Connecting European wired boat to US shore power

[claptrap]

Originally Posted by NorthCoastJoe

DO NOT DO THAT !!!! If you don't know what your doing get some help.

You can buy a marine charger for 110 volts and plug it into a proper shore power cord. An adapter like this would work.

I am certainly not doing that, but I wonder if he's doing that. That sounds very sketchy at best.
This is the precise reason I bought a 110V charger for our stay here. I'm not fooling around with a hand wired 240V adapter.

[dlane1181]

Hi there.
We’re an American boat that has been cruising in Europe for the better part of 4 years. So, we’ve had your same situation, but in reverse.

My recommendation is to install a universally powered battery charger that accepts 110-250 volts AC. You will then be able to plug in anywhere, keep your batteries topped up, and live off 12 VDC and your inverter.

We have been very pleased with our ProNautic 60amp charger. Sterling has an identical unit.

As an interim solution, you can do as others have suggested and buy a battery charger from an auto parts store in the USA. The problem with this method is the charge cycle will not likely be programmable to match your battery type.

Good luck.
David

[sailcrazy]

We have been in that same..."boat", having an Asian monohull we sailed back to the US. After trying several different things, the best we've found....and have used now since 2016...is a Victron Automatic Sensing Isolation Transformer. It senses the voltage of the incoming shore power (110v, 220v, or 230v), and automatically puts out the 230v, 3 wire power your boat needs. It is tolerant of both 50cps and 60cps. Ours is a 3600w, so we do need to watch what we turn on to stay below the 16 amps at 230v to be under the 3600watts. Our boat has an elect hobb, 2 aircons, 230v refer sys, batt chgr, etc. Currently that transformer sells for about $842 (a non auto unit is $742). Its about a footxa footxa foot, weights ~50lbs, is quiet, gets warm to the touch....but just warm/not hot. Change and install a US/Marinco-style shore power inlet, connect it to the transformer, and connect the output to your dist panel-done! Works good, no gimmacks, simple, foolproof. And no, I do not work for Victron!

[David Mathis]

If you only need to keep the batteries charged, just buy a 120v battery charger to attach to the batteries then run an extension cord to the shore power tower. They're less than $100.00 at Wal-Mart, Tractor Supply, NAPA, Advance Auto Parts, Auto Zone, and several other auto parts retail outlets.

[paul2884]

You could speak the this company https://airlinktransformers.com/cate...g-transformers I have found them very good and they may be able to configure one of there portable transformer to what you want or use one of these https://www.screwfix.com/p/carroll-m...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[s/v Jedi]

Come on guys, just give him my reference diagram!

This can take either 120V 60Hz or 230V 50Hz or 240V 60Hz and charge batteries as well as provide 230/240V to the boat.

Same diagram also works for US boats: simply use a US 120V Multiplus. The transformer is the same for either case.

[Nineteen]

Hi
The main issue you may face with a Euro specced boat is that the AC wire may be on the small side for the 110vac. We have a US made boat and the wire gauge was enormous compared to what was required for 230-240vac.

So in our case the changeover was straightforward. I think ours was 10 gauge for 110vac 30a. A 220-240vac 15a will probably only run 14 gauge.
Cheers

[shimari]

What version of Mastervolt charger? Is there an inverter (presumably Mastervolt) involved?

Why was the conversion quote so expensive? What issues did the electrician identify?

Your situation isn't difficult resolve, but there are many gotchas. Perhaps go back to the electrician that gave you the quote and tell them you want a temporary solution? It's difficult to give useful advice if we don't know more about your setup.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by dlane1181

Hi there.
We’re an American boat that has been cruising in Europe for the better part of 4 years. So, we’ve had your same situation, but in reverse.

My recommendation is to install a universally powered battery charger that accepts 110-250 volts AC. You will then be able to plug in anywhere, keep your batteries topped up, and live off 12 VDC and your inverter.

We have been very pleased with our ProNautic 60amp charger. Sterling has an identical unit.

As an interim solution, you can do as others have suggested and buy a battery charger from an auto parts store in the USA. The problem with this method is the charge cycle will not likely be programmable to match your battery type.

Good luck.
David

I'd suggest doing this with the ProNautic charger as the simplest "temporary" solution but ... DO NOT try it with a cheap automotive charger from NAPA. The vast majority of automotive chargers do not have the AC side isolated from the DC side. The potential for AC leaks in to the DC side and vice versa is too risky. Also be aware that these are not ignition protected so you wouldn't want them in the same locker one stores 5gallons of gas for the dink.

[gregfreed]

An easy, cheaper way to deal with it is to install a battery charger that works with 110 & 220.
This allows you to run off your inverter.
I’ve been doing it 4 years now.