Shore power voltage while cruising the world?

[Dauntlessny]

Originally Posted by TJ D

We go the battery charger route.


Rocket Science is a 110v boat, but we have a 220v charger with it's own shore power inlet.



So, in Europe, we simply plug in the 220 charger and let the inverter (2500w) run everything. Works great, and is a simple install. We also have a single outlet for 220 which runs a space heater or water boiler as needed.



There are other ways to go, but this has been very good for us. The only downside is that the water heater isn't run to the inverter, so we don't have hot water from the 220v, but the engine takes care of it when cruising, and in the winter we use marina showers. No problems.

I agonized over this for a year before we got to Europe. In my case, being in Northern Europe and Ireland predominately, didn't have to worry about A/C.

I did a number of wasteful things before I finally realized that John61 & TD J are essentially correct.
I have three chargers on Dauntless and one, my Neumar accepts any voltage and freq, so that was plugged into shore power.
I did need to heat water while at the dock in Ireland, that was accomplished by a 60 Eur 220v to 110 V transformer. They are well built (weighs a ton) but inexpensive because in Ireland ALL power tools used outside can not be more than 120v. So everyone in construction has them.
Works for me.

Again after a number of missteps, the final result looked like this:
A 25 meter extension cord on wheel that went to the dock pedestal.
that fed a power strip to feed the water heater transformer,
the 220v charger and
any appliances in the boat that were 220v like my multi voltage Vitrifrigo fridge and freezer.

Worked well for three years.

Richard

[sailcrazy]

You didn't mention what boat you have, or how well it's set up for cruising, or if you are even contemplating cruising the world?? But assuming that is your plan this is what we found to be most versatile. The US is 110v, 60Hz, 3-wire or 220v 4-wire; most of the rest of the world is 230v, 50Hz, 3wire (a much different animal than US 220v 4-wire). Our boat was built for Asia/EU use, and was wired for 230v 3-wire power. We had no issues cruising Asia and Europe....until we came to the Caribb. After several bad starts and wasted money, we bought a Victron Auto-Sensing Isolation Transformer. It automatically senses the incoming voltage and provides the correct house voltage to the boat. And...it provides isolation when you're plugged it-depending on the marina, that could be a big deal! The only issue would be the 50Hz power vs the 60Hz power your installed equipment may be designed for. Motors will run a little slower and heat up a little more-but still work, I'd guess your electronics will accept either(check the data plate), and any resistance appliance (water heater, etc) could care less. Your micrwave may be an issue-it just depends (we've had no problems with our 50Hz microwave working on 60Hz power). The isolation transformer is not cheap, but it sure works well, is quiet, does not get even warm, and has sure been the answer for us. With it all you;ll need are some shore power adapters to go from the 230v power pole to your shore power cord (your 110v shore power cable is much heavier wire than you need to carry the 230v 16amp power, and should work fine). Or...you can buy/make a 230v power cord and put the adapter at your boat's shore power inlet. FWIW.

[jackonanthem]

Most of the replies give good information using various strategies depending on how much you will use shore power in the 240/50 regimen. If going with the isolation transformer you can 1) use the auto-sensing unit as mentioned, 2) install a switch to change a transformer that is wound so that you may pass through the same voltage (120) or step down from 240 to 120 or 3) you can install another shore power plug that connects to the AC bus after going through a basic inverter. We used the 2nd solution on a previous boat and the 3rd on current boat because cheaper and all the wiring was in place. The first two solutions cost more (likely), but allow 120 to be isolated as well and that precludes the need for a galvanic isolator. Water heater doesn't care, AC, washing machine and other motors work less efficiently (about 50/60ths the speed) and electronics shouldn't care. We do not have a microwave. For an unfortunate reason we spent a year and a half in a marina in Darwin, Oz, and had no problems associated with 50 Hz. AC was used constantly for most of that time as well as washer occasionally.

[LaughingWarrior]

Thanks again for the helpful replies.

I don't have a boat yet; I'm in the early stages of learning about sailing and cruising, hence the tyro-level questions. My intent is to find a boat in the next year, continue to learn on our West coast and the US PNW, and begin longer distance cruising in maybe 5 years time.

The initial question arose simply because there seem to be some valid reasons for considering buying a boat located in Europe or elsewhere, but a visit to Australia (for example) with a NA wired boat would present the same challenge.

The input-sensing transformers mentioned seem to be the most straightforward answer, though I suppose a boat with a generator onboard would obviate the need for one. I'd rather not burn diesel solely for power generation if possible though. The boat will have alternative (solar, wind, fuel cell, whatever) power generation, so maybe I'm overthinking this, but I prefer to not eliminate access to resources which may be available.

As to the microwave, I use one so infrequently (even at home on land, or in my RV) that I'd probably remove it, if the boat had one.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by LaughingWarrior

The initial question arose simply because there seem to be some valid reasons for considering buying a boat located in Europe or elsewhere, but a visit to Australia (for example) with a NA wired boat would present the same challenge.

Voltage is the least of the concerns when considering boats located overseas.

The input-sensing transformers mentioned seem to be the most straightforward answer, though I suppose a boat with a generator onboard would obviate the need for one.

The main reason people want shore power is so they can run air conditioning while in port. Good harbors, by definition, are located where the wind is blocked; hence, there is no nighttime breeze. It is usually unwise to swim. Thus the value of air conditioning.


Due to noise and exhaust, it is not ordinarily socially acceptable to run a generator overnight.


As posts upthread indicate, it is common for cruisers to get stuck in port longer than they would like, for any number of reasons.

[Delfin]

I had a step transformer wound that takes any voltage from 104 vac and converts it to 240 vac. No frequency conversion, however, that only matters with AC motors, which will run 1/6 shower, 1/6 hotter and draw 1/6 more current. If the load on what ever motors you have can accommodate those changes, no real problem.