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Selecting an inverter. How to put an outlet in a car

Number of electrical and electronic devices, the need for which a person has every day is constantly growing. Suffice it to recall a few of the most common: razor, smartphone, laptop, camera.

Some of them have built-in batteries of low power and can be charged from a low voltage current. For them, the manufacturer, as a rule, provides a charger that operates from the car cigarette lighter connector. However, there are also those that can only operate from a household network, since they consume quite a large current when charging the battery. Such devices include, for example, most laptops.

In addition, many household appliances that may be needed on a long journey can only operate from a household network with a stabilized alternating voltage of 220 volts and a frequency of 50 hertz.

An inverter connected to the on-board network essentially makes it possible to have a regular household outlet in the car

Strict electrical requirements typically result from electrical components, such as pumps or compressors, that simply cannot handle poor quality electricity and will quickly fail. Therefore, they require a device that not only converts 12 volts to 220, but also produces an output current that corresponds to a number of parameters.

What is an inverter and what is it used for?

A direct current with a voltage of 12 volts flows in the vehicle’s on-board network. An inverter connected to the on-board network essentially makes it possible to have a regular household outlet in the car, into which you can plug in household appliances and tools: computers, phone chargers, microwaves, refrigerators, etc.

Inverters should be selected depending on what devices will be used with them

There are practically no restrictions on the use of equipment, but you always need to imagine how much a particular device consumes in order to use an inverter with it that is designed for such consumption, since, for example, you cannot turn on a refrigerator in a low-power inverter - its fuses will simply blow.

Classification of inverters according to the power of connected consumers and the type of connection to the on-board network

Not only its long and uninterrupted operation, but also the safety of the automotive network depends on the correct selection of the inverter. Inverters should be selected depending on what devices will be used with them. Information about average and peak power consumption (peak power is the maximum power that an appliance, typically one with an electric motor or other component that requires starting, can draw) can be found in the user manual, under the "Basic" section. specifications" The inverter should be selected in accordance with these parameters.

If the user manual for the device says that the peak power is 500 watts with an average power of 300 watts, then you need to buy a 1 kW inverter, with a margin. On the one hand, the device will be guaranteed to start and operate; on the other hand, when using an inverter, you will act within the safety precautions.

There are two main directions for classifying inverters - according to the total power of connected consumers (200 V, 1 kW, and so on), and according to the type of connection - to the cigarette lighter socket using special power wires equipped with clamps. These two parameters are directly related - inverters with an output power of up to 200 watts are connected to the cigarette lighter, more powerful ones are connected to the battery terminals. This division is due to the fact that the wires leading to the cigarette lighter socket are not designed for high consumption, and if you plug in a high-power inverter into the socket, they will begin to heat up, and if the fuse does not trip in time, they may melt.

How to properly install and use the inverter

There are no special requirements for the use of low-power inverters that are connected to the cigarette lighter socket. The temperature range in which they can operate is from -15 to +50 degrees under normal humidity conditions. Do not leave the operating device in direct sunlight. It is also not recommended to hide it in drawers and under seats, since during operation the inverter heats up, and the heat must be freely removed from the body by air circulating in the cabin to avoid shutting down the device.

In principle, all the same requirements apply to more powerful inverters that are connected to the battery terminals. There are also specific important requirements: you cannot turn on the car’s ignition and start the engine if the inverter is connected to an undismantled battery, to which the car’s wiring terminals are connected.

In principle, the inverter is equipped with protection against most emergency situations. For example, when the input current drops to a voltage of less than 11 volts, a warning light on the inverter body lights up, and if the voltage drop becomes critical, the sound signal. There is also protection against overheating and short circuit.

What devices can be connected to the inverter and what restrictions exist?

Majority household appliances, especially electronic ones, are undemanding to the “quality” of electric current in the network and do not have peak load modes. However, audio equipment, for example, works well on household power and may not work well if connected to an inverter.

The point here is one of the current parameters at the output of the inverter, which is called a sine wave. Without going into technical details, we can say that in a household electrical network this sinusoid is a reference one. However, most inverters on the market are not structurally capable of delivering current with an ideal sinusoid. If this parameter is still comparable to a household network, the device will be very expensive. The current of most inverters has a modified sine wave, which means that the sound of audio system speakers, for example, may appear extraneous noise, the so-called pickups.

Some types of pumps and a number of other electrical components do not like the modified sine wave. However, the operation of the vast majority of devices is not affected by the shape of the sinusoid. As a rule, all limitations are described in the inverter operating manual.

Thus, to select a suitable inverter, you need to make simple calculations. It is necessary to calculate the total consumption of all devices that you are going to include in it. At the same time, if electrical appliances have a peak load parameter, you need to buy an inverter taking into account this particular parameter. In addition, it is necessary to include a certain reserve in the calculation, since the documented peak load, for example, of a refrigerator at the time the compressor starts, may differ from the declared one. If the consumption is calculated correctly, the device is guaranteed to “pull” everything you include in it.

All that remains to be said is the battery life without recharging. The best way to do this is with an example. A car inverter rated at 2 kW is capable of powering a country boiler with an approximate estimated consumption of 800 watts for approximately 2 hours from a 60 amp-hour battery, provided that the battery is in normal operating condition. After this time, you must have a replacement battery on hand.

A significant part of mobile electronic devices have the ability to power or charge batteries from a car cigarette lighter. Everyone knows about car charging cables. cell phones, and power supplies for laptops and various accessories powered from the car network. But in the car there is only one voltage - 12 Volts direct current, which means that not all devices can be powered from the car network. For example, a TV, an electric drill, or even an ordinary household desktop computer will require normal power supply from a Euro socket with a voltage of 220 Volts and a frequency of 50 Hz. When you want to go out into nature and watch TV there, work at the computer and turn on an electric lamp, you will certainly start looking for a car TV, a laptop and 12-volt lamps. And car accessories are much more expensive than regular ones. Take TVs, for example: a 15-inch home TV receiver will cost you several times cheaper than a car TV with a smaller screen diagonal and much worse sound. The task is clear - it is desirable to get 220 Volts AC from the car. But how to do this?

Recently, corresponding devices and inverters have begun to appear on the market. In ordinary language, these are DC-AC converters that increase the voltage from 12 V to 220 V. Today we will look at such a device from Neodrive, a new company on Russian market, offering customers a full range of electronic accessories for both computers and home use. So to speak, “Home Entertainment” class devices.

Operating principle of the inverter

The inverter principle is based on the ability of a thyristor to close and open a circuit by applying pulses at random in time to its control electrode. Theoretically, the inverter can produce any output frequency: 50 Hz for Russia and Europe, 60 Hz for the USA, or even 400 Hz for special-purpose industrial devices. For us, it is more interesting to obtain a frequency of 50 Hz, at which modern household appliances operate for the Russian, Asian and European markets. Inverters have the ability to increase the voltage and regulate it with some precision. For example, inverters used in neon modding lights convert 12V DC to several thousand volts of AC. Typically, the inverter efficiency is 90-95%, so these devices do not have very large heating losses.

The output inverter cannot produce a pure sine wave voltage. Typically, the result is an approximated sinusoid composed of many steps. But you shouldn’t be afraid of this, since almost all household appliances do not require perfect quality voltage.

Power consumption of typical household appliances

A car inverter is, if not an essential item, like a first aid kit or a spare tire, then very useful. It is quite possible that in the near future cars will be equipped with a 220 V socket by default, but for now we have the opportunity to choose for ourselves which device we need to connect when traveling. Based on how much power you need to supply, you need to choose an inverter. After all, it is absolutely clear that you can no longer connect a kilowatt heater to a device designed for 50 Watts - it will simply burn out. But there is also no point in buying a device that is too powerful in order to save space in the car, and even more so - perhaps a powerful inverter will be too inconvenient for you. So let's first decide on the power you'll need.

Typical Power Consumption modern devices
Device	Power consumption, W
Voice Recorder / CD - Player / Walkman / Razor
Energy saving lamp(100 W equivalent)
Radio tape recorder, cassette recorder
Portable DVD player with 7" color screen	22
Charger for video camera	23
Charging device for mobile phone	25
Charger for cordless drill	35
Video recorder	38-40
Table fan	30-40
37cm color TV	50
51cm color TV	72
Laptop computer	60-80
Halogen work lamp	100
Soldering iron	120
DVD player + 6-channel acoustics	130
Hand mixer	180
Polishing machine	230
Water pump	250
Desktop Personal Computer	280
Grinder	300
Home vacuum cleaner	from 600
Fan heater	1400

As you can see from the table, even several devices that can help you on vacation will not consume more than 100 W in total. Typically, low-power devices are those that you can use constantly, even while on the go in the car. For example, your passengers can work on a laptop, listen to a Walkman, or watch a portable DVD player without worrying about the batteries running out. Naturally, you will need an electrical outlet in the cabin, that is, the inverter must be connected to the car cigarette lighter socket. But automotive wiring, especially in domestic cars, is not designed for long-term heavy loads, therefore, in order not to damage the cigarette lighter socket, more powerful inverters are connected directly to the battery terminals.

Car inverters Neodrive

Neodrive offers users a wide range of the lineup automobile inverters of different power from 75 W and above. Inverters with a power of up to 100 W are connected to the car cigarette lighter to make it convenient to use simple household appliances such as a laptop, TV, tape recorder or electric razor.

More powerful inverters, which you can use for both heaters and hand tools, are connected only to the battery terminals so as not to load the car wiring.

Accordingly, the implementations of these devices are different: a more serious and more powerful one looks like an industrial device and a simpler inverter with a power of up to 100 W, like a toy. All Neodrive car inverters have hardware protection against overloads and overheating, as well as protection against car battery discharge. The inverter itself will inform you about a voltage drop on the battery (about 10.5 Volts) and when the voltage at the terminals drops to 10.1 Volts, the inverter will turn off the power so as not to discharge the battery and allow you to start the car.

Today in our test laboratory there is a 300-watt Neodrive inverter languishing, which we will now consider.

Inverter Neodrive 300w

At the time of writing the review, the 300-watt Neodrive car inverter was one of the most powerful DC-AC converters in the company’s range (there are also 500-watt models). This device is supplied in a transparent blister (packaging made of dense polyethylene).

The inverter is supplied with a user manual, connecting wires and a 40 Amp fuse.

Since this is a powerful 300-watt inverter, it is connected only to the battery terminals with heavy-duty cables with alligator clips.

The inverter itself has an aluminum case with dimensions of 170x120x52 mm and weighs almost 750 grams. On the front side there is one universal socket with grounding, into which both European and Russian plugs are connected. To the right of the socket there is an indication of the device's operation and a switch. As we have already said, the inverter has protection against short circuit, deep battery discharge, overheating and overload.

On the reverse side there are terminals for connecting power from the battery, a fuse that protects against overload and a fan. The inverter uses a type of fuses familiar to car enthusiasts.

There is one 40 amp fuse installed here. In more powerful inverters there may be several of them, while in less powerful inverters the fuses are designed for lower current.

Connect and draw conclusions

Connecting a 300-watt inverter will be as easy as getting to your car's battery. And this has its pros and cons. For example, in many foreign cars the batteries are installed not under the hood, but under one of the seats or in the trunk. Access there may be difficult. It would be logical to equip inverters with two types of power cables: from the cigarette lighter (with maximum current limitation) and from the battery. In this case, for example, to turn on the TV in a car, you do not have to pull wires from under the hood or trunk into the cabin. But if necessary, you can connect the inverter to the battery and get full power.

It is very convenient that the inverter will not allow you to discharge your car battery. Agree, it won’t be pleasant to stay in nature when the engine won’t start. The instructions say that some devices will have to be turned on several times in a row before they work normally. We connected a tape recorder and a TV - no problems arose. When the load is close to maximum, from time to time you will have to start the engine for 10-15 minutes to recharge the battery.

When starting the engine, the inverter should be disconnected from the battery to avoid damage to it. It is also not recommended to turn it on under load. That is, first connect the inverter to the battery, and then connect the load to it.

In general, Neodrive inverters are devices that should be in your car along with a first aid kit and a spare tire. On the road, on vacation or just in the garage, you can always get 220 Volts AC to recharge the batteries of phones and photo-video cameras, work with power tools or watch TV.

We thank NEODRIVE for providing the car inverter.

Mikhail Degtyarev (aka LIKE OFF)
15/11.2004

For many decades, car enthusiasts and lovers of outdoor activities have dreamed of being able to take their TV and other equipment with them. household appliances. This dream came true thanks to modern PWM controllers, which began to make step-up voltage converters from 12 to 220 Volts. Efficiency reaches 95%, which allows you to efficiently use the energy of even a small battery.

Thanks to the Chinese, online stores are filled with 12 to 220 Volt car inverters. But as you know, they love to inflate the characteristics and sell Chinese Watts.

You can read about the main characteristics in the previous article “”. Here we will look at the features of car converters that are most popular.

1. Power
2. Supply voltage
3. Sine wave shape
4. Current sources
5. Functionality check

Power

The declared power of cheap 12 to 220 voltage converters is often overestimated or is the maximum power. The seller may simply keep silent about this, and you will find out about it after it burns down. Most of you don't need 1000 or 5000W, 500W is enough.

The use of the inverter is not limited only to the car; it can be installed at home and in the country. We are primarily interested in connectivity LED lamps and LED lamps. Most readers do not want to buy specialized 12V light bulbs and spotlights, because they will rarely be used. It is rational to purchase them only if you use them frequently.

From time to time I look at the changes in the assortment in stores, and I came across an inexpensive car inverter 12 to 220 by 500 W. The price is too low, they are covering it up with a sale, I am 100% sure that the store is dark.

I decided to look into it, and it turned out:

500W is the maximum short-term for 1 minute.
360W - peak for 15 minutes;
240W – real long-term rated power.

Do not install devices with a power of more than 300-500W yourself; this should be done by an auto electrician. There's too much of a chance you'll burn something in the car.

At maximum load you can measure the output voltage; at low load it sags, and instead of 220 you will get a lower value.

Never use the device at full power, leave a reserve of 10-20%. Only expensive converters have a reserve. Take this into account when purchasing and calculating the load.

Thanks to the development of Chinese industry, many domestic brands now sell consumer goods. Some Russian brands belong to the Chinese; they have already bought up half the world. Consumer goods - it's taken finished goods at a Chinese factory and puts the name of its brand and sells it in Russia. Therefore, the same models are sold under different names.

Without load (idling), the boost current converter has a fairly high power consumption. This indicator can be from 5W to 15W, the current correspondingly up to 1A. It can completely drain your source if you forget to turn it off.

Supply voltage

The input voltage of the autoinverter is usually from 10 to 15 volts. For trucks you need from 24 to 220. The thickness of the wires going from the battery to the inverter at 24V will be 2 times less, a small plus for heavy trucks. The car must have surge protection electrical network auto.

Pay special attention to the thickness of the wires running from the battery to the voltage converter. Small thickness may cause overheating. I usually think that the cross-section of the copper cable is equal to the number of Amperes. For example, if the cross-section is 1.5 mm 2, then the cable holds up to 15A. If the output power of a car inverter is 500W, then its total consumption from the battery will be 20% more.

500W * 1.2 = 600W
600W / 12V = 50A

At a maximum load on the inverter of 500W, the current through the cable from the car battery will be 50 Amperes. The cross-section of the copper cable required is 5mm 2. If it is less than required, the cable will heat up and the insulation will melt. The short circuit of the car battery is accompanied by a whole fireworks of sparks and special sound effects. It turns out like welding, the metal gets very hot and melts.

The on-board computer of some cars does not tolerate low supply voltage very well. This happened not very long ago with a relative in a Renault Koleos, the power went down and the on-board computer burned out, and the car became half-dead. The official dealer only offered to replace the entire unit at a cost of 100,000 rubles. I had to contact an electronics engineer, who re-soldered the microcircuit for 5,000 rubles and everything worked again.

Sine wave shape

Pure sine and modified sine wave

Some readers ask the question, which sine wave at the output of a 12V 220V inverter is better, a rectangular one or a pure sine wave? Due to the nature of the conversion, the simplest thing is to obtain alternating current with rectangular pulses with a frequency of 50 Hz. Of course, this is not a natural sinusoid as in home network. Modern PWM controllers can make a shape that is almost natural, but consisting of short pulses, the so-called pure sine wave. Not every electrical appliance can operate correctly on a square sine. Electric motors, refrigerators, and microwaves.

Indicators for additional control

A pure sine wave in a 12-220V auto-inverter is preferable; all electrical appliances are designed for it, but these are much more expensive. The modified sine wave causes the circuits to operate abnormally. The heating of radio-electronic parts increases, the chokes begin to make noise. Similar results can be obtained if you dim an LED lamp that does not support brightness adjustment. At 160V, the LED lamp begins to flicker and crackle loudly.

Current sources

The power source is usually the car's main battery. I often have to communicate with auto electricians and sometimes diagnose on-board electronics of vehicles with special diagnostic devices.

I recommend using a separate 12v battery to power the current converter. People often forget to turn off the inverter itself or the load from it, and it completely drains the main car battery under the hood. It drops very hard, then it is very difficult to start the engine when there is nothing to light it with.

rated capacity 55 Amp hours;
maximum current 500A, affects the supply of current to the starter when starting the engine;
nominal voltage 12V.
fully charged energy reserve 12V * 55Ah = 660W

I know the power of your source, you can calculate the approximate operating time. Just don’t drop it too much below 11V, otherwise it will greatly shorten its service life. Store the battery only in a charged state.

To control the remaining capacity, a window is made on the case in which the indicator is red and green shows the current status.

To power the boost converter, the battery does not need characteristics such as high inrush current and stable operation at low temperatures. This will help you save money and take a larger container. Excellent parameters will be required only for operation in remote areas of the far north, when at low temperatures the capacity and current are reduced.

Many of you know that according to the Law and Protection of Consumer Rights, some products can be returned within 14 days if you do not like the color, shape or current strength. People contact me asking whether it is possible to buy a battery, use it for a week at the dacha and then return it back to the store for a refund. According to the law, you can get your money back only if it is not possible to exchange it for a similar product.

Functionality check

Lighting LED lamp

The service life of a 12-220V auto-inverter depends on the degree of protection from moisture and dust. There is a lot of dust, humid air and condensation in the car. If the case has ventilation holes, dirt can easily accumulate inside. An example is system unit from a computer that has to be cleaned every six months.

If it stops working, do the following:

read the instructions, the manufacturer may have screwed up the functionality;
wait until the inverter cools down;
check for short circuits; wires in electrical plugs usually fall off;
check the booster fuse, even if it is reusable;
check the cigarette lighter fuse;
Look at the operating mode indicators, they may indicate a malfunction.

After purchase, I recommend immediately testing it to ensure it is working with the rated load. To do this, connect incandescent lamps of suitable power to it. For example, 2-5 incandescent light bulbs of 100 watts. Let them work for 30 minutes, during which time the 12-220V car inverter should warm up to operating temperature if the surrounding atmosphere is above 0 degrees.

Wattmeter Robiton PM-2

You can control the amount of watts consumed on the indicator of the voltage converter from 12V to 220V; it is available in expensive models. It’s easier to buy a 220V household wattmeter and connect it. I use Robiton PM-2, very high accuracy up to 0.1W, others calculate much worse. The cost of Robiton PM-2 is equal to the cheapest Chinese wattmeter, and the accuracy is an order of magnitude higher.

Separate built-in voltmeter and ammeter modules are also sold, but they are quite expensive, starting from 600 rubles. For this amount you can buy 2 of the simplest multimeters such as B830, B831. Then connect them as your imagination allows, taping them with nano-insulating tape to the inverter body.

Modern living conditions require us to constantly move within the city, go on long-distance business trips, and travel to different countries of the world. Thanks to a personal car, any trip turns into an exciting tour, during which you can enjoy marvelous landscapes and explore new sights. During a planned trip, a person must remain connected at all times and also be able to use the necessary set of electrical appliances for his needs and needs. An uninterrupted current supply and excellent operation of any electrical equipment will be ensured by a car inverter, which compares favorably with the standard cigarette lighter used everywhere.

What is an inverter and what is it for?

A car inverter is a special device that converts the output current from a car battery with a standard voltage of 12 V into an acceptable current value for modern electrical appliances and digital devices. The classic output power is considered to be 110/220 W. A voltage of 220 units ensures efficient operation and recharging of various power tools, pumps, video and audio equipment, laptops, tablets, phones, even microwave ovens and toasters taken on the road. Each car inverter has a built-in protection system that protects the device from overload, overheating and high voltage power. This allows the car owner to use one inverter for many years to connect a wide variety of electronic equipment.

Car inverters are attached to the battery located inside the car using special clamps or terminals, which are usually included with the device. Also, some low-power models have the ability to connect directly to the cigarette lighter socket, but such devices are only suitable for long-term charging of a mobile phone and nothing more. In this article we will focus our attention on classic 12-220 W inverters. In our store you can use both types of connections.

Some features of choosing a device.
Choosing a high-quality car inverter can take a car enthusiast some time, since the market for automotive products today is replete with variety and it is very difficult to figure out which model of inverter will last for many years. First of all, when choosing a car inverter, you need to pay attention to its technical data, reflected in the attached data sheet. The output current of the inverter most often forms a modified sine wave, which will ultimately cause the failure of all electronic equipment connected to the inverter. The first criterion for the quality of an inverter is the pure sine of the converted current. The price of a device with a pure sine wave output will be an order of magnitude higher than the cost of classic car inverters, however, due to the high efficiency of current conversion, such a device will last much longer and will keep all electrical appliances in working order.

When purchasing a car inverter, you should test it for its maximum output power. So, for example, a device with characteristics of 12 V - 220 W at the highest load can produce a voltage of only 196 W. The power of the inverter should not exceed the power of a car generator, but at the same time have a voltage twice as high as the current consumption device used.
Before starting testing, the inverter must be turned off, since when the car engine is turned on, there is a strong voltage surge from the on-board network, as a result of which the turned on inverter can simply burn out. During the test, the starting current indicators are increased to determine maximum voltage, which may come from the device. This check is especially recommended for those who are going to connect electrical appliances of varying power to a car inverter.

You should also take into account the fact that the higher the output voltage a car inverter is designed for, the more electricity it will “pump out” from car systems. In this case, to maintain the operation of the inverter, it will be necessary to increase the engine speed (if it was previously turned on at idle speed), which will lead to increased fuel consumption. Some appliances may also use electrical energy found in car battery, thereby discharging it faster. These aspects, perhaps, can be attributed to the disadvantages of almost all automobile inverters, since the very principle of their operation directly depends on the voltage produced by the automobile generator. The range in our online store includes models with power from 150 to 700 Watts.

What else should you pay attention to?
A high-quality inverter is equipped with protection against overloads, short circuits in the network, overheating, and excess or reduction of input voltage. Built-in alarm possible malfunctions or reducing the battery power will allow the car owner to instantly fix the problem. If the autogenerator supplies less current to the inverter, the car’s battery will quickly run out even with the engine on.

Many inverter manufacturers focus on the external design of the device, while leaving the main function of the device – current conversion – undeveloped. As a result, it turns out that when purchasing an inverter capable of converting a 12 V battery into 220 W, a person cannot simply charge a phone or boil a kettle, since the maximum power does not correspond to the specified one. It is important when choosing an inverter to focus not on presentable appearance, and the internal filling, which will provide efficient use all necessary devices.

You need to approach the choice of a car inverter consciously and understand for what purposes it will need to be used. If you are thinking about a universal device for equipment of any power, models that are more expensive, but also more powerful, will suit you. If your goal is to use the inverter as a source for recharging digital devices, the most the best option Your purchase will be a car inverter with ratings of 150-300 W.

Summer is the season of vacations, trips to the sea and the forest, a time of incredible stories and crazy adventures. Are you already looking forward to when your boss will let you go on vacation so you can jump into your favorite basin and go explore places where no man has gone before?

Don’t forget to get an outlet in your car so you can charge all your gadgets even on the beach! It's strange, but many people don't know what's in the car it's very easy to add, and today we will talk about it.

Bogdan D., a car master with golden hands, helped me in working on this material; let’s all say thank you to him, he sorted out all the nuances.

You will need a car inverter, what is it?

Modern cars have a lot of electrical devices powered by a battery. They need 12V, and all the electronics inside your pelvis are designed for that. But you need 220 or so, where can you get it?

Imagine you want to go outdoors with friends, load shrimp into a frying pan, throw it all on the fire and celebrate any day of summer with good European beer. You take the most ordinary audio system from home and plug it into the socket right in the car. Great plan!

To realize your plans, you need to buy a couple of kilos of seafood, a box of unfiltered and car inverter.

This is a device that will help convert the current in the electrical system of the car in the necessary way and will make it possible to connect not only a home audio system, but even a TV or refrigerator.

Car inverter transforms constant pressure in a wheelbarrow to variable- this is what you use at home. For this you need a built-in current generator. It creates a harmonious wave that converts your 12V into 220 or so.

A normal inverter also has protection mechanisms. They are needed to prevent the device from catching fire when it gets too hot from a high load. There are even models that provide active air cooling.

What kind of inverters look like? Most often these are small boxes that can be connected either to the cigarette lighter or directly to the car's electrical system.

They have several sockets for connecting the most common plugs from household appliances, and some even have a pair of USBs, and you can put any mobile gadgets in them.

In general, if you plan to go on adventures, you definitely need an inverter.

How does an expensive inverter differ from a cheap one and vice versa?

I’m sure you’ve already gone to online stores to look for a suitable inverter. When you realize that the price of these devices can differ tenfold, return to this article and study further.

Rest assured, it's not just about the brand name. No, in most cases the cost is affected by the functionality of the device - for example, its power.

The expert I invited to back up the information with experience suggests dividing all inverters in this regard into three categories.

Up to 300W. These are the weakest models, which in most cases are connected through the cigarette lighter. There are options when these can be attached directly to the car’s electrical network, but this is pointless - too much hassle.

Most often these are taken for recharge mobile devices and some laptops. But sometimes it’s easier to just stick a car charger in the cigarette lighter.

300 - 1500W. Such automobile inverters are called standard or conventional. They are powered only directly from the machine's electrical network.

They can be used to connect a TV, any laptop, and even a microwave.

More than 1500W. These particularly powerful inverters are only connected directly to the power grid, and are chosen mainly for difficult work in wild areas (for example, construction).

You can easily connect a drill to this, and a grinder, if you really need it.

Look, when you choose an inverter, make sure that it exceeds your devices in power by at least 20-30%. If you connect something too powerful, it will burn out and risk frying the wiring in the car (at least in theory). And don’t load it 100% for a long time, you risk ruining it.

If the devices that you plan to connect to the inverter require stable 220V, choose the most powerful one - more than 1500 W. 300W models are unlikely to produce more than 200V.

Each car inverter can operate in 3 modes:

Startup mode- on it the device quickly delivers maximum power in order to “start” something demanding. He won't last long in this mode.
Normal mode- in this way, the inverter maintains its usual power as needed.
Overload mode- especially powerful mode. In this case, the inverter will work for up to 30 minutes; in this case, it produces up to 1.5 times more than the declared power.

An experienced engineer will confirm that at maximum power any device will not last long.

So in 95% of cases the inverter should be used in normal mode, and for this there is no need to connect devices to it that are not suitable for its power.

How to choose a normal car inverter and not miss the mark

There are frankly cheap, low-quality inverters that should be avoided. As for the rest, the correct choice of such a device will be different for everyone.

The inverter is selected for the specific devices that will be connected to it, and here are 6 points that need to be taken into account.

1) Check the power of the car's generator. There is a golden rule: the inverter power cannot be more than 50% of the generator power.

Only in this case, when your car is started, the inverter will not discharge the battery - at least with devices connected to it. About one half of its power will go to the needs of car systems, so you have the second left.

If you don’t follow this rule, you risk ending up somewhere in the forest with a dead battery. Doesn't sound too rosy, does it?

Look, a 750W converter operates at 13V - that's 58A. The VAZ 10 will not produce such current at idle speed, so the inverter will eat up the battery charge and will let you down at the most inopportune moment.

The maximum generator of this car can produce 80A, but this can only be achieved at 5000 engine rpm.

2) Define devices for it. It is advisable to carefully study the devices that you will connect to the inverter: how much power they need at startup, in normal mode and at peak.

Also keep in mind that the voltage depends on the power of the inverter, and only the most powerful ones can produce 220V more or less stably.

Xiaomi Mi Car Inverter Mijia from the inside

3) Understand its usage pattern. The cigarette lighter in a car usually produces no more than 100W, so when buying an inverter that will be connected to it, pay attention to this.

If you need something more powerful, think about what and how it will be connected, where the outlet should be: inside the cabin or not - all this will greatly influence your choice.

Xiaomi Mijia SMARTMI

4) Pay attention to his brand. A normal inverter is equipped with protection against short circuits and overheating, but a Chinese one of unknown origin is not.

It’s best to look for a suitable model in large chain stores; they definitely won’t sell you something outright wild there.

If you love AliExpress, be sure to pay attention to Xiaomi inverters:

Xiaomi Mi Car Inverter Mijia (RUB 3,550) - inverter for cup holder
Xiaomi Mijia SMARTMI (RUB 3,350) - traditional inverter

Both inverters are 100W - they connect to the cigarette lighter specifically for mobile gadgets.

Xiaomi Mi Car Inverter Mijia

5) Check the type of inverter socket. Look, for example, in Xiaomi Mi Car Inverter Mijia for the cup holder is not our socket, so you will need an adapter.

But in Xiaomi Mijia SMARTMI universal entrance suitable for any plugs, but with a completely different form factor. Choose what is closest to your liking if you are considering Xiaomi.

6) Check out the extras. inverter features. Expensive inverters offer a lot of auxiliary features: information screens, voltage changes and USB. If it's not necessary, don't overpay.

I like USB cigarette lighter inverters. On the one hand, you get a full-fledged outlet, on the other hand, you do not lose the interface for charging your iPhone.