Connection
The method of connecting the auto-inverter to the on-board network or car battery.
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In the cigarette lighter. Connection to a standard car socket DC 12V; traditionally, the role of such an outlet is played by the cigarette lighter socket (hence the name), but many newer cars also have a separate socket. This option is the most convenient — after all, plugging the plug into the socket is much easier than pulling cables from the battery to the inverter installation site. On the other hand, it is only suitable for models with a rated output power (see below) up to 300 watts — high power creates extra loads on the on-board network and can lead to overheating and damage to the wiring.
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Crocodiles (to the battery). Connection directly to the battery using cables with alligator clips. By itself, a direct connection to the battery allows you to create quite powerful devices — the 300 W limit, typical for power from the cigarette lighter (see above), does not apply here. However, it is believed that alligator clips provide a less dense and reliable connection than cables (see below), and are less suitable for high currents. Therefore, the rated power of such inverters usually does not exceed 1500 W. On the other hand, such a connection is more convenient for quickly connecting and disconnecting the inverter.
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Cable (to the battery). Connection di
...rectly to the battery using cables with flat terminals, which are clamped into the battery terminals when connected. This design provides a tighter contact than the "crocodiles" described above, but is less convenient when connecting and disconnecting the inverter. It is typical for high power inverters.
— In the cigarette lighter / crocodiles. Universal models that allow connection both through the cigarette lighter socket and directly to the battery using crocodile clips. The technical features of both connection options are described above. Here we note that the rated output power of such inverters can exceed 300 W; in such cases, when operating from the cigarette lighter, care must be taken not to connect a load of more than 300 W to the device.Output waveform
The shape of the graph of the voltage produced by the autoinverter.
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Pure sine. The classic alternating voltage graph has this form - incl. and what is present in 230 V household networks. Thus, a sine wave indicates a high quality of the output signal - the voltage changes evenly, without sudden changes and as close as possible to the parameters of conventional sockets. This allows you to connect almost any load to the autoinverter - even audio systems and other delicate electronics that are sensitive to power quality. On the other hand, such quality requires the use of complex control circuits and has a noticeable impact on cost, but there is a real need for it not so often. Therefore, a sinusoidal signal is typical mainly for premium autoinverters.
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Modified sine. This term (also called “approximate”) means that this output waveform is only approximately similar to a sine wave. As a rule, such a graph looks like “steps”, sometimes quite large. This is enough to power most types of load used in cars - from lamps and power tools to televisions and laptops; At the same time, the autoinverters themselves are not as expensive as models with a pure sine wave. Their disadvantage is the inability to work with sensitive electronic devices, but this point cannot be called critical: the list of such devices is quite small, and they are used very rarely in cars.
Protection
Protection systems provided in the design of the autoinverter.
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Against short circuit. A short circuit occurs due to a sharp drop in load resistance to very small values (for example, due to insulation breakdown or circuit contamination in a device connected to an autoinverter). As a result, the current increases critically, which can lead to damage to both the load and the inverter itself, and even fire and injury. This protection prevents such consequences by turning off the power in the event of a short circuit.
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From overheating. Protection against critical temperature increase of the autoinverter: when heated, the system turns off the device, preventing damage and other undesirable consequences. Note that overheating is not necessarily a sign of a problem — it can also occur during prolonged operation in normal mode (which does not negate the need to turn it off to avoid trouble).
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From overload. Overloads occur when the power consumption of the connected device(s) exceeds the output power of the auto inverter (see above). Such situations lead to work in emergency modes, which is fraught with breakdowns and even fires. Some of the consequences of such situations can be handled by other protection systems (for example, the overheating protection described above), but in this case it is easier to prevent the cause than to deal with th
...e consequences.
— From incorrect connection. A system that protects the auto-inverter from connecting with the wrong polarity: detecting a mismatch between “plus” and “minus”, the protection turns off the device, preventing breakdowns and other troubles. This function is found only in models connected directly to the battery (see above) — it is impossible to reverse the polarity when plugged into the cigarette lighter socket.Cable length
The length of the connecting cable included with the autoinverter. The longer the cable, the farther from the connection point you can install the device; this is especially important for models designed to work directly from the battery (see "Connection").
Operating temperature
The range of ambient air temperatures in which the car inverter is guaranteed to maintain normal performance. It is necessary to focus here on the expected minimums and maximums
of operating temperatures. For example, if in a harsh winter the thermometer readings do not fall below -15 ° C, then the devices from the “-20 ° C and below” item for such operating conditions will be enough with a margin.
Dimensions
General dimensions of the autoinverter.
In modern cars (especially passenger cars), usually, there is not much space for installing additional equipment. This parameter allows you to estimate the space required to place the inverter, make sure that the selected device fits into the “footprint”, and, if necessary, choose another location or another model. At the same time, it must be remembered that for many auto-inverters a certain margin is needed in place — for the normal operation of the cooling system; this margin is usually specified in the detailed documentation.
