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Most electrical tools, appliances and audio/video equipment have a
label indicating power consumption in amps or watts. Add up the
power consumption of those items you will be using simultaneously,
keeping the total below the rating of Inverter. If the power consump-
tion is rated in amps, multiply by the AC voltage (115) to determine
the wattage. For example, a power drill rated at 3.2 amps will draw
368 watts, more than the 150W Inverter can handle on a continuous
basis.
Resistive loads are the easiest for the Inverter to drive, though larg-
er resistive loads, such as electric stoves or heaters, usually require
more wattage than the Inverter can deliver continuously. Inductive
loads, such as TV 's and stereos (any device with a coil or transformer
in it), by nature require more current to operate than a resistive load
of the same wattage rating. Induction motors (motors without brush-
es), as well as some televisions, may require 2 to 6 times their
wattage rating to start up. This condition may require repeated "ON
OFF, ON OFF, ON OFF" switching of the power switch on your Inverter
in order to get them "started".