Sewing onboard question

[Siberianhusky]

I've come across a few things that don't work or don't work right off a non pure sine wave inverter. Usually the "smarter" the device the better the electricity you need.
I put my inverter on a scope and it puts out a messy looking saw tooth wave.
It's a cheap one, bought it more to run tools than power electronics, it won't charge my cordless tools though. Smart charger doesn't like the cheap inverter.
If your machine works fine plugged directly into AC then won't work off the inverter I think I would be looking at the inverter, not a huge load you are trying to use.
May be your wiring, always possible on a boat, if other things work off the inverter though........

[Greenhand]

Again, this is shore power; we don't currently have an inverter on the boat. Well, we do, a cheap little thing to plug into the cigarette lighter outlets in case of dire need, but not really.

The machine works fine on shore -- I just got back from using it all day --, but not from either of the two outlets closest to the panel. I didn't try any others. The drill, dremel, cabin heater and computers all seem to be fine.

As for the Husqvarna not handling big projects, I have done repairs to our canvas covers, including some reinforced with leather, made new winch covers and am a little more than halfway through interior cushions. I know I can't do any sail repair with it, but I when I bought it, I owned a 18' pocket cruiser and thought I was a decade or more away from living aboard. It was half the cost of a sailrite, which is still considerable for a home machine, and is more appropriate for other projects, such as clothing made of finer materials. Quite frankly, just with these interior cushions it has already paid for itself, but it would be an even better value if I could use it on the boat.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by Greenhand

Again, this is shore power; we don't currently have an inverter on the boat. Well, we do, a cheap little thing to plug into the cigarette lighter outlets in case of dire need, but not really.

The machine works fine on shore -- I just got back from using it all day --, but not from either of the two outlets closest to the panel. I didn't try any others. The drill, dremel, cabin heater and computers all seem to be fine.

As for the Husqvarna not handling big projects, I have done repairs to our canvas covers, including some reinforced with leather, made new winch covers and am a little more than halfway through interior cushions. I know I can't do any sail repair with it, but I when I bought it, I owned a 18' pocket cruiser and thought I was a decade or more away from living aboard. It was half the cost of a sailrite, which is still considerable for a home machine, and is more appropriate for other projects, such as clothing made of finer materials. Quite frankly, just with these interior cushions it has already paid for itself, but it would be an even better value if I could use it on the boat.

Personally I still think its resistive loses. If you are like me, you have 40 feet of cord between your boat and the dock, even though you only need 10. You just don't have a shorter cord.

If you have access to a multimeter (you really should on a boat), then I would measure the voltage of the plug your machine is plugged into. Then measure the voltage on the dock pedestal. Low voltage (below 110) can cause the problem you describe.

[Jman]

Is it possible the shore power polarity is crossed? Or that you are using a homemade or repaired extension cord that is crossing the polarity?


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[senormechanico]

If it's not working on shorepower on your boat, you need to recheck the machine on a shore outlet to assure the machine is indeed working correctly.
The next step is to assure your boat's wiring is correct.
I suspect the boat wiring, especially the neutral return lead.
The machine doesn't draw enough power to call into any functional AC boat wiring into question.

[farm sail]

Go to the hardware store and get 1 of those "kill-a-watt" meters With that it will show you the voltage the frequency the watts/amps and more you can use it on a static socket and then you can plug your sewing machine into it and see what the voltage and such do when the machine is trying to run. Best 20 bucks you'll spend 4 house voltage diagnostics



You could easily have a faulty connection somewhere or corroded connection somewhere that allows full voltage to pass through to the socket but as soon as any even small load is applied the voltage could drop drastically causing a problem like you are seeing