Inverter

[scarlet]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

I think Scarlet's cat was/is originally set up for European power throughout?

So some of the inverter goal is maybe to deal with 230V/50Hz versus 240/60Hz or 2x 110/60Hz issues?

-Chris

Yes... That is right.

[scarlet]

Originally Posted by smac999

An 8000w inverter is rediculus. No 40’ boat is going to run that.

Running air con off shore power has nothing to do with an inverter.

Find another electrician and get them to figure out what you need.

I didn't know he was putting on one that big.. could that have caused the inverter to get fried? Because the minute he fired it up... It burned out.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by scarlet

I didn't know he was putting on one that big.. could that have caused the inverter to get fried? Because the minute he fired it up... It burned out.

Do you know if that unit was 50 Hz or 60 Hz. Did he set it up to run in parallel with shore power or the generator? If the new inverter smoked as soon as it turned on it sounds like he had the inverter output hooked wrong, one way or another.

[Gtstricky]

Scarlet that really stinks.


As others have said the inverter is one piece of the electrical puzzle. Someone will need to look at the whole picture in order to decide what will fit.


My suggestions would be...
Hire a marine electrician to come tell you what you will need. Shouldn't cost more than an hour or two of their time.
or
Wait till you are done your classes (you can probably get good suggestions from the instructor or classmates).
or
If you need to make a decision soon here is a great video series which will teach you a lot and might get you to the point of understanding what you need: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...pSbzS42ggLptN4


Best of luck to you.

[CharlieJ]

@scarlet

I am very sorry that you have this experience. Unfortunately, you have not provided enough information to make an informed recommendation. AC electrical load? 12V or 24V? Size of battery bank? Battery bank chemistry? Etc., etc.

Installing a proper marine rated inverter/charger into a boat is not brain surgery but it is not as easy as changing a light bulb. Over the last 20 years I have installed upwards of 50 inverter/chargers and there are many, many gotchas.

For a lot of very sound technical and safety reasons, the inverter/charger must be marine rated and true sine wave.

Somebody without even a novice’s knowledge of things electrical (as you have implied) just should not be attempting to install or spec this equipment.

The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) writes the standards for boat building and repair in USA. They also certify Marine Electricians. Just like doctors, lawyers, landscapers, and auto mechanics, there are good certified Marine Electricians and some that are not so good. They all have been exposed to and trained in the basics. My recommendation is to go to https://abycinc.org/mpage/findatech and hopefully find several techs in your area. Interview them; check their references.

By the way, the nominal inverter/charger for your size boat, all things being equal, is a 3000W unit with a 120A charger (assuming 12VDC). I am very partial to the feature rich Victron line. Here is a link: https://tinyurl.com/yd2dhswa.

Depending on a lot of variables, a top of the line Victron inverter/charger will cost between $1500 and $2000.

[skipmac]

The bit that your boat is set up for 50 Hz EU power is the key. The quick, easy but not cheap to get everything on the boat to run on US shore power is to install a frequency converter. Takes the 60 Hz USA power and converts that to 50 Hz European power. A unit to run the whole boat, including the air conditioning, I'm estimating $3-$4,000 plus installation.