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Old 31-08-2018, 09:23   #16
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

If you change your shore power plug, I'd recommend looking at the SmartPlug instead of the traditional locking connector. We have one on our boat and it is so much easier to use since it only fits one way and does not need to be turned to lock in place.
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Old 31-08-2018, 09:26   #17
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

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Originally Posted by travellerw View Post
For the moment.. Lets forget about all the voltages and amperages...

What is the guage of the wires involved (either AWG or mm2). The inbound shore power wire should be much bigger than the wires running to the outlets. Knowing that is crucial to someone helping.

P.S. I have converted my boat. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't convert!
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Old 31-08-2018, 09:53   #18
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

I also have a Euro 230 volt boat. (No neutral/white wire). It was easier for me to just wire the boat for US 220 by changing the shore power plug to a standard Marinco plug. All the motors/pumps operate on both 50/60hz so no problem there. For my 110 volt requirements I just purchased a couple of 220 to 110 volt transformers from Amazon for less than $50 each. Problem solved.
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Old 31-08-2018, 10:03   #19
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

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Do Nothing!!!!!!

Put a US 220 plug in your existing shore power cord and that’s it. That or make a simple adapter.

Use 220 appliances.

Install a small inverter and a few 110 outlets if you lot need to plug in a few 110 gadgets.

That’s it.

We had the exact same question and I did the above. So glad because most of the world is 220, your marina is 220, appliences are wicked easy to get these days.

One hour then you can go sailing.
Oh, this is a really bad idea. Yes, it will kinda work, but it is extremely dangerous. Why? Because instead of having neutral on the blue wires on the boat, you'll have a hot 120V a.c. Since all the breakers on the boat (except the inlet breaker) are single pole, you'll have unfused hot wires running to everything on the vessel.

Also, I doubt the water heater will work unless you change the element. It's not like the element is fed by a switching power supply that can adapt to world voltages.

At the very least, you will have to run 10 gauge wire from the inlet to the distribution panel. You will also likely have to change many, if not all, of the breakers on the panel. Why? Because their ratings will be half of what's required. And then there are the wires running to all the loads, many of which will have to be changed.

You should hire a marine electrician, even if you decide to go the transformer route, which, honestly, might be the most cost effective solution.

Scott
Maine electrician
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Old 31-08-2018, 10:27   #20
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

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Now, according to my research 120v has 3 wires (black, white and green) while 220 has 4 wires (red & black are hot, white is neutral and green is ground as they are with 110v as well)
I believe you are using US 120V (3wire) & 240V (4 wire) wiring standards and comparing them incorrectly to a European 220V 3 wire.

Wiring in your boat is similar to wiring in your house, 20 amp outlets need min 12ga wire.
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Old 31-08-2018, 11:37   #21
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

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You mean the wires running to the electric outlets?
I read (on the internet) that ...
If you read it on the internet it must be correct!
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Old 31-08-2018, 12:18   #22
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

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I sorta had that for a month but we had wind so it didn’t feel that hot.
Ahem... getting back to my problem: yes, wire changes seem to be the consensus at this time.
Or a transformer which I really don’t want to add.
There aren’t that many ac plugs onboard so I can do that easily enough (I hope).

How about the other stuff I think I should change?
Will that (the shore cable, boatside connector and 220v/30amp circuit breaker) do the job?
It’s sailing season so every marine technician/electrician is busy. I might have been graced with an appt for next week sometime)
Bill said “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions”. Two of my 3 solar panels didn’t survive a transatlantic AND my engine won’t crank so I have a bit of a getting-power-onboard issue.
I’m hoping the starter battery is flat although the gauge says it’s at 12.7v.
I’ll check to see what kind of wires are inside. Maybe they’re the right kind by accident. Happens!
I’m usually not the kind of sailor who just calls someone to fix stuff for him unless it’s something completely outside of my lane.
Electrical stuff... it’s right at the edge of my comfort zone. I feel any sailor should be able to set up/fix a basic -though uncommon it seems- issue like this.
Although I completely support -as I have often done also financially in the past- the marine-electricians’ cause and union.

Alright.. First I will appoligize for the short post as today was the last day of sailing camp and I don't have a lot left.

I guess my first question would be "Why do you want to convert?". Are you planning to stay in a 110V country for a long time? If not, then here would be my advice.

Isolate your battery charger from the house circuit via a separate 110V 20A breaker and small tail of wire with a male plug.


It will cost you like $20 and now you can run a standard extension cord from a dock plug, through a hatch to your battery charger. If your boat is like mine (mostly 12V or 24V devices) then you should be almost sorted (fridge, freezer, fans, battery charging). Once you leave the 110V country, you simply reconnect your battery charger to the house circuit and life is good. A fancy version of this also has a small tail of wire going to a standard 2 plug outlet in a plastic box (Y ed off after the breaker). This gives you 2 110V plugs that you can plug other devices (like phone/tablet or laptop) while at the dock.

EDIT - PLEASE PLEASE ensure your battery charger can switch between the voltage and frequency before attempting this. Some chargers do it automatically, some require a switch to be thrown and some simply CAN'T. Read the manual.

Now if you are looking for a permenant conversion because you want the boat to live in the USA (or another 110V country), then I will help. But that is really the only reason I think you should convert a boat. Otherwise you are just wasting your money and time. At that point we need to "open a can of worms" and it involves looking at the wire sizes, breaker ratings and actual outlets (including how they are mounted).
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Old 31-08-2018, 15:36   #23
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

Adding to my original reply and answer to the statement of you would have an unfused neutral hot wire is correct on the boat but it is fused by the double circuit breaker on the dock. Our boat from the factory came equipped with GFI breakers on the mains as well as GFI breakers on every AC circuit on the boat and they function when tested.

If time and money is of no consequence the proper way would be to upgrade all the 110 volt plugs to a minimum 14 gauge wire. The shore power would need to be at least a 8/6 gauge (50amp) and most assuredly unless it has a dual heating element that can be wired in parallel a change out of the water heater and any other appliance.

You can buy any 230 volt appliances on Amazon and if you live in the Ft Lauderdale area there is a store on SR 84 that sells them.

So you have a minimum of 3 options.

Spend $50 for a 50 amp Marinco plug ang get shore power immediately. Purchase a 220/230 volt to 110 volt converter for another $50 for anything that requires 120 volt.

Rewire and change boat equipment to 110 volts. Think $10K minimum.

Use extension cord method as suggested by a previous post.
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Old 31-08-2018, 15:57   #24
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Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

There is actually a third option and the only one that I see as safe, although I will hear differently of course from those who want an easy answer.
That is convert via a transformer shorepower at 110V to 220V, and don’t touch the boat, leave it unmodified.
Yes of course this means either 220V appliances, or more transformers, but it means Boat stays as it is.
How do you guys who modify you boats to have the neutral hot pass a Survey?
Use the Xformer when Stateside and don’t when your where 220V is standard.

On edit just as a glance they are readily available and inexpensive.
This one is 5,000W but they go up to 15KW at least.

5000 W divided by 120 V is 41 amps? Plenty of cushion
https://voltage-converter-transforme...r-ce-certified
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Old 31-08-2018, 16:15   #25
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

Correct. I was thinking that but for some reason I forgot to actually put it into print. For his 110 volt he will still need to purchase a 220/240 volt to 110 transformer available on Amazon for $45 which is up to 500 watts.
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Old 31-08-2018, 16:43   #26
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

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Correct. I was thinking that but for some reason I forgot to actually put it into print. For his 110 volt he will still need to purchase a 220/240 volt to 110 transformer available on Amazon for $45 which is up to 500 watts.
500w isn't going to run a water heater or vacuum cleaner. 350w will just run my 220v Dremel.

Pete
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Old 31-08-2018, 16:50   #27
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

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Correct. I was thinking that but for some reason I forgot to actually put it into print. For his 110 volt he will still need to purchase a 220/240 volt to 110 transformer available on Amazon for $45 which is up to 500 watts.


I’ve been reading all the suggestions of course. Thanks for all the advice btw.
I think the transformer option is the easiest although I don’t really want to ADD more but yes, I don’t intend to be in 110v countries for ever.
Is there a marine grade transformer anyone can recommend?
I figure I can put the transformer between the boat side plug & the circuit breaker, right?
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Old 31-08-2018, 18:24   #28
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Re: Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

Assume you will use 220 volt US power and keep the boat as 230 volt and use small 220 to 110 volt transformers in the boat where ever you need 110 volt? If yes you can use a Victron isolation transformer. They make 3 sizes from 2000, 3600 & 7000 VA
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Old 31-08-2018, 20:20   #29
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Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

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500w isn't going to run a water heater or vacuum cleaner. 350w will just run my 220v Dremel.



Pete


You use the bigger transformer to change 110 to 220,so the Boat can be run on 220, just like it was made to, no modifying anything.
If you don’t think 5,000 W is enough they go to 15KW for less than $500,but weigh about 100 lbs I think.

The 500 W transformer or smaller is for running individual 110 V things inside of the boat, like if you carry US appliances to Europe, you need a transformer to turn 220 to 110. I had a bunch in Germany, from 50W all the way to 1500W.
Best in my opinion to source 220 V appliances, but transformers work.

Idea of a transformer is you leaving the Boat stock, not charging anything.
I saw a friends Amel Super Maramu that he had changed the wiring on the shorepower plug to make it work on US 110. Only way that can work that I can see is your feeding 110 V into every neutral on the boat, and they are all interconnected and not circuit protected.
I guess it works, but I would have a hard time sleeping at night.
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Old 31-08-2018, 20:26   #30
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Converting 220v boat to 110v technical advice needed

I would put the transformer in between the boats plug and the shorepower plug, good luck finding a Marine one.
Either put it in a small dock box on the dock or in the cockpit.
I’d want it on the dock, in the very unlikely event the stupid thing caught fire, I don’t want it aboard
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