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Paul C Veteran II

Paul C

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Ok so in the opinion of the collective would a 1500w msw run power tools and a Hoover? As that's the main things I will be using it for certainly at this stage of fit out?

 

Yes. I have a 1500W MSW inverter and have used an 1800W hoover on it (it has a speed controller on it); 550W jigsaw; 550W drill; and a Dremel. I've also used a microwave oven (with non-electronic timer control on it) successfully; and laptops, phone chargers etc.

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mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

because with a pure sine wave you know everything will work, with a modified sine wave it is a lottery.

 

:cheers:

 

Quite true but the price difference can be quite considerable. The only thing that will not run of mod/quasi sine wave that i have ever used is a washing machine, everything else does. That includes pooters, hair dryers, etc etc etc

 

Tim

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Pykebird Rising Star

Pykebird

Posted
Posted

I have found a quasi sine wave invertor will charge my computer, but if I try to use it on charge, the mouse goes all over the place! My cheap hair straighners will also run n a q sine wave but not ghd's. From what I understand, if an appliance has a pcb(printed circuit board) you need a pure sine wave to run it properly.

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jonathanA Experienced

jonathanA

Posted
Posted

I have found a quasi sine wave invertor will charge my computer, but if I try to use it on charge, the mouse goes all over the place! My cheap hair straighners will also run n a q sine wave but not ghd's. From what I understand, if an appliance has a pcb(printed circuit board) you need a pure sine wave to run it properly.

 

I would suggest this is an urban myth although not one I've heard before...

 

my TV has a very large PCB in it and works just fine...

 

so no its not as simple as that.

 

As others have said unless you really really need a pure sine wave its almost certain that your doofer will work on slighly wobbly mains from a quasi sine wave inverter. some motors seem to run hot when on MSW (my hoover gets hotter on the inverter than on the shoreline)

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Chalky Experienced

Chalky

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Posted

The main difference is the cost. Pseudo sign wave inverters are relatively simple to make since you've just got to turn some big transistors hard on at every zero crossing of the mains (very, very crudely). A sine wave requires a more complex switching pattern to generate the sine wave. This means a more complex control system and also more heat to deal with since the transistors are switching on and off more frequently. The output of a pseudo sine wave (read square wave) inverter is very rich in harmonics (google fourier) and this can cause problems for some electronically controlled devices.

 

One thing to look at when choosing an inverter is the temperature that the output power is quoted at and for how long. A good quality inverter may run at 1500W continuously in a 40 degrees ambient whereas a cheap one may run at 1500W in 25 degrees ambient for 15 minutes then 800 W for the next 15 minutes then 600W continuously. The latter is a marketing con where they've taken a 600W nominal inverter and found how hard they can push it before it lets go - definitely one to avoid.

 

Which ever you choose make sure that it has a good air circulation around it to allow it to cool properly - it's heat that kills them (among other things). Big inverters (50 kW +) tend to be fluid cooled and significant design time goes into the thermal design and heat management.

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