US split phase to Europe single phase

[Jpernick]

I have a European design electrical system that expects 230+- volts delivered as 3 wire line, neutral, earth. Single Phase. The system has been designed to accept 50 or 60 Hz.

I would like to plug the boat into US shore power. The US supply is 230 +- volts delivered as 4 wire line, line, neutral, earth. Split phase with shore based RCD.

Specific questions:

Can I use a Victron / Mastervolt style galvanic isolator to effectively and safely change the shore side 4 wire split phase US power to ship side European 3 wire bonded neutral single phase? No need to change voltage or frequency.

How would input / outputs be wired?

Would the shoreside RCD be happy?

Thanks for any thoughts.

[boom23]

I do not have the manual handy, but with the Victron Isolator Transformer you can up-scale 120V to 240V. So, you should be able to get 120V from one Line, Neutral & Earth (120V) from shore power and feed it to the Victron Isolator Transformer.

There are "Y" cables that split 50a 125V/250V shore power to two 30a or even two 50a 125V.

Marinco Shore Power EEL "Y" Adapters

[Jpernick]

Thanks Boom23, but these devices do not address the conversion from 200 volt class spilt phase 4 wire to 200 volt single phase 3 wire.

I did use that connector for a US wired boat and it is a great item, just not what I need.

[sailorchic34]

One Note. The u.s. split phase, references the 120 volt voltage, leg to center tap on the Transformer. that is the split-phase part. The 230/240 volt is full single phase at US residential voltages.

So the 4 wire us, is 2 hot legs, a neutral /Center cross, and ground. For a EU vessel, you would use the two hot legs which is full 230/240v single phase and the ground wire. The neutral wire you would not use, that's Center tap off a US residential 240v Transformer.

[tanglewood]

The thing to watch out for is that on your EU boat, one of the 230V wires is neutral. This wire is expected to be bonded to ground on the shore side of shore power, and within the boat when the power source is an inverter or generator.

But the 240v NA power has the center tap as neutral, and THAT is expected to be bonded to ground as above.

If your boat isn‘t wired properly, you could end up with a ground system on the boat that is actually at 120V relative to actual earth ground.

So I would suggest a very, very careful review of you neutral to ground bonding, and make sure none of your EU neutral is exposed anywhere because on NA power it will be hot.

[sailorchic34]

from a safety standpoint, an isolation Transformer between us 240v Shore power to eu vessel 220v will be the safest bet. this as us 240 volt, does not have a neutral, it has two hot legs. It will work the same from an appliance standpoint. Leaving One us leg hot on the neutral side of a EU boat would be a safety hazard.

[boom23]

Single Phase Three Wire Electrical Service
Also known as an Edison system, split-phase or center-tapped neutral. Line 1 to neutral and Line 2 to neutral are used to power 120 volt loads. Line 1 to Line 2 is used to power 240 volt single phase loads.

You should be able to get 120V from one Line, Neutral & Earth (use only 3 wires, 120V) from a split phase 4-wire shore power and feed it to the Victron Isolator Transformer to up-convert it to single phase 240V.

Here is some more info:

Electrical Service Types and Voltages

[Dsanduril]

To the OP's original question, the short answer is "yes". In fact, that is how Mastervolt recommends the installation. See the example for their GI series.

If you dig through the manual you will see that this unit accepts 230V hot/neutral (Europe), 120V hot/neutral (US), and 240V hot/hot (US). In all cases Mastervolt recommends an RCD on both boat and shore side and recommends bonding the boat side neutral to PE.



[Edit] to the last point of the question, if using US 240V you simply don't connect/use the neutral in this situation, you only use 3 wires of the 4 that are in your shore circuit.[/edit]

[smac999]

An iso transformer will take the 4 wire 240 with center ground. And create 3 wire 230v with one side ground. As it creates a new ground on the boat.

So yes that is what you need.

. (Galvanic isolator is different )

You only need to run 3 wires from the dock. Makes the cord a bit lighter. If you create your own.

[Jpernick]

Great info.

I have a MasterVolt GI series and I’ve seen that graphic. I can’t find reference to input hot, hot. Manual only seems to reference hot, neutral on input side.

I’m also wondering how modern US RCD on power pedestal will like this set up.

[Dsanduril]

The reference is in the connection drawings, didn't see it in text (although I didn't look exhaustively).

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Jpernick

I have a European design electrical system that expects 230+- volts delivered as 3 wire line, neutral, earth. Single Phase. The system has been designed to accept 50 or 60 Hz.

I would like to plug the boat into US shore power. The US supply is 230 +- volts delivered as 4 wire line, line, neutral, earth. Split phase with shore based RCD.

Specific questions:

Can I use a Victron / Mastervolt style galvanic isolator to effectively and safely change the shore side 4 wire split phase US power to ship side European 3 wire bonded neutral single phase? No need to change voltage or frequency.

How would input / outputs be wired?

Would the shoreside RCD be happy?

Thanks for any thoughts.

I don't think I would fool with it other than using an isolation transformer.

[sailcrazy]

Our boat, made in Asia for the Asiam/European market, is designed for 230v, 3-wire, 50/60 Hz. All was good.....until we arrived here in the Caribb. After lots of blog entries, research, 2 failed Ebay transformers, and a few other attempts, we ended up with a Victron Auto-sensing Isolation Transformer. We can plug into 110v (3-wire) or Euro-type 230V (3-wire), the transformer senses the power, and outputs 230v to the boat. Works great, and has caused no issues in the 3 years we've had it installed. We bought the 3600 watt transformer, so we're limited to 16 amps at 110v (32 amps at 230v), but so far that has not been an issue. Trying to marry the US 220v (4-wire) scheme into your 230v 3-wire system is an accident looking for a place to happen! Unless you are one, or you hire a knowledgeable electrician.....don't go there!

[Palarran]

How big is the boat, how much do you want to spend, and how much power do you need? If your not trying to run A/C units, I'd just get a battery charger and do nothing to your existing system. Just use the existing inverter and battery bank. If you really need a/c, maybe consider getting a compact portable a/c unit for around $300.

[john61ct]

Yes for smaller setups, setting aside huge loads like aircon, clothes driers, electric ovens, HWS. . .

Going to a full-boat transformer is only good for load devices that don't care about 50Hz vs 60Hz.

One approach is, the **only** shore power connection is your "world power" universally compatible battery charger(s).

Then the AC loads and circuits on the boat are run off the House bank through inverters.

This lets you mix and match 110Vac and 240Vac appliances as you like, even sensitive 50/60Hz ones, fed by any marina power pedestal worldwide,

or your genset, or by a robust alternator setup while off-grid, reduces the need for (or runtime of) an AC genset, especially with a big LFP House bank.

No transformers nor transfer switches required!

Even those huge-amp loads above could be accommodated, but that gets expensive.

Some just use dedicated circuits for those, separate from the inverter-powered ones.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post3012757