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Power inverter question.?
I searched answers but I am still confused. All I know is 75 watt inverter plugged into cigarette lighter will not run my air compressor. So how many watts do I need? Compressor is 120 volts AC, 3.3. Amps. I saw Black and Decker inverters up to 750 Watts. Do I need that much? Wish I had studied better in physics. TY for any help.
You may not need 750 watts but you will need considerably more than 75 watts. Assuming that your air compressor offers a constant resistive load and 3.3 amps is its current draw, it will take
120 V * 3.3 A = 396 watts
In practice, the current rating will probably be for full load and may or may not represent the actual amount of current your compressor takes. The compressor will approach full load only when its air tank is near full pressure.
Reciprocating compressors also take their current in spurts, taking momentarily more power when the compressor is actually in its compression cycle and less when it is drawing more air into the system. If your compressor doesn’t have a flywheel or some other mechanical means of evening out this load, the current draw could vary wildly while the compressor is in operation.
Finally, the load a compressor puts on the line is usually not purely resistive but has an inductive component to it. This reduces the actual power below the theoretical maximum of Voltage * current but the inverter must still supply the full current. Furthermore, the inductive component may have an effect on the inverter’s capacity to deliver power.
With all these different effects are taken into account, the 400 watt estimate is just that – an estimate. The compressor may or may not work satisfactorily and at full capacity on such an inverter.
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You need the 750 Watts inverter.
References :
You may not need 750 watts but you will need considerably more than 75 watts. Assuming that your air compressor offers a constant resistive load and 3.3 amps is its current draw, it will take
120 V * 3.3 A = 396 watts
In practice, the current rating will probably be for full load and may or may not represent the actual amount of current your compressor takes. The compressor will approach full load only when its air tank is near full pressure.
Reciprocating compressors also take their current in spurts, taking momentarily more power when the compressor is actually in its compression cycle and less when it is drawing more air into the system. If your compressor doesn’t have a flywheel or some other mechanical means of evening out this load, the current draw could vary wildly while the compressor is in operation.
Finally, the load a compressor puts on the line is usually not purely resistive but has an inductive component to it. This reduces the actual power below the theoretical maximum of Voltage * current but the inverter must still supply the full current. Furthermore, the inductive component may have an effect on the inverter’s capacity to deliver power.
With all these different effects are taken into account, the 400 watt estimate is just that – an estimate. The compressor may or may not work satisfactorily and at full capacity on such an inverter.
References :