Inverter charger install

[borvaprops]

Hello everyone, I'm in the process of removing an olde battery charger and going to install freedom HF1800 inverter/charger. Perhaps someone can shed some light here. Reading the manual it says this unit is equipped with an automatic transfer relay that will switch between shorepower/inverter.
I have a bluesea 8027 6 position AC distribution panel: on this panel I currently have battery charger, hot water heater, port outlets, starboard outlets, head outlets.
My plan is to use the battery charger AC to plug into inverter charger AC input. Now for the inverter charger AC output can I just bring this right back to the same existing AC panel? Will this cause AC to back feed into inverter charger when I'm on shore power? The installation manual talks about using a AC load panel, would that panel not be the same as my main AC panel?
Please help




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[pcmm]

That won't work and could potentially be dangerous. you should feed the shore power to a main breaker, then from the breaker to the inverter, and from the inverter to the AC distribution panel. you'll free up a breaker on the AC panel. some people also put in an AC transfer switch between the main breaker and the inverter/charger so that you can bypass the charger if needed.

I'm looking at putting in one of these too, there are some great deals on those to be had on Amazon!

[Stu Jackson]

The manual most likely has a variety of different methods.

Simplest, with the built-in auto transfer switch (ATS) is:

Incoming shorepower>>>a breaker>>>I/C>>>your existing AC distribution panel.

All the others are based on what you have on your current AC panel and how you want to wire & operate the I/C.

We have a Freedom 15.

What you wrote won't work. It will backfeed.

Learn some more about AC and draw a wiring diagram. It will come to you.

Here's what's happening:

Think of your inverter as a second incoming source of AC, just like shorepower.

The ATS determines which power goes to the AC distribution panel.

Once you understand that, you'll "get it."

[Frankly]

Typically you must separate the common feed for the output breakers from the battery charger input breaker (the water heater breaker would be left feeding in parallel with the battery charger input). The three receptacle branch circuits would be fed from the inverter output.

The internal transfer relay will parallel all this back up when you are on shorepower and then just power the receptacle circuits when operating on the inverter.

The common neutral connection must also be split as above, but all the green ground wires remain on a single bus.

Be careful or you will smoke something or worse.

I have used the old Freedom inverters on two different boats for almost 20 years and have been satisfied with the way it has worked out.

[smac999]

you need to split up the ac panel. you don't want the Hot water on the inverter either.


so you'd have shore power - main double pole breaker - inverter breaker and HWT breaker input side - inverter breaker output side- inverter - AC plug breakers.


put the HWT and inverter breakers side by side you can cut the bus bar between those 2 breakers and the outlet breakers


you also need to split the neutrals up. so on the white wire youd have


shore power - double pole main. shore N bus with shore input, HWT, inverter input. then inverter output to inverter N bus with outlet N's


the inverter in and out wire should probably be 10/3 and make the inverter breaker 30a. (your existing charger wire is probably only 14/3)


are you on 30a 120vac shore?


make you have correct size battery cable (probably 2/0) with an inverter switch and class T fuse (probably 250a). inverter should be within ~5' from batteries. Most people aren't going to have the tools to make 2/0 cables

[borvaprops]

Thanks for the replies everyone I'll make sure to follow the advices given here. I do have a hydraulic crimper and have made all DC cables to ABYC E-11. AC wires are all ancor 10/3.
Will let you all know how it goes


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