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  • inverter problems

    Hi, I have a 1500w inverter, 12v- 220v. I have used it to power all lighting and appliances with no problem except for the computers power supply. Whenever I plug the computer( even if its turned off) all the open lights would flicker on and off and the computer would not power on.No tripping on the inverter.When i removed the plug,all lights are back to normal. When i switch to grid power, computer and everything is working fine. pls help.

  • #2
    I'll bet this is a desktop/tower computer, not a laptop with a "power brick" in the cord. Computers have a large switching power supply. This supply has large capacitors that charge up, and power a large internal DC-DC converter. You inverter is most likely a "modified sine wave" inverter, which is what "square wave" inverters are mis-labeled as. Square wave inverters do not have the full voltage peak that a sine wave has, and is unlikely to be able to charge the power supply caps to full voltage.

    If you know how many watts your computer needs, you can get a pure sine inverter to power just that item. Unfortunately, pure sine inverters are not cheap. Morningstar makes a nice 300W one, that can surge to 600W for 10 min, and Exeltech also makes some small sine inverters, but I don't know if they have 220V models.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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    • #3
      Tnx a lot. you,re right, Its a tower desktop. and the inverter says "modified sine wave". I have taken a reading on the electric meter and it shows 0.5 kwH for 4 hours continuous usage of the computer alone. Supply for the monitor and all other accessories is from solar. Ill start looking now for a pure sine wave inverter.

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      • #4
        How about these small UPS that offices use for computers for a few minutes during power interruptions, will the inverters in them be able to survive hours of continuous use?

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        • #5
          Originally posted by axis11 View Post
          How about these small UPS that offices use for computers for a few minutes during power interruptions, will the inverters in them be able to survive hours of continuous use?
          No

          a) the batteries in them are only good for about 15 minutes.

          b) if you connect to larger batteries, they will BBQ themselves in 30-40 minutes, because they lack heat sinks and cooling fans.

          There is no cheap way to solve this.
          Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
          || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
          || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

          solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
          gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

          Comment


          • #6
            tnx mike!

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