Adrian and Jim: You guys are talking about CONVERTERS not inverters, aren't you?
YES
You are correct a converter converts 120VAC to 12DC
A inverter converts 12 DC to 120 VAC.
See
http://www.traceengineering.com/education/reading/demystifying.html (http://www.traceengineering.com/education/reading/demystifying.html)
Adrian