Icemaker: What Size Inverter ?

[ShaunJ]

140W sounds low, are you sure that is the rating?
That's less than 1 1/2 amps to make ice.....

[rubyjean]

My portable draws 290 watts on start up. But I run mine when I charge batterys. Using a Honda 1000 gen.. Only run gen 1 hr before cocktail time. Happy cruising....Michael..

[bella]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

tried it on a 300w pure sign then a 500w pure sign and lastly a 1000w modified sign, all continuous ratings not peak. just stalls as the motor tries to power up, batteries are ok and cables very thick (6 guage)

perhaps the powers that be are telling ya, that you don't need ice maybe?

What does it say the peak surge is? can you send me a link the product specs? Also are you running anything else off this inverter or just the icemaker?

[David M]

Is it starting okay on shore power? If not the problem may be the motor itself.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by DotDun

I have this ice maker rated @ 400W:

AI-210W NewAir Portable Ice Maker With Easy-to-Read LCD Display

Runs fine on a 1000W Xantrex Prosine (pure sine wave) which claims to handle 1500W surge.

FWIW - my 700W rated microwave will not run on the Prosine.

BTW, I have 1/0 AWG wire ~6' feeding my 1000W inverter.

Gotta cover the voltage drop during low battery/high current startups.

[GordMay]

I'd expect that a 1500 Watt True Sine Wave Inverter would start your 140 W Compressor motor.

Motors have the undesirable characteristic of drawing several times their full load current while starting. Even small and medium horsepower motors can have inrush currents that are 5 to 10 times the normal running current levels. High-efficiency motors can have even higher inrush current ratios.*

*See ➥ http://www.danfoss.com/NR/rdonlyres/...rtingTrips.pdf

[mbianka]

I gave up on the portable icemaker I bought and I was able to use my Honda 2000 generator to power it:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: LESSON LEARNED: WHAT DOES NOT WORK: ICE MAKER
Took to damn long to make enough ice when at anchor to be useful. Found a much better way to make ice on board and it did not require an inverter using an Engel cooler:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: IS THIS A COOL WORLD OR WHAT!
Best of all I can also carry frozen meals made at home and Ice Cream yum!

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by mbianka

I gave up on the portable icemaker I bought and I was able to use my Honda 2000 generator to power it:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: LESSON LEARNED: WHAT DOES NOT WORK: ICE MAKER
Took to damn long to make enough ice when at anchor to be useful. Found a much better way to make ice on board and it did not require an inverter using an Engel cooler:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: IS THIS A COOL WORLD OR WHAT!
Best of all I can also carry frozen meals made at home and Ice Cream yum!

I have to agree if you are attempting to use the portable ice maker in lieu of refrigerator, it won't make enough ice for the cooler. But, if you already have a frig and separate freezer, the portable ice maker will keep up with my adult beverage habit, even on the most depressing of days!

[stevensuf]

6awg is more than enough for even a 100 amp surge with less than 4% voltage drop
for the length of cable i have and an 8% drop for 200A certainly i would use thicker cable if taking a longer run or consuming more power. The voltage drop on 140W approx 11a on the dc side is less than 0.6%.

Keep the dc side cable run a short and you can get away with thinner cable, just make the ac side cable run the long one!

Yes the ice maker works fine on mains, i emailed the maker and they tell me the start up surge is equivalent to 1900W, so looks like i'll need a much bigger inverter to cope with the start surge!

Working with a 170a draw on the dc side, it looks like ill be facing a 10% voltage drop on the start up side, the house batteries were sitting at 13.4v float and are 440ah rated agms which should be able to supply plenty of inrush current without a great deal of voltage drop.

The manufacturers assure me that 140W is the running power.

I'm thinking a 1500w inverter on 6 gauge should do the trick.

TO Jedi - bear in mind the original 8awg was chosen to operate a 500w inverter
with a very short dc cable run with a 140w load!

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

Yes the ice maker works fine on mains, i emailed the maker and they tell me the start up surge is equivalent to 1900W, so looks like i'll need a much bigger inverter to cope with the start surge!

But, a motor that draws that much on startup doesn't necessarily REQUIRE that much, if you can only deliver 80%, it'll simply take longer to start. If you only deliver 25%, it probably won't start, worse results with modified sine wave.

FWIW, and not arguing, just citing experience. Xantrex recommends 1/0 awg for the 1000W inverter and 4/0 awg for the 1800W inverter. The do compare this to code that only requires #4 & #1 respectively, but they justify by stating:

Cables that are not an adequate gauge (too narrow) or are too long will cause decreased inverter performance such as poor surge capability and frequent low input voltage warnings and shutdown.

Remember, your batteries won't deliver 200a @ 13.4v, it'll be a somewhat lower voltage at that load, forcing the inverter to draw more current to meet demand, which in turn, causes more voltage drop.

YMMV

[simonmd]

Originally Posted by mbianka

I gave up on the portable icemaker I bought and I was able to use my Honda 2000 generator to power it:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: LESSON LEARNED: WHAT DOES NOT WORK: ICE MAKER
Took to damn long to make enough ice when at anchor to be useful. Found a much better way to make ice on board and it did not require an inverter using an Engel cooler:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: IS THIS A COOL WORLD OR WHAT!
Best of all I can also carry frozen meals made at home and Ice Cream yum!

I get your point regarding the icemaker but you did have a cheap and nasty on there, you really do get what you pay for with stuff like this. My Contessa icemaker is also a tabletop type unit but is MUCH more productive than the cheaper units. I bought a new cheaper unit when I got my latest boat and it wasnt a patch on the old Contessa unit, so I swapped it back! It'll give you 10 decent bell shaped lumps in about 10 mins and the reasonably large ice bucket will be full in about 45 mins, surely a reasonable genrator run time. Personaly, i have a large house battery bank (4x185ah) and have built in a 3kw inverter into the mains supply, so if im not on shore power i can simply switch all the sockets over to inverter supply and it works fine with that.

I always, even in winter, like to have ice in my drinks so it gets used daily, i dont see how i could keep up with demand with a conventional freezer setup for making ice. Once its gone, youre talking hours to refill! Also, you only have 2 real choices to make ice like that, bags (which dont spill but do run out and add to waste) or trays (can be used over but water slopping about in a freezer on a moving boat? not a great idea). Also, although I do love my ice, I do see it as a luxury whereas frozen meals made in advance are sure more deserving of the limited space in a marine freezer. Of course, thats my preference, just food (or ice) for thought.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by simonmd

I get your point regarding the icemaker but you did have a cheap and nasty on there, you really do get what you pay for with stuff like this. My Contessa icemaker is also a tabletop type unit but is MUCH more productive than the cheaper units. I bought a new cheaper unit when I got my latest boat and it wasnt a patch on the old Contessa unit, so I swapped it back! It'll give you 10 decent bell shaped lumps in about 10 mins and the reasonably large ice bucket will be full in about 45 mins, surely a reasonable genrator run time. Personaly, i have a large house battery bank (4x185ah) and have built in a 3kw inverter into the mains supply, so if im not on shore power i can simply switch all the sockets over to inverter supply and it works fine with that.

I always, even in winter, like to have ice in my drinks so it gets used daily, i dont see how i could keep up with demand with a conventional freezer setup for making ice. Once its gone, youre talking hours to refill! Also, you only have 2 real choices to make ice like that, bags (which dont spill but do run out and add to waste) or trays (can be used over but water slopping about in a freezer on a moving boat? not a great idea). Also, although I do love my ice, I do see it as a luxury whereas frozen meals made in advance are sure more deserving of the limited space in a marine freezer. Of course, thats my preference, just food (or ice) for thought.

Well actually you do have a third choice. You can make blocks of ice using small containers. I actually use 1 liter soda bottles in the freezer They are not perfectly formed cubes of course but, they do keep the boat drinks cool. I agree my unit was not top end. It worked fine at the dock but, not at anchor where I spend much of my time. Though if you have the power to spare which you seem to have an ice maker be the way to go. But, for me I've found the Engel freezer takes care of a lot of things in the same footprint and it can run off my two 75 watt solar panels all day long.

[bella]

Originally Posted by simonmd

I get your point regarding the icemaker but you did have a cheap and nasty on there, you really do get what you pay for with stuff like this. My Contessa icemaker is also a tabletop type unit but is MUCH more productive than the cheaper units. I bought a new cheaper unit when I got my latest boat and it wasnt a patch on the old Contessa unit, so I swapped it back! It'll give you 10 decent bell shaped lumps in about 10 mins and the reasonably large ice bucket will be full in about 45 mins, surely a reasonable genrator run time. Personaly, i have a large house battery bank (4x185ah) and have built in a 3kw inverter into the mains supply, so if im not on shore power i can simply switch all the sockets over to inverter supply and it works fine with that.

I always, even in winter, like to have ice in my drinks so it gets used daily, i dont see how i could keep up with demand with a conventional freezer setup for making ice. Once its gone, youre talking hours to refill! Also, you only have 2 real choices to make ice like that, bags (which dont spill but do run out and add to waste) or trays (can be used over but water slopping about in a freezer on a moving boat? not a great idea). Also, although I do love my ice, I do see it as a luxury whereas frozen meals made in advance are sure more deserving of the limited space in a marine freezer. Of course, thats my preference, just food (or ice) for thought.

gosh runing engines/generators just to make ice.. you must be the hit of the anchorage..

[simonmd]

I dont, i was refering to the other poster that said he runs his.

Actualy, although i do have a 2kw genny, ive found that running one of my engines is just as ecconomical for recharging as theyre so small the fuel consumption is almost as good as the genny!

[colemj]

Originally Posted by mbianka

You can make blocks of ice using small containers. I actually use 1 liter soda bottles in the freezer They are not perfectly formed cubes of course but, they do keep the boat drinks cool.

Good Lord! 1L cubes? How big are your drinks?

Mark