How do I check voltage of an inverter?

[lived666]

Google tells me I need something called a Multimeter.

I have an inverter that should be 12V DC to 220V AC - so how do I check this without frying myself?

How do I check that the DC input is in fact 12V and not 24V - where would I measure that, and I assume the output is easy enough to check, you just stick in the pointy things on the Multimeter into the AC plug on the inverter and see what it says.

I also want to check the battery charge, that my 12V batteries are charged so can a multimeter read a full range from 12V up to 220V - would any of these two from Makro work, they look cheap enough:

https://www.makro.co.za/diy/major-tech-digital-multimeter-22427EA

would this R100 do the job, it shows only 9V for batteries and whats all the other numbers?
https://www.makro.co.za/diy/major-tech-multimeter-witht-battery-test-298488EA

 

[kidcolt]

Google tells me I need something called a Multimeter.

hmmm, I would recommend you ask a buddy that is familiar with electronics to help you. Electricity is dangerous... as little as 100 milliamps of current can cause ventricular fibrillation of the heart.

 

[Segg]

hmmm, I would recommend you ask a buddy that is familiar with electronics to help you. Electricity is dangerous... as little as 100 milliamps of current can cause ventricular fibrillation of the heart.

+1

If you've never used a multimeter before then I wouldn't recommend you play around with electricity without someone with a bit of experience.

The inverter will state what voltage is required for it to work, there is no easy way of measuring this yourself, but the relationship between voltage and current becomes important depending on what you plan to power with it. So when it comes to buying an inverter you will decide on either a 12v (for small loads) or 24v (medium to large loads).
It will most likely have a modified sine wave output, with 220v PD.

Yes that multimeter from Makro will be fine Just be very cautious if this is a first for you

 

[lived666]

+1

If you've never used a multimeter before then I wouldn't recommend you play around with electricity without someone with a bit of experience.

The inverter will state what voltage is required for it to work, there is no easy way of measuring this yourself, but the relationship between voltage and current becomes important depending on what you plan to power with it. So when it comes to buying an inverter you will decide on either a 12v (for small loads) or 24v (medium to large loads).
It will most likely have a modified sine wave output, with 220v PD.

Yes that multimeter from Makro will be fine Just be very cautious if this is a first for you

Its a pure sine wave, brand new, just not working, I connect the batteries and nada, it only comes on when connected to the mains. I will be very cautious, I will ask my wife to plug in the thingys and test.

Which one from Makro, the cheapo R100 one?

 

[User52]

Both will work just fine. They both have AC and DC Readings.

 

[skeptic_SA]

Its a pure sine wave, brand new, just not working, I connect the batteries and nada, it only comes on when connected to the mains. I will be very cautious, I will ask my wife to plug in the thingys and test.

Which one from Makro, the cheapo R100 one?

^THIS^ bwhahahahahaha

 

[Segg]

Its a pure sine wave, brand new, just not working, I connect the batteries and nada, it only comes on when connected to the mains. I will be very cautious, I will ask my wife to plug in the thingys and test.

Which one from Makro, the cheapo R100 one?

Yea the R100 unit would be fine, do you have a UPS or inverter? Considering it works fine when you plug it in

 

[lived666]

Yea the R100 unit would be fine, do you have a UPS or inverter? Considering it works fine when you plug it in

Its an inverter with built in charger and automatic switch over when the power goes down, the switch over part isn't working. As soon as the main is off the inverter dies, so that is why I want to check voltage - to see what is what.

 

[Segg]

Its an inverter with built in charger and automatic switch over when the power goes down, the switch over part isn't working. As soon as the main is off the inverter dies, so that is why I want to check voltage - to see what is what.

So a UPS then? I've unfortunately had to throw away a couple of UPS's after they were overloaded, their symptoms were the same as yours, I didn't take a look but I'm pretty sure the relays were buggered in some way, as the click during the changeover didn't occur

 

[lived666]

So a UPS then?

Erm no, an inverter with additional features.

 

[Segg]

Erm no, an inverter with additional features.

Can you post a pic?

 

[lived666]

 

[simple_simon]

^THIS^ bwhahahahahaha

seriously dude, don't mess with electricity. Ask someone who you don't have to explain what a multi-meter is to.

 

[Segg]

If it's new take it back for repairs, I wouldn't open that thing up. Else I'm sure if you look around there should be an electronics repair store that repairs these. Especially considering that you seem to be new to electronics. These things can kill.

 

[lived666]

seriously dude, don't mess with electricity. Ask someone who you don't have to explain what a multi-meter is to.

it cant be that hard to use, its colour coded.....I, actually my wife, puts the red on the red, the black on the black and the dial shows 12V or 220V or there is lots of smoke....

 

[lived666]

These things can kill.

Talking about things that kill - how does one set up batteries in series?
I wanted to see if this was maybe a 24V inverter and not 12V like it is supposed to be, as I have 2x12V batteries.
I thought it was + to -, so you take two batteries and connect a cable on say A + to the other say B - and then A- to B+, I tried that it was like fireworks...not cool at all

 

[Segg]

it cant be that hard to use, its colour coded.....I, actually my wife, puts the red on the red, the black on the black and the dial shows 12V or 220V or there is lots of smoke....

Yes that's how you'd measure the battery, or the output from the charger feature. Unfortunately if it's giving out 12v to try charge the battery when AC is present it doesn't mean that it would still switch over, but considering it does have a charging feature you'd probably be able to work out if it requires 24v, anything between 10-15v would probably mean 12v, and anything between 20-26v would probably mean it's a 24v unit

Did it not come with an owners manual?

 

[Gnome]

omg, so many warnings but no help.

Set meter to AC volts, to measure the plug voltage

Don't f#@king touch the metal parts.

To measure the battery voltage, set to DC volts and measure red to positive and black to negative.

EDIT: Video showing you how: https://youtu.be/ZBbgiBU96mM?t=1139

NB watch the video, says everything you need to know.

 

[lived666]

Yes that's how you'd measure the battery, or the output from the charger feature. Unfortunately if it's giving out 12v to try charge the battery when AC is present it doesn't mean that it would still switch over, but considering it does have a charging feature you'd probably be able to work out if it requires 24v, anything between 10-15v would probably mean 12v, and anything between 20-26v would probably mean it's a 24v unit

Did it not come with an owners manual?

Manual is useless. It is doing something, which could be the charging, because every few hours the fans come on.

Edit:// thanks gnome, will watch and buy the meter thingy tomorrow. will be careful

 

[Stokstert]

Talking about things that kill - how does one set up batteries in series?
I wanted to see if this was maybe a 24V inverter and not 12V like it is supposed to be, as I have 2x12V batteries.
I thought it was + to -, so you take two batteries and connect a cable on say A + to the other say B - and then A- to B+, I tried that it was like fireworks...not cool at all

Take the more expensive multimeter of the two as it can measure up to 10 Amp while the cheaper one only 2 Amp. You might later want to test a circuit with higher amperage.

Never try to test your 12 V inverter with 24 V as you have thought of doing above as you will at least blow a fuze or the complete inverter.

As told by many other posters, rather get someone with knowledge as you are looking for trouble if you don't even know how to connect batteries in series or parallel.