Sine wave - modified vs pure

[SKWRLE]

Ok guys...I'm a bit of an electrical idiot. I have a 2021 Ford F-150 with the 400w/12v factory inverter and outlets in the cab and bed. As best I can tell, it should run my Iceco VL45 cooler fine. But after some more digging, I've learned that the Ford inverter puts out a modified sine wave rather than a pure sine wave. Does anyone know if this will damage my Iceco? I can't find a straight answer online and Iceco customer support just goes to a call center.
Thanks!

 

[grubworm]

Ok guys...I'm a bit of an electrical idiot. I have a 2021 Ford F-150 with the 400w/12v factory inverter and outlets in the cab and bed. As best I can tell, it should run my Iceco VL45 cooler fine. But after some more digging, I've learned that the Ford inverter puts out a modified sine wave rather than a pure sine wave. Does anyone know if this will damage my Iceco? I can't find a straight answer online and Iceco customer support just goes to a call center.
Thanks!

the short answer is that a motor will be fine running on a modified sine wave. without getting into a long winded explanation, the modified sine wave will be more inefficient than a pure sine wave and will typically use 15-20% more power to achieve the same result of the pure sine wave...mainly because the frequency above 60hz will not be used and is wasted. electronics and devices with timers that rely on a steady hertz rate will not work properly, but a fridge motor/compressor is nowhere near that picky. the modified since wave inverter has been around for many decades and is fairly robust and a lot cheaper to buy and works fine for most appliances, including motors and compressors

i have a 3000w modified sine way inverter and i use it to run my wife's hair dryer (yeah, she really "roughs it") as well as fans, pumps and have even used it to run a drill and saw. they are fine for pretty much everything except sensitive electronics

 

[smritte]

Good answer.
I will add. Quite a few companies have added better "filtering" into their systems (also leaving out the technical part). The issue isn't as bad as it used to be. Will your electronics have issues? maybe/maybe not. For us, we need equipment to be as efficient as possible. This is where the pure sine wave systems shine.