Inverters

[Burtonair01]

I want to put an inverter on my boat and was wondering where to mount it, any ideas? I bought a 2500 watt.

 

[Thad]

Re: Inverters

Well, our boats are very different, but mine is mounted under the port dash. Easy to get to and out of the way and weather.

The question I would ask you is what do you want to use it for and where is the primary use going to occur? Say you want to mostly use it in the cabin. I would look in a cabinet for for a place that is out of the way and still easy to use.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Inverters

2500 watts is going to be a huge current draw so you better take that into account when sizing the cables feeding it.

What are you planning on using the inverter for?

 

[seabob4]

Re: Inverters

I'd also install a separate batt dedicated to the inverter. Does your Doral have an onboard charger? If so, it's probaly a 2-bank, i'd upgrade to 3.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Inverters

And the batteries that feed it.

 

[Burtonair01]

Re: Inverters

Well it will be used for coffee maker, microwave, blender. And so it will be used in the cabin most of the time. I do have 3 batteries, 2 of which are for accesories only the other 1 for starting only. I was wondering if theres a way to hook it to my 110 plug ins so all I have to do is flip a switch and I can just plug whatever it is I'm going to use directly to my 110 receptacle, is that possible or would I have to plug into the inverter itself? Oh, and yes there is an onboard charger.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Inverters

If you want to use your 110V outlets, you'll need to wire the outputs of your inverter to a separate breaker on your panel such that there is a lockout when one power source is used rather than the other. This prevents the possibility of 2 sources of AC power simultaneously, which can have very dire circumstances...

Others can explain it better than I, but should you choose to wire your boat so that you can use your existing outlets, you need to have some sort of protection that will only allow you to use one source of power at any one time...

 

[rbh]

Re: Inverters

If your looking for good AC power and mounting a "marine style gen set" is out of the question, try a small 2000-3000 watt inverter genny.
Remember to run it on the dock or the shore (possibly the swim grid) were ever it will be safe to do so.
Not only will you be able to run the toaster/coffee maker (probably one at a time) but it will charge your batteries so you dont have to fire up the boats motor.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Inverters

2500 watts is going to be a huge current draw so you better take that into account when sizing the cables feeding it.

What are you planning on using the inverter for?

Yeah, probably about 110 amps worth (max). 2 or 4 gauge cable for a 10 foot run.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Inverters

Yeah, probably about 110 amps worth (max). 2 or 4 gauge cable for a 10 foot run.

I think you are quite a bit low on the 110 Amps. Assuming the biggest load is 1500Watts and a 85% efficiency with a fully charged battery its going to be closer to 150Amps...and that is not even using the full capacity of the inverter.

Another thing...many inverters are rated at 2500W but not 100% duty so that has to be taken inot consideration.

 

[Burtonair01]

Re: Inverters

If your looking for good AC power and mounting a "marine style gen set" is out of the question, try a small 2000-3000 watt inverter genny.
Remember to run it on the dock or the shore (possibly the swim grid) were ever it will be safe to do so.
Not only will you be able to run the toaster/coffee maker (probably one at a time) but it will charge your batteries so you dont have to fire up the boats motor.

"Genny" as in generator? If so then that's the reason I want an inverter so I don't have to worry about where to store it and run it.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Inverters

Uhh..no. 120 watts equals 1 amp, therefore 1200 watts = 10 amps, 2500 watt inverter at 85% efficiency is more like 19 amps output.

Mount it where it can breathe in a non-combustible environment as close to the batteries as possible. They get horrifficly hot under load! I put mine inside the porta potty closet. (I don't have a shower)

 

[180shabah]

Re: Inverters

Uhh..no. 120 watts equals 1 amp, therefore 1200 watts = 10 amps, 2500 watt inverter at 85% efficiency is more like 19 amps output.

true at 120 volts. multiply by 10 for the 12 volts that it runs on and those amps go WAY up. That means massive cables and extra batteries to get anything usefull out of it.

 

[rbh]

Re: Inverters

"Genny" as in generator? If so then that's the reason I want an inverter so I don't have to worry about where to store it and run it.

I certainly can understand not wanting a generator, when inverter's are so handy, in our case we added up the maximum appliances that would be used while boat camping (total watt's required) and an inverter fell short of our requirement's.

 

[Burtonair01]

Re: Inverters

Mount it where it can breathe in a non-combustible environment as close to the batteries as possible. They get horrifficly hot under load! I put mine inside the porta potty closet. (I don't have a shower)[/QUOTE]

Think it would be ok in the motor compartment or is it too hot in there? It won't be used for long periods of time, and most likely won't be used when the motor is running, mostly a few minutes when using the microwave and that is the biggest watts drawer(1250) and running the blender then the coffee pot would be the longest it would be in use while brewing (600watts) unless we eventually put a t.v. on board but thats not anytime soon.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Inverters

true at 120 volts. multiply by 10 for the 12 volts that it runs on and those amps go WAY up. That means massive cables and extra batteries to get anything usefull out of it.[/QUOTE

Forgot the first part of the equation didn't I? My bad. I live in an AC world...

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: Inverters

We run 3500w inverters in our vans on 80A breakers using 4G wire. The inverter will fault out before it drops the 80A breaker. As was mentioned, much like car stereo amps, they are rated at peak draw..not constant draw. Also inverters create a tonne of heat, and most of that size have built in cooling fans. You will need to keep it in a well ventilated, cool, area. The engine compartment is a bad spot. Also you will kill a standard auto battery in a very short period near full draw..say 30mins-1hour. Trust me...this I know for fact....

Ian

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Inverters

The inverter will fault out before it drops the 80A breaker.

So you are saying you can only get 1000 watts out of your 3500 watt inverter?

 

[JoLin]

Re: Inverters

A 2500W inverter operating at 85% efficiency will supply a maximum of 19 amps output at 110 volts.

2500/110 * .85= 19.3

That's a LOT of amps. None of the appliances listed will ever draw more than 6 or 7 amps when used individually. If you're going to mount a 2500W unit, you must also run heavy enough wire to support its maximum output. That means (IMO) unnecessary expense and difficulty in hooking it all up. Those heavy supply cables are a real PITA to manage.

Just a thought, but if it were me (and it will be down the road), I'd be looking at a 1500W unit to supply what I need and simplify the install. It'll provide more than 11 amps output and operate everything you have in mind.

My .02

 

[Jeepster04]

Re: Inverters

I agree that two 12volt batteries will not last very long(maybe a day) if you're running that microwave around an hour a day and that coffee pot 1-2 hours a day. Given those batteries already have some draw on them. We've got a 2,000 watt inverter that runs a 46" tv, full size refrigerator, and some fans, lights, and a coffee pot. We have 6 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series to get 12 volts and they will last 12 hours if we use our appliances moderately. You could give it a try and see how things go, no problem in getting another battery. Our inverter also has a built in switch that automatically switches from shore to inverter power when it looses shore power and also charges the batteries(110 amp built in charger) when we go back to shore power.

The inverter should have instructions that will tell you what gauge wire to use on the D/C side. We just have normal 12 gauge on the A/C side but ours is only 2,000 watts.