In their most basic form, these are devices that convert the direct current (DC) that is produced by your vehicle’s battery into alternating current (AC), which is the type of electricity that is produced by connections in your home that are linked to the power grid.
Just like other modalities and tools that work with air compressors, or run air compressors, so are the investors that are of many kinds and specifications. Being a complicated device, the usage isn’t much, but offers significant purposes.
In the same event, here we are on a hunt to know if a power inverter can run an air compressor or if it doesn’t have much capability to do so. Being on the same page, let’s start with it in the section below.
Can a power Invertor run an air compressor – Direct answer
There is a common misunderstanding that power inverters are the same thing as catalytic converters, which are devices that reduce the emissions produced by exhaust.
If you have a power converter, you can connect all of your electronic devices and home appliances to it and power them just as if you were plugging them into an electrical outlet in your home.
As mentioned above, there are certain types of investors that can be discussed later. For now, getting on to the question, yes, you can use power inverters to run an air compressor.
In addition, power inverters that are of square waves are considered ideal for running an air compressor.
But with that being said, they are also quite difficult to handle and use to run the compressor.
After considering the capacity and strength of the system, it takes approximately 12 DC Amp to run 1 AC Amp. On another note, if you have a compressor that draws 10 Amps, considering the power source to make it run you need a battery that can provide at least 120 Amps.
Important points to note:
When powering AC motors with an inverter, you have a number of considerations that need to be made.
- Inductor current: It is often known as the surge that occurs when a motor first starts up. It is imperative that the inverter be scaled appropriately to accommodate the motor’s Peak Current.
- The type of alternating current: Less expensive inverters have a tendency to generate square waves as opposed to the standard household sine wave. Inverters that produce square waves are particularly taxing on electric motors.
After taking into account parameters such as voltage and efficiency, a general rule of thumb is that approximately 12 DC amps are required to power one AC amp.
That means you’ll need at least 1440 watts of battery power to run your compressor, which is a 10 Amp draw (120A x 12VDC). It’s possible that starting a motor will require 10 times the typical amount of electricity, but each motor is unique.
Taking all of this into consideration, you will require an inverter that is 14400 watts. However, you run the risk of damaging your motor by using a higher-wattage inverter that does not include current limiting.
Features of a power inverter:
- Power inverters are very helpful when installing a solar power system since they transform energy from the sun into electricity, which can then be used to power electronic devices that are housed inside of a vehicle. This is clean energy that won’t put a strain on even the most expensive battery in your car.
- When it comes to power inverters, they aren’t just for vehicles; they may also be used to set up a modest power source in a cottage or outhouse.
Factors that you must consider:
As mentioned, there are multiple factors that come with the use of power inverters or just invertors to run air compressor and to avoid any confusion we are going to talk about them here:
The type of battery source:
As mentioned above about the battery voltage, if you have a compressor that draws 10 Amps, you need a battery that can provide at least 120 Amps or 120A multiplied by 12VDC.
Now there are two main approaches, a lead acid and the other one is lithium. A lead acid battery is all you need if the majority of your use for a 12V air compressor is to fill tires and you only use it with a few items.
When you just use the air compressor for a short period of time each day, there is no use in spending money on a costly lithium battery. On the other hand, you will need a robust system in order to use an inverter to power a motor or a pump.
But if you run an air compressor with more than 2 horsepower in a workshop for more than an hour at a time, you will almost certainly want to invest in lithium batteries.
Considering the advantage of lithium is that it may be completely discharged, in contrast, to lead acid, which can only be used to its half capacity. You are required to recharge it when it reaches a level of fifty percent or less, so that’s something good about it.
The type of Invertor:
For this, the fundamental 12V 15-amp air compressor can be powered by an inverter with a capacity of 500 watts. On the other hand, a 1 Horsepower 120-volt air compressor will call for an inverter that is 3000 watts.
On another note, it is suggested that large duty air compressors use an inverter that produces pure sine waves.
Conclusion
If you are new to it and just looking for stuff to get assured that you are on the right path. You must take into account how often you use it, how much power it consumes, and so on.
You will now have a better idea of what inverter and battery to purchase as a result of this, so I hope that this article has helped you.
