pianotuna wrote: Hi, Actually most inverters do use some power when they are turned on and waiting to power up items. For mine it is about 0.5 of an amp, or about 7 watts.
Yes, inverters DO use power while sitting idle waiting for loads, and according to HandyBobsSolarBlog, many large inverters use 2 amps or more when idle. I'd be cautious about believing the manufacturer's specs until I measured the current used myself. Bottom line, you will not want a big inverter left connected when you are not planning to use it.
You will also want to make sure that large 120v loads are switched off before connecting the inverter. Resistive loads such as your water heater and refirgerator use a lot of power, so need to be switched to propane.
I'd be very cautious about Handy Bob. His site is somewhat better but still quite wordy, sometimes misleading and often error prone. Hence the out of date information on inverters. YMMV.
Mine uses exactly what the manual says it will. They do "cheat" and call it 500 mw instead of 0.5 of an amp.
NetBoy wrote:
pianotuna wrote: Hi, Actually most inverters do use some power when they are turned on and waiting to power up items. For mine it is about 0.5 of an amp, or about 7 watts.
Yes, inverters DO use power while sitting idle waiting for loads, and according to HandyBobsSolarBlog, many large inverters use 2 amps or more when idle. I'd be cautious about believing the manufacturer's specs until I measured the current used myself. Bottom line, you will not want a big inverter left connected when you are not planning to use it.
You will also want to make sure that large 120v loads are switched off before connecting the inverter. Resistive loads such as your water heater and refirgerator use a lot of power, so need to be switched to propane.
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