Inverter time

[Zai]

Looking for opinions and or advice about inverters.

The boat is a bit small for a generator (maybe) 36 foot. Also the racket of a generator is not so appealing, so I am thinking a nice sized inverter would be in order.

As I speak we are having a nice arch made and installed with 600 watts of solar panels in two seperate banks. Each with it's own MPPT controler. There will also be a Silent Wind generator with it's own controler. I have installed four 150 amp hour 12 volt LifeLine batteries (12 volt system).

The existing battery charger is a Quick 45 amp (maybe a bit small). I am thinking of installing an inverter/charger in place of the existing one.

Power consumption calcs are: aprox. 225 amp hours/day passagemaking, (boy I hope I get all of these technical terms right) and aprox. 150 amp hours/day at anchor.

After a long counsoltaion with the Admiral we have bought a Daewoo Mini drum washer. (not yet in the consumption calcs.). I don't think it will overload the electrical system, as I overbuilt it to begin with just for this sort of changes. The washer draws 100 watts with a cold wash and 1500 watts with up to 80 degree wash (never will use it). Of course the 1500 watt draw is (I assume) just for the water warming part, which isn't the whole cycle of aprox.20 min.

As an aside, I also have a 12 volt watermaker, one of the 18 amp models, which I will probably run every fourth day for 3-4 hours (also not in the calcs).

My question is, what are the best inverter/chargers for this job? Also advice/comments about this solution.

Thanks in advance!

[Dockhead]

There was just a thread on this - for the pros and cons of different brands, have a look in the archives.

Your plan sounds pretty good, and I run.a washer/dryer off an inverter with good success. But running a load of clothes - especially the drying part - needs a lot of amp hours. A good alternative to a generator for certain purposes is a heavy duty large frame school bus alternator mounted on the main engine. Mine produces about 2.5 kilowatts and will run the washer dryer with ease while motoring, via my 3kW inverter.

I also have a generator - a 6.5kW low speed Kohler - but it's silly to run that if the main engine is running anyway. You will have trouble finding space for a generator like this one on a 36' boat, but the school bus alternator should not be a problem.

Sent from my D6633 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Zai

Looking for opinions and or advice about inverters.

The boat is a bit small for a generator (maybe) 36 foot. Also the racket of a generator is not so appealing, so I am thinking a nice sized inverter would be in order.

As I speak we are having a nice arch made and installed with 600 watts of solar panels in two seperate banks. Each with it's own MPPT controler. There will also be a Silent Wind generator with it's own controler. I have installed four 150 amp hour 12 volt LifeLine batteries (12 volt system).

The existing battery charger is a Quick 45 amp (maybe a bit small). I am thinking of installing an inverter/charger in place of the existing one.

Power consumption calcs are: aprox. 225 amp hours/day passagemaking, (boy I hope I get all of these technical terms right) and aprox. 150 amp hours/day at anchor.

After a long counsoltaion with the Admiral we have bought a Daewoo Mini drum washer. (not yet in the consumption calcs.). I don't think it will overload the electrical system, as I overbuilt it to begin with just for this sort of changes. The washer draws 100 watts with a cold wash and 1500 watts with up to 80 degree wash (never will use it). Of course the 1500 watt draw is (I assume) just for the water warming part, which isn't the whole cycle of aprox.20 min.

As an aside, I also have a 12 volt watermaker, one of the 18 amp models, which I will probably run every fourth day for 3-4 hours (also not in the calcs).

My question is, what are the best inverter/chargers for this job? Also advice/comments about this solution.

Thanks in advance!

Zai,

There are many good choices, and a 'Google Custom Search' [Under 'Search' on this forum] will reveal other recent threads on this topic.

Our boats share similar specs, 'appliances', and consumption. I went with a MS2812 Pure Sine Wave Inverter [2800W 115VAC/125Amp 12VDC battery charger] from Magnum Energy, their Battery Monitor Kit, and Remote Control.

This unit was the best feature/price-point for us at the time [and appears to still be...]

They also have a module we can add in the future to auto-start our generator when the house bank is sufficiently depleted [need to think more about this one... not sure we want to be awakened [startled] by the generator firing-up at some future anchorage...]

I was able to find a 'Factory Refurbished' unit with full warranty for about 45% off list price [iMarineusa.com at the time...] so it pays to shop around.

I feel an inverter/charger is complementary to having a generator since you can use the generator to charge your batteries via the inverter/charger. [The Magnum inverters- and likely other brands as well- allow you to control how many 115VAC Amps you want to delegate to the battery charger, so you can avoid overloading a smaller generator with the charger, maximizing possible charger output. This is a great feature.]

Have fun with your project.

Cheers!

Bill