Les Jones: Power Inverters

October 10, 2005

Tech > Power Inverters

One of the things on my emergency supplies list is a power inverter. Here's a little info I've found in a first pass online.

Quick summary:

Inverters that plug into a cigarette lighter are good up to about 300 watts.
For any device that draws more than about 300 watts you'll need an inverter that connects directly to the battery.
Don Rowe recommends 1750 watts as a good size for powering household appliances. Price is around $200.

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Comments

Be careful - something that was mentioned (but not really emphasized) is the 'starting surge' required to start many devices, especially devices with pumps, like refrigerators.

Devices like this can easily be damaged if the current supplied is too low. If you overlook or underestimate the required starting surge, you can fry your appliance.

Posted by: Mike at October 10, 2005

fwiw, i'd say that for bullet # 2 you may want to edit it to say that for > 300w you may want to think about a generator. large TVs, heaters and (sigh) coffee makers suck the wattage. you can guess how i know this. also, large draws may be a death ticket for your battery or alternator. good point too about under-powering stuff.

Posted by: chris g at October 11, 2005