Poor Man Survival
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Understanding
Car Power Inverters
Before you can understand what a car power inverter is, it's
important to understand the difference between AC and DC power. In very basic
terms, AC power is what you
get out of the outlets at your house, and DC power is what you get out of
batteries.
Since car batteries provide DC voltage, and most consumer
electronics work on AC, you need a device known as a car power inverter if you want to
use AC devices on the road. With a car power inverter installed, you can take
just about any electronic device from your home or office, plug it into your
car, and use it as normal, with a few caveats.
Some of the most vital constraints to keep in mind whenever you
use an inverter in your car include factors like the capacity of the car
battery, rated output of the alternator, and output wattage of the inverter.
The fact is that the electrical system in your car can only put
out a finite amount of power, and the battery can only provide so much before
it goes dead, so all of these factors can all play a part in determining which
devices can be plugged into a car power inverter and used on the road.
How Do Inverters Work?
Inverters function by using a unidirectional DC power source to
mimic an alternating current (AC) power source. Electronic inverters are
essentially oscillators that rapidly switch the polarity of the DC power
source, which effectively creates a square wave.
Since most consumer electronics require something closer to a
true sine wave, most inverters include additional components that create either
a modified or pure sine wave.
Who Needs a Car Inverter?
Anyone who spends a lot of time on the road can benefit from
some type of inverter. These devices are especially useful on long road trips,
for camping, people who travel for business, over-the-road truck drivers, and
other similar applications.
Some devices, like cellular phones and laptops, can be used with
12v attachments that plug directly into a cigarette lighter or accessory jacks.
However, any electronic device that requires an AC input calls for an inverter.
Some devices that you can run off a car inverter include:
- Televisions
- DVD
and Bluray players
- Game
systems
- Catalytic
heaters
- Cooking
equipment
- Power
tools
What Are the Different Types of Car Inverters?
There are a number of different types of inverters, but the two
main types that you’ll find in automotive applications are:
- Modified sine wave
- These
inverters are the more affordable of the two. They produce a “modified
sine wave” that’s perfectly fine for most consumer electronics, so they
work well in a lot of different applications.
- Pure
sine wave
- These
tend to be more expensive, but they produce a sine wave that is much
closer to the AC power available from the power outlets in your home.
Some devices, like uninterruptible
power supplies,
may fail to work properly without a steady, pure sine wave, but most
consumer electronics will work just fine without one. If you’re
concerned, you should check with the manufacturer of your device before
investing in an expensive pure sine wave inverter.
How Are Inverters Hooked Up?
In order to work, an inverter has to be hooked
up to the car battery in some way. Some of the most common configurations include:
- fuse
panel
- direct
to battery
- cigarette
lighter
- 12v
accessory socket
The easiest way to hook an inverter up is to simply plug it into
the cigarette lighter or another 12v accessory socket, but there are some
limitations to that type of setup.
Since there may be other components hooked up to the cigarette
lighter or accessory circuit, there is an inherent limitation on what type of
devices can be hooked up to the inverter. Inverters that are connected like
that are generally limited to a 5 or 10 amp draw.
In heavier duty applications, the inverter needs to be connected
to the fuse panel or directly to the battery. Some fuse panels have empty slots
that an inverter can be wired into, which will provide a dedicated circuit to
the device. In other cases, the inverter can be connected directly to the
battery with an in-line fuse. In either case, it is vital to use some type of
fuse to avoid a potentially hazardous situation.
Additional Considerations
Since most cars and trucks aren’t really designed with inverters
in mind, it’s important to avoid overtaxing the system. One vital factor to
consider is the capacity of the battery. If an inverter is used when the
vehicle isn’t running, it will tend to rapidly deplete the battery.
Some trucks have extra space under the hood for an additional
battery, which can help reduce the impact of using an inverter when the vehicle
isn’t running, but that isn’t always an option.
While using an inverter when the vehicle is running will allow
the alternator to keep the battery topped up,
it’s also vital to avoid overstressing the alternator. Since alternators are
typically designed to provide enough power to run all of the electronics in a
vehicle and keep the battery charged, they may not have enough additional
capacity to run a powerful inverter.
The best way to avoid a problem in this area is to check into
the rated output of your alternator and then buy an appropriate inverter. If
that isn't enough, there may be an OEM option for a higher output alternator
that you can swap in, and aftermarket units that provide even more power are
sometimes also available.
It's far better to be
a year early than a date late when preparing for crisis…
Disasters can and do strike without
warning, and when they strike, most of the population is vastly underprepared. Truth be
told, the vast majority of people aren't prepared at all, and hardly anyone has
enough survival food to last them through the month.
It’s for this reason that when a
disaster occurs, hoards of people will swarm the grocery stores and
supermarkets in order to get as much food as they possibly can. You could end
up being one of those people if you don't start preparing right now.
So take advantage of the comparatively
small crowds and short lines you can find at grocery stores during the good
times, because there could come a time when going to the store is like
something out of a disaster movie...
Protecting Retirement Accounts from Creditors: With
debt burdening many Americans, preretirees and retirees should understand the
creditor protections for retirement accounts before raiding those accounts
through loans or withdrawals. Those protections can help preserve hard-earned
savings even after suffering a tough financial squeeze. Kiplinger
Yours for
better living,
Bruce ‘the
PoorMan’
News of Note
Exploring
Civilian Body Armor Options For Prepping, Survival, and Beyond
With all the recent
violence, there is a lot of interest in civilian body armor. This is not
something that you can just stroll down to the store and purchase. In fact,
there is often a significant wait time to … Continued
A Final Note…
Contributors and subscribers enable the Poor Man Survivor to post 150+ free essays annually. It is for this reason they are Heroes and Heroines of New Media. Without your financial support, the free content would disappear for the simple reason that I cannot keep body and soul together on my meager book sales & ecommerce alone.
Useful
Resources from our storefront-See new items!
You Can’t
Buy Life Insurance After You’re Dead-Prepare NOW for Emergencies…
Finally,
grab an emergency power cell or solar/battery radio weather radio!
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1 comment:
Useful-I never thought about using my car as a backup generator before!
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