Generally speaking, an *inverter *takes in DC and puts out AC. So in our
case, in goes 12V DC and out comes 115V AC. It's great for small items
like electric razors and cell phone chargers, but when you get up to big
items, you really don't want to run them very long. For example, a 900
Watt microwave takes about 8 Amps. That requires about 90 Amps at 12V,
which will flatten most batteries in less than an hour. Plus, you have
to be wired to handle the DC current, so you can't put a high power
inverter very far from the battery.
A *converter* (again, generally speaking) is a device that takes 115V AC
and makes 12V DC. Some people call them chargers.
> RE: what is an inverter? and what does it do? and why was it installed
> only on later Airstreams? (starting with which model year?)