Inverter Faq

Q:What are some safety precautions to keep in mind? A:Improper use of a power inverter could result in personal injury. Keep the inverter free from moisture as liquids conduct electricity, which may lead to serious damage or injury! Do not use the inverter near flammable materials or where fumes or gases may accumulate. The AC Output (neutral) wire should be ground, except in special applications. Q:Is it possible to run an air conditioner on power inverters? A:Yes, it is possible to operate a air conditioner in range using a higher-powered inverter and battery bank with the right capacity for power. Select an inverter and battery combination that takes into account the startup surge required by the air conditioner. Q:What type of batteries should I use in my Inverter/Charger installation? A:Digital recommends using only high-quality deep cycle batteries in Wet, Gel or AGM etc. Q:What is the difference between Automotive and Deep Cycle batteries ? A:Automotive batteries are usually adequate for small inverters, (< 500 Watts). Deep Cycle (marine) batteries are best for larger inverters as they are designed for several hundred charge/discharge cycles. (Automotive batteries wear out much more quickly after heavy discharge) Q:Are there any appliances that cannot be run on an inverter? A:In general you can connect almost any appliance to an inverter, with a few practical exceptions. While the inverter can easily supply a heavy load like an electric heater, the battery capacity is often too low to maintain the supply for any great length of time. The same applies to air conditioning units. As long as the battery capacity is high enough you can use a large inverter to run a washing machine, a large single cooking element or a small two-ring electric cooker. Q:Can I use my inverter in parallel with the generator or shore power? A:Definitely not! If you have a generator on board or a shore connection you must install a Masterswitch. The switch is available with various applications, but its main function is to switch automatically and safely between shore, generator and inverter power. Q:Can I run a computer on the inverter? A:Yes, you can. All Digital sine wave inverters can easily and safely supply a computer. In fact the output voltage from an inverter is often better than that from the electricity grid. A Digital inverter, combined with a battery charger and a battery set, is often used as a back-up system on shore in places where the grid connection voltage is contaminated or unreliable. Q:Can I run a microwave on an inverter? A:Yes. You can connect any model of microwave to your inverter, but keep in mind that a 800 watt microwave consumes 1200 to 1300 watt from the 230V system, so you must make sure you choose the correct size inverter. Q:How much battery capacity do I need with an inverter?

A: As a rule of thumb you can assume the minimum battery capacity for a 12V installation is about 20% of the inverter capacity. For a 24V installation this would be 10%. In other words the minimum battery capacity for an AJ1000-12 is 160Ah. Q:Are there any appliances that cannot be run on an inverter? A: In general you can connect almost any appliance to an inverter, with a few practical exceptions. While the inverter can easily supply a heavy load like an electric heater, the battery capacity is often too low to maintain the supply for any great length of time. The same applies to air conditioning units. As long as the battery capacity is high enough you can use a large inverter to run a washing machine, a large single cooking element or a small two-ring electric cooker. Q:How much power does an inverter consume? A: If you connect a 850W coffee machine to a Studer sine wave inverter, consumption will be 850W divided by the voltage of the electrical system (12V) = 70 Amperes. Add another 8% (100%-92% =8%) to this total for the inverter consumption. The total power consumption is then 70 Amperes + 6 Amperes = 76 Amperes. Of course a coffee machine is only in use for about 10 minutes so the actual Ampere consumption is relatively low (76 x 10 min = 13Ah).