PCP Air Compressor Help

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MddogHutty

MddogHutty

Member
Jul 29, 2016
167
4
Hull, Humberside, United Kingdom
Hi all just wanted to know i have a normal yong heng compressor which plugs in at home but was thinking if I purchased ￡11.95 21%OFF | Pure Sine Wave Inverter DC 12v/24v To AC 110V/220V 1000W 1600W 2000W 3000W Voltage Transformer Power Converter Solar Inverter
https://a.aliexpress.com/_msraNJ7 I could then take it out and about with me in the car and run it off the car battery or there is 1 more product https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Mobile-Converter-Inverter-Adapter-DC-12V-24V-to-AC-220V-Charger-Power-abW9H-/333921230955?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286 where I could maybe use it into the cig lighter if anyone has ever done this please let me know thanks
 
The YH compressor draws way to many amps to be used with a cigarette lighter. I think it draws like near 18 amps at start up then settles down a bit after that so it will usually run on a 15 amp 120V circuit. Other than the output of the alternator to the battery none of the cars electrical system is rated to deal with the draw of the YH.

I really doubt that a $34 inverter will power the YH even if the specs say it will. Remember these are China specs and often just a figment of someone's imagination.
 
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I was thinking on a digital car inverter which can be attached to the battery or cig lighter but has you guys have mentioned wouldn't work from the cig lighter. So could just use the car battery and plug my compressor straight into the car inverter check this link out guys and let me know your thoughts then.￡10.01 40%OFF | 6000W Digital Car Inverter 12V To 220V Modified Sine Wave Inverter Voltage Converter + Lcd Display
https://a.aliexpress.com/_msQIe9n
 
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When you cut the voltage by a factor of 10 (120/12) you have to multiply the amps by the same amount to do the same amount of work. A 15 amp 120v load will require 150 amps at 12v into the inverter plus a little more to overcome the losses in the converter. Your alternator probably won't keep up either. You might want to consider a small inverter gasoline generator.
 
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"When you cut the voltage by a factor of 10 (120/12) you have to multiply the amps by the same amount to do the same amount of work." - Yes - as long as you are talking about the same type of electricity for both the 120 and 12 volts. AC energy cycles from full to zero over and over again. DC goes to full and stays there so it would be able to do more work.

A size 14 AGW can easily carry 15 amps of 120 volt AC current.

150 amps of 12 volt DC current will fry it instantly. For a run of just 3 meters it would require something like a size 300MCM AGW cable.

15 amps of 12 volt DC current requires, I think, a minimum size 6 AGW cable.

Sounds funny but if you feed an electric motor more amps than required it loves it, feed it less and it will overheat so make sure any inverter/generator you get can deliver the power you need.

All that said, my suggestion is - listen to what the guys are saying and don't do it.
 
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Yes guys thanks for all your comments i just thought you would be able to convert my plugged yong heng so it would be able to run off a car battery. So with all your comments and suggestions. I may has well keep that one for home and spend the extra and buy a tuxing for when out and about which I can connect too the car battery or failing that just buy a small 2ltr or 3ltr bottle and start carrying that but thanks for all the comments guys and straightening that question out for me.
 
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Lets do some math and a little physics:

1800Watts at 120V is still 1800W at 12V add to that 5-7% loss in the inverter so lets say 1900W draw at the 12V side.

1900W at 12V is 1900/12=158Amps. And for a prolonged time you need something like 2/0 AWG (diameter of your pinky) cable.

Now for the battery, don't know what is in your car but expect to utilize @ 2/3 of the stated Amperage on the battery. For a 100Amp battery this means you can run the compressor for no more than: 100 x 2/3 = 65Ah with a draw of 158A that sums up to 0,41hour or roughly 25min before your battery is flat.



If you should persue this route then please have the motor running when running the compressor!
 
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"When you cut the voltage by a factor of 10 (120/12) you have to multiply the amps by the same amount to do the same amount of work." - Yes - as long as you are talking about the same type of electricity for both the 120 and 12 volts. AC energy cycles from full to zero over and over again. DC goes to full and stays there so it would be able to do more work.

A size 14 AGW can easily carry 15 amps of 120 volt AC current.

150 amps of 12 volt DC current will fry it instantly. For a run of just 3 meters it would require something like a size 300MCM AGW cable.

15 amps of 12 volt DC current requires, I think, a minimum size 6 AGW cable.

Sounds funny but if you feed an electric motor more amps than required it loves it, feed it less and it will overheat so make sure any inverter/generator you get can deliver the power you need.

All that said, my suggestion is - listen to what the guys are saying and don't do it.
Click to expand...


AC voltage does EXACTLY the same amount of work as the same value DC voltage. AC is measured RMS ( Root Mean Square) which exactly matches the heating ability of the same DC voltage. This means AC and DC do the same work even though DC does stay at a full voltage. The peak-to-peak AC voltage is actually the square root of 2 times the measured RMS voltage..

14 AWG will carry 15 amps regardless of the voltage type although 12 AWG on a 20 amp breaker/fuse would be a better choice for a 15 amp load since you would want to have a safety margin. Nobody suggested 14AWG for the DC feed to the inverter.

The input to the inverter is going to be at least about 170 amps DC at 12 volts depending on inverter efficiency. A 2/0 copper or 3/0 AL would be enough to carry the current for the short jumper to a engine mounted inverter. This site calculates 220 amps @12 volt input.

You don't "feed amps" to a motor. The motor draws what it needs from the circuit based on the load and its design parameters. A 1 amp motor will only use 1 amp whether connected to a 3000 amp supply or a 2 amp supply. If the voltage drops or the load increases then it will try to draw more amps to carry the load until it over heats and burns out or trips its protection circuit.
 
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