i'm thinking of expanding my electrical system on my 24' grady. currently have 2 battery system with switch. since it's a grady walk, i have plenty of lights, pumps, and a ton of electronics (radio, vhf, cb, loran, gps, ff). no problems to date, but i want to increase my usage while docked at marinas.<br /><br />i don't think a full blown shore power set-up is necessary. i was thinking of starting with a 2 bank installed charger. i could then easily run a cord to the marina power (already have a 30 amp twist connector) and charge my batteries.<br /><br />would then go with an installed inverter. i know i need to check the numbers with what i want to run. don't need much, but would like to run a cell phone charger, maybe a laptop charger, etc. but could expand this requirement.<br /><br />question is how it all works together. if i'm docked and my charger is plugged in and actively charging my batteries, can i then use the inverter at the same time and draw from those batteries? will the charger keep up? will the charger simply send electrons straight to the inverter and not charge my batteries (this would be ok with me). i just get fuzzy when it comes down to how it all works.<br /><br />if there is a better setup, i'd be interested in hearing about that as well.<br /><br />thanks-<br /><br />edit- ok, just realized this question would sound really stupid. hey matt, why don't you just run an extension cord from the shore to the boat and power your 120v items from there? eliminate the need for the charger and inverter all together?<br /><br />well, that makes sense. but having the charger is a good idea anyway, and the inverter gives me flexibility when away from the dock.<br /><br />so my questions above still remain, to help me understand how it all works. but i'd also like to add this scenario- docked, plugged into the shore with charger, and now using 12 volt items on the boat. how does that all work? charger simply power those items and the batteries remain in their current condition?
