Inverter..do it yourself job???

Now that I think about it. I have more power needs than just a tv. I have a microwave, fridge, cabin lights, DVD player and a blender would be nice as well. Portable genny would be somewhat of a hassle to set up Nd take down while at anchor. An installed genny is cost prohibitive.

I like the quiet energy of an inverter. I just need to assess the. Cost of materials, install and any unforseen downsides I should be aware of.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Waynepj4

Now that I think about it. I have more power needs than just a tv. I have a microwave, fridge, cabin lights, DVD player and a blender would be nice as well. Portable genny would be somewhat of a hassle to set up Nd take down while at anchor. An installed genny is cost prohibitive.

I like the quiet energy of an inverter. I just need to assess the. Cost of materials, install and any unforeseen downsides I should be aware of.

Click to expand...


LOL You are talking BIG and very different then your first post. Deep cycle batteries 004 tin plated wire 50amp main fuse, power distribution panel etc. I have to agree Magnum is a great product and if I was to go big I would insist on a full sine wave inverter. Figure all done around 3K!
 
Hopefully your refrigerator is dual voltage? If you step up to a larger inverter the house bank will need an upgrade of they are not 8Ds (depending on how much power you consume).
The next important question is how long are you going to keep this boat?
 
Come down to how much you want to spend on your inverter system, there are many options. I've seen portable battery/jumper box with built in inverters, we used to use one of these on our last boat just for our TV while on the hook with the generator off. On our current boat I've installed my own inverter system that took hours of research and labor to install, 2-3K for a decent wired in system (in other words a one flip/switch operation) including parts and labor sounds about right if professionally installed.

Eric
 
Wayne, I installed a 1200W inverter on my boat two years ago, connected to the house bank for occasional microwave or coffee pot use. It's an RV Xantrex model that Costco then sold for $56. I installed it in a salon cabinet, just above the ER battery compartment, with the appropriate 1/0 AWG and inline fuse. All told, the install was under $150. Rather than hardwire it into the boat 110 and the requisite switching gear, I run a dedicated plug for use by the MW or Coffee maker, but not both. I switch the inverter on/off for each use and installed an LED idiot light to remind me that I forgot to turn it off again. ;)

All else on my boat like lighting, TV, stereo, refrigerator are 12V. I have dual 8d house and another 8d start battery. I supplement the onboard power with a portable Honda eu2000i which cost about $1000. After 2-3 days away from shore power, the Honda gets used to recharge the batteries or for occasional MW/coffeemaker use.

Like anything with internal combustion, including your own boat engines, use a lot of common sense (and CO detectors) to avoid the hazards of CO poisoning. Depending on wind conditions, I can run my Honda from the swimstep, bow, or flybridge. I NEVER run it while anyone is sleeping aboard.
 
$56 inverter and $150 install?! Nice!! I want to spend mac $1500 parts and labor. Fridge, lights are all 12v and work without being connected to shore power.

Microwave and outlets do not. The stove is alcohol electric but I understand the power commitment is too great for inverter. I'd probably just use the magma grill or try to cook on the alcohol stove although alcohol burner doesn't get very hot.

Based on a $1500 budget what are my options??
 
I replaced my alcohol stove [which sucks!] with a butane burning Mr Stove. It gets as hot as propane and uses nice canisters of fuel.

butanestove.jpg
 
Wayne,

If I were you I'd start by calculating your electrical needs. West Marine's West Advisors have a worksheet you can work through to determine your sizing. Once you have determined that, you can get an estimate from a shop to install the system. I don't mean any insult, but from the questions you've asked, it doesn't appear that you presently have the knowledge to do this installation. If you spend some time and research what's needed and don't cut any corners it isn't a difficult job. Usually the most difficult problem is finding space for the batteries.
 
No offense taken. I love boating but I'd be the first to admit that I'm not a mechanic or marine electrician. I'm a sales director for a Commercial real estate company.

I've done a lot of reading and realize that I will need a house batt bank of 300 amp hours or more and a 2000w inverter. This is my alternative to a very expensive generator or the trouble of using a portable generator. Im pretty much a weekend boater anyways so a night or two of power is all I would need. Plus I like the fact that it's quiet electricity (as opposed to a genny) and I dont have to worry about CO.
quote:
Originally posted by AbsoLoot

Wayne,

If I were you I'd start by calculating your electrical needs. West Marine's West Advisors have a worksheet you can work through to determine your sizing. Once you have determined that, you can get an estimate from a shop to install the system. I don't mean any insult, but from the questions you've asked, it doesn't appear that you presently have the knowledge to do this installation. If you spend some time and research what's needed and don't cut any corners it isn't a difficult job. Usually the most difficult problem is finding space for the batteries.

Click to expand...
 
Figure at least two 8Ds and be ready to ration the power to some extent. Icemakers will chew up the power fast. Otherwise I'd say you have a good shot at meeting the requirement. Just keep the DC lines short and fat, and the inverter out of the bilge in a ventilated area.
We put ours behind paneling in the salon right over the batteries. A few holes later the cables came up into them a fuse and a switch.
 
And remember to get a battery bank with double the amp-hours of what you compute you'll need. So if you find you'll need 300 amp hrs, you'll need a bank with 600 amp hrs capacity.

You want to avoid taking your batteries below 50%, which equates to about 12.2V on a battery with a 12.7V full charge. No doubt many of us push the limits on this which shortens our battery bank life. Here's a good FAQ page... http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
 
I've heard the logic of not taking a battery below 50% and I agree that it will extend the life of the batteries. However, my personal experience has been that investing in good quality (Trojan) batteries and utilizing their full capacity saves on space and weight. I'm getting ready to change my (12) T-105's after eight years of use. I believe that most of us will change boats before the batteries are used up or the space and weight savings will be worth the incremental additional cost.
 
Wayne, I'd put your hands back in your pockets and pull them back out when you find some more money for the project. I don't know you, but I have seen some pictures of your boat. You buy nice stuff.
The Magnum Energy 2000 watt charger/inverter is a full sine wave unit. Everything will run cooler and quieter in it, and it will set you back about 1,600 from West Marine. A 2x8D battery box is about 120. 2 8D glass mat or sealed gel batteries are going to be 1,200. The Magnum Energy remote monitoring station is about 180. Some big fat wire will be 10/foot, and you will need to wire in a large fuse or breaker. And a empty breaker on your shore panel. Figure a few hundred for a professional to insall the stuff and you will have what you really want. On a bad day, that's close to 4k. You can save some serious bucks by using flooded lead batteries, but you have to vent them overboard. The big deal is how much room do you have for batteries.
 
Wayne, you might consider doing what I did with a 26' boat. 3 Group 27 deepcycles: one starter, two house. Focus on 12-VDC for use at anchor and as little draw as possible.

The boat has no AC, no fridge, low draw everything including 12-VDC TV/DVD/CD, conversion to LED interior, courtesy and anchor lights, alcohol stove, etc. Use 12 volt cell phone chargers, inflatable pumps, etc. We get by for three nights at anchor easily with the 200 amp/hrs available from of the two Group 27 house batteries and draw them down much less than 50%. If you have room for a 50 qt. Igloo Max Cold cooler and stick two blocks of ice (plus some crushed ice) in it then you have it made for all of your refrigeration needs for three days using no power at all.

Our boat can stay at anchor for 6 days without running the engine to charge batteries. For longer anchor-outs I added some solar power to maintain the batteries, a Purasan Type 1 sanitation system and use two 50 qt. Max Colds. After six days I have to go in for more ice.

best marine LEDs: http://www.marinebeam.com/
 
"The boat has no AC, no fridge, low draw everything including 12-VDC TV/DVD/CD, conversion to LED interior, courtesy and anchor lights, alcohol stove, etc. Use 12 volt cell phone chargers, inflatable pumps, etc. "

What...no windlass?
 
Nope. Hauled by hand. I have a push mower at home, too. Think of the money I save by not paying for a work-out at 24-Hour Fitness. ;)

Battery reserve is needed to operate an anchor windlass but on power boats that demand is different from other electrical draws at anchor. As with navigation lights, the engine(s) on a power boat should be running and cranking the alternator when a windlass is in use.
 
Good point. My windlass is attached to my engine starting battery. By the time Im ready to pull up anchor my engine and alternator are already running.

THats good news that you can get by for several days on 200 amp hours. I plan on putting together a 300 amph bank and would like to use the fridge and tv while at anchor.

Im hopefully meeting with the marine electrician tomorrow and should have an estimate on labor. I'll keep you posted on how this project goes.

quote:
Originally posted by yzer

Nope. Hauled by hand. I have a push mower at home, too. Think of the money I save by not paying for a work-out at 24-Hour Fitness. ;)

Battery reserve is needed to operate an anchor windlass but on power boats that demand is different from other electrical draws at anchor. As with navigation lights, the engine(s) on a power boat should be running and cranking the alternator when a windlass is in use.

Click to expand...
 
Wayne

My last boat was a small express cruiser with no genny, it had 2 group 31 batteries as starting/house. I installed a 3K inverter on the aft cabin bulkhead, inside the aft berth and ran a 15' 6 outlet power strip to the galley that I installed in a cabinet. The inverter provided all of the power we needed for the microwave, blender, hair dryer and coffee maker. It was an easy install but it is important as the other posts have stated to have the inverter within 4' of the batteries. The most difficult part of the install was drilling the large holes thru the bulkhead to route the cables since the cables are thick and hard to bend. The inverter was one of the best upgrades ever on our boat. IMHO, don't mess with your present power panel, just run a separate power strip to use only when you need 120V power. Total cost was about $400 including the inverter. One trick on the fridge is to turn off the fridge at night, everything stays cold and turn back on in the morning.
 
Great advice. I like the economical approach and that you are satisfied with your inverter. My boat has a lot of amenities, LED tv, fridge, water heater, etc..but without shore power its just a big boat with a lot of stuff that doesnt work without power.

A previous poster mentioned a $4,000 inverter project cost. He is right that I like nice stuff but I also manage to get it at a much more reasonable cost. Example: 01 and 02 bayliner 305s sell for 50k to 60k right now. I got mine for 26k and addressed many of the cosmetic issues and serviced the engines. Certainly I want to be able to anchor and enjoy the boat away from the dock but I dont want to spend a fortune to do it. Still need to fill the 150 gallon gas tank you know.

Currently I have 2 house batts, one starting..I think 2 more house batts to my bank will do it, plus the inverter, cables and labor. Leaning towards the Xantrax 1800 which should cost $330. Will have to price out more batts but they should be about $100 a peice at Walmart ($530) and Im willing to spend another 400 to 500 on labor..thats it. I should be able to get this whole thing done for $1000 give or take. It seems like members of this board have done similar upgrades for less.
quote:
yOriginy oally posted by folieadeux

Wayne

My last boat was a small express cruiser with no genny, it had 2 group 31 batteries as starting/house. I installed a 3K inverter on the aft cabin bulkhead, inside the aft berth and ran a 15' 6 outlet power strip to the galley that I installed in a cabinet. The inverter provided all of the power we needed for the microwave, blender, hair dryer and coffee maker. It was an easy install but it is important as the other posts have stated to have the inverter within 4' of the batteries. The most difficult part of the install was drilling the large holes thru the bulkhead to route the cables since the cables are thick and hard to bend. The inverter was one of the best upgrades ever on our boat. IMHO, don't mess with your present power panel, just run a separate power strip to use only when you need 120V power. Total cost was about $400 including the inverter. One trick on the fridge is to turn off the fridge at night, everything stays cold and turn back on in the morning.

Click to expand...
 
Lots of good ideas from all! I have been out for 3 days with our setup only starting the engine to run the heat exchanger for about 15 minutes but it does top up the batteries.

I have 2 group 24 starting batteries and only once had an issue with them. We have 2 Trojan T-105's and 1 Everstart group 31 for the house. We run the fridge, pump, inside lights, outside LED rope lights at night, radio and even MR Coffee in the morning and have yet to run them down. We run an inexpensive 2000 Watt Continuous/4000 Watt Peak Power Inverter from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=95596. I mounted it in the cabin about 8 feet away and ran double-ought 2/0 battery cable to them to ensure little voltage drop. I think I spent about $500 on the entire setup and couldn't be happier with it.

I should also note that I have sleep apnea and take my device with us on the boat which also runs on 12 volts when on the hook and still never a power issue! We also turn off the fridge at night.

YOU surely could spend some serious coin on a setup like this but why?
 
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