Inverter putting out 98 volts
I'm using a power line cigarette lighter plugin style inverter for inside the cab, running my computer and periodically, for a 32 inch tv for tailgating. I have never checked the voltage until today ...
Forum Discussion
road-runner wrote:I've looked at the output from about a dozen MSW inverters on a scope, and every one of them has a peak voltage in the 140 ballpark, directly proportional to the DC input voltage. This explains why peak-reading meters read low, and microwaves produce less cooking power.
Most better MSW inverters are designed so that the peak voltage is roughly the same as for a sine wave (i.e. about 170 volts) and the duty cycle is such that the rms voltage, and hence power into a resistive load, is also the same.
I guess many MSW inverters are not "better" MSW inverters. Somehow that does not surprise me in the least.
Probably I should have said that it's possible to make an MSW inverter where the peak voltage and RMS voltage are the same as for a pure sine wave. Perhaps there are good reasons other than cost why this isn't typically done--such as attempting to minimize harmonic distortion as much as possible, although it's not possible to minimize it too much.
