Hello does anyone know if it is practical or even possible to amplify the power of a small generator using a large watt inverter? Say you have a 2 or 3 HP 1000 watt generator and you hook it up to a 5000 watt inverter. What kind of power will you be NOW able to generate? Doesn't the horse power of the generator determine the power output? Thanks

Try working the numbers using Ohms Law, get back with what you think can be accomplished.

Why don't you just give a simple practical answer. Like yes or no. I don't really want to pay you a dollar a minute for your advice sorry lol

ohms law is amps times volts = watts -- just try the math -- Savage [We are here to help but also to teach]

The answer is no. An inverter changes DC to AC with a certain loss. Look at the cooling fins on an inverter. They are to get rid of the heat generated by the power you lose. If it worked, Con Ed would have been using it for years.

You cannot hook a generator up to an inverter. The generator's output is Alternating Current (AC) and the inverter requires a Direct Current (DC) input. Furthermore, the generator usually generates power at a potential of 120 or 240 volts whereas the inverter is, usually, designed to receive only 12 volts.

Im asking the question. I have an 1050 watt gen and it falls short of smooth running energy. It has a 12v dc connect, which I thought of hooking an inverter up to, for some reason it sounds to good to be true, Im looking for any input, Thank you

dmrdmr, I am not sure what question you are asking, if any.

A modern day generator usually consists of an engine that turns a "generator head" that puts out Alternating Current (AC) at 120 - 240 Volts (V). If it also has a DC (Direct Current) output, it is because it employs an internal converter that converts the 120V or 240V AC to (again usually) 12V DC.

An inverter does the opposite of a converter in that it receives an input of 12V DC and delivers 120V AC on its output. Hooking an inverter up to the DC output of an AC generator is redundant in that all it does is reverse the action of the internal converter.

Inverters cannot put out any more power than is input to them. The wattage rating of an inverter only indicates how much power the inverter is designed to handle.

The Watt (W) is a unit of power, and power (expressed in Watts) is the product of Volts times Amperes (A). A 1200W inverter is designed to deliver 10A at 120V on its output terminals (120V x 10A = 1200W). And to put out that 1200W, it will also require 1200W on its input terminals drawing a hefty 100A from whatever is powering it (12v x 100A = 1200W).

An inverter does not multiply power. It merely changes the form of it based on the mathematical formula for power.