What type of inverter?

Thanks for the feed back.

Michael.

Sadly there is so much poor, incorrect or far from ideal technical information posted here.
ROFLOL there is no such thing as "modified sine wave". If you could modify a sine wave you would be changing the laws of physics.

ROFLOL "There are only two types you can buy" oh dear!
There are three type of inverter, square wave, modified square wave and sine wave.

The most important thing when buying an inverter is to ensure the inverter is electrically isolated. That means there is no physical connection between the 12V input and 240V output.

Don't buy an inverter bigger than you need. A larger inverter takes more power to run itself and does not operate in the range of efficiency. An inverters optimum range of efficiency is generally around 70% of capacity.

Jaycar Powertech inverters are electrically isolated and reasonably efficient for the cheaper units. The Projecta Intelliwave are also electrically isolated and reasonably efficient. Recommend you stay well away from eBay as in the main the cheap units there are electrically unsafe. Morningstar Suresine if you want a supper effecient inverter with sleep mode and remote on/off.

MOST IMPORTANTLY NEVER EVER earth a portable inverter.

Yes you are right but in this day and age of advertising nearly all retailers, resellers, wholesalers and manufactures refer to there modified square wave inverters as modified sine wave.

As you know a real square wave inverter will drive nothing more them a basic electric motor.

Some old people may have an ancient real square wave inverter floating around but as for new?????

Where can I buy a new square wave inverter from?..... I'm not talking about modified square wave (modified sine wave).

Why would anyone want a real square wave inverter?

The funny thing is the two companies you have listed , Jaycar and Projrcta list there cheaper inverters as modified sine wave...... now if modified sine wave inverters don't exist why are you mention these two companies?

The greater public recognisers the terms modified sine wave and pure sine wave as a house hold name when talking inverters.

So stop picking stupid little things out of my post that has nothing to do with the question.

And stop trying to discredit me with you unprofessional attitude!...... remember you told me you were a professional..... in what I don't know.

So back off and go and find something else to amuse you self with..... stop jumping on my posts and trying to knock me down, take it as a warning.

ROFLOL ignorance is bliss. Duck and weave as you may, no good trying to hide your incorrect information.
"take it as a warning" oh dear I am quacking in my shoes ROFLOL
Don't pick little things, point out the MAJOR mistakes, biased vested interest and incorrect information constantly posted by some.
"nearly all' is not all.
No issue buying a square wave inverter or even a square wave inverter generator.

OK lets cralify a few things.

Square wave invetrers ( machines that produce a whole square wave at the mains frequency)would be very hard to find......they are electronicaly very dirty, inefficient and crude items and would not be tolerated an almost any country under modern RF emmissions regulations.
Far more viable for DC to DC conversion applications than producing synthetic AC

A modified square wave inverter would be one where the corners of the square wave have been rounded of with filtration......again inefficient and less viable than more modern designs, the filtration its self introduces losses...if there was not filtration the losses would be in the motor or the transformer of the device being supplied.

A Modified sinewave...or more accurately an approximated sinewave is one where the wave form is approximated by stepped squarewaves......the more and finer steps the better the result......with modern electronics, just as cheap and far more efficient than the above two........with moddern RF emmissions expectations there has to be some filtration to clean up the wave shape.
The closer the approximation the less losses in the filtrationand in the devices connected.

There are several ways of producing "Pure Sine Wave" inverters......at their best they produce a wave shape more regular and consistent than a generator or mains power and can be very efficient doing it.

cheers

Hi Derek,

I've had a look at your 600w pure sine with the two outlets, USB port & indicator screen. Looks great & will go to the top of my list.

Thanks for the advice,
Michael.

Hi Racey,

Thanks for your feedback. Maybe you can give me more advice. I only intend to go to the 600w that peaks at 1200w. I don't expect to draw more then 300w for any extened period. I have a 360AH battery bank with 300W of solar panels feeding it. My question is say I was to use the inverter 2 hours a day drawing 200w what would the amp hours used from my battery bank?

Thanks,
Michael.

Michael,

How many Ah will you pull from your battery bank if you draw 200W for 2 hours? Allowing for inefficiency, you'll need about 250W from your batteries which is roughly 20 amps. 20A for 2 hours is 40 Ah.

BUT - will you really need 200W at 240 volts for 2 hours per day??? I can't imagine how you could use it. As said elsewhere, adapters are readily available to power most gear from 12 volts, which would be a more efficient way to go.

With 300W of solar and 360Ah of storage you have a good sized system quite capable of running your proposed inverter, but I wonder if you really need one.

Cheers

John.

Hi Bantam,

Yes I have asked myself the same question & my long term plan is to be totally 12V with all my electrical items but I still have a few to go & the cheaper option is to go with the inverter until I can have all 12V. Plus I will have the inverter for times I may need it in the future.

Thanks for your feedback,
Michael.