Power Inverters

Truchster.
I saw your question and thought to hard, but I will try.
The main difference is the qaulity of the ac [alternating current].
The best qaulity is a pure sine wave, that is the normal power you get from a conventional alternator. When we try to make ac from dc the simplest way is to just switch the power so it flows one way then the other way at 50 times a second, this is called a sqaure wave, this is the cheap and nasty inverter which is ok for things like drills and grinders but is no good for computors or tvs. the inverter manifacturers can make a unit that is half way between the square wave and the sine wave this is good for a lot of aplications but not good for lap tops or other sensitive gear. so all that maters to you is what you want to run. so if it is to drill a hole go for the cheap unit big power. and get a small power sine wave for your lap top or digital camera.
Eric

Hi Truckster. I'll try. Like most equipment on the market, specifications vary between suppliers. Basically from a power rating point of view there is - Continuous power, that is what it says, a power that it will keep running at. - Peak power, a little ambiguous but basically the inverter will do it however with a distorted output.- And Peak or Surge power, which is the power the inverter will deliver when starting what ever you load it with.- Typical spec for example might be 850W cont, 900W peak and 2500W surge for a particular inverter. - Now it's up to the manufacturer which one they write on the pack - A good one should have all three or at least cont and surge. -The reason you need to know cont and surge is mainly due to the fact that what you are running will draw more current at start up than when it's running. eg Flouro light, TV, power tools. Obviously the inverter will need to be able to not only start (surge pwr) but run (cont pwr) your gear. Therefor a 150W or even a 300W inverter may not be able to run a 120W TV if its not spec'd right.--Now Square wave, Modified sinewave, Pure sinewave. Many appliances use not only the incoming power but also the incominig waveform to operate. Domestic mains supply could be called a pure sinewave. If you know what a sine wave is it's pretty smooth. Now imagine if the wave was not shaped right, or even a square wave. Some equipment will not be able to lock onto this non sinewave, as it is designed to operate off a part of the sinewave and it can't find it. The upshot is a pure sinewave inverter costs more and will run anything if the power rating is OK. Move away from sinewave to modified sinewave, and then squarewave and you will be able to operate less types of equipment. - Find a supplier who knows what they supplying and get his / her advice. If they recon it'll do the job, get a demo. - As a final note, beware, as a non sinewave inverter may, thats may, damage some sensitive equipment, (the expensive smoke coming out type of damage.) so try it on their gear first. - Hope this is of some help, Cheers Ken.

There is Squarewave, modified Squarewave & Sinewave. Modified Squarewave will generally do the job, but if you can afford Sinewave, it is definately the better option.
Stay away from Squarewave altogether, though they might be cheap, the risk of damage to your appliances is great.

Truckster, also do a search of this site, soooo much has been written about this subject in previous posts.