Thread: Non-load power drain of power inverter

These devices vary in their standby load. It is probably only a few hundred milliamps, if that, and some switch off with power use down to a few milliamps and check for any load every few seconds - but in the absence of any information from the manual this is only a guess. Certainly the efficiency of the device will be very low when operating at a small fraction of its maximum output. I would disconnect it when not in use.

I would expect the six hour duty cycle only applies when operated at its rated power. But it is worth noting that this rating, and the duty cycle, almost certainly are specified at 20C, and should be significantly derated at typical Australian summer temperatures.

John

my old jaycar 150W unit draws 150mA on standby and double that if its pinging the alarm and running the fan.

Get a multi meter, and check the current yourself???

"Period of use: 6 hours".

That's when the warranty runs out?

Originally Posted by bee utey

That's when the warranty runs out?

Yes, that did cross my mind.....

Thanks for all the info folks, that gives me some numbers to work from.

Coop

My Jaycar 300W pure sine wave has a switch.
AFAIR I tested the current drain and it was nil switched off.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by bee utey

Get a multi meter, and check the current yourself???

In case others need this information, I finally found a way to do this (had difficulty inserting a multimeter into the circuit because it uses a cigarette lighter type of plug which could not be disassembled).
The unit has an internal fan. The no load current draw was 280mA.
It will mostly be operated at about half its rated output (about 65W) so should tolerate reasonably high temps without too much trouble.
Regards

Coop

More than likely will derate instead of self destructing. Then again, who knows.