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Power Inverters...

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boat25
Deckhand

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USA
20 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/23/2003 : 15:04:19

Hi all,

I was thinking of installing a power inverter (1500W) on my C-25, to run few electrical, like small TV, or microwave while on the water.
What do you all think???. Any advice?

Best regards.

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2003 : 16:28:53

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Hi all,

I was thinking of installing a power inverter (1500W) on my C-25, to run few electrical, like small TV, or microwave while on the water.
What do you all think???. Any advice?

Best regards.

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Do you have an alternator on your motor?
How many batteries do you have?
How often do you want to run these devices?

I don't know the exact numbers with respect to current and battery life, but experience has told me a battery won't last long under these circumstances...Maybe I am wrong.
dw

D. Wolff - "The Flying Wasp" #401 sr/sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 National Assn.
<img src="http://www.flags.com/dreamimages/Flags/measurer.jpg" border=0>

Edited by - on

boat25
Deckhand

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USA
20 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2003 : 16:57:06

Hi,

Well, I have a alternator on my 9.9 hp. Yamaha engine, and it works...
Also, I have 2 batteries on board.
As far as runing the devices, I won't be using them at all time, just to boil water for tee, or warm up the food every now and then.

Thanks a lot.

Edited by - on

Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2003 : 17:01:10

Inverters need to be run from a house bank of batteries that has at least 20% as many amp hours as the inverter has watts. A 1,000 W inverter should have a 200 ah battery bank.

An energy budget is essential.

A 1,500 watt inverter would require 300 amp hours of batteries. Other than four golf cart batteries, that's a lot of weight to haul around on a C25. Also consider how you plan to recharge your batteries. Your Yamaha alternator should have an output rating, but it's bound to be much less than even the use of the TV, so you'd have to run the engine a LOOOONG time to replace what you took out.

On our (former) C25 we just used a small 125 watt plug in inverter which worked just fine for our laptop. Also had a solar panel to keep the batteries up.

If all you plan to do is watch TV for a short period of time, and minimal microwaving, you could do it with a smaller battery bank, but you'd have to be very careful to not drain the batteries, and also get back to a shorepower hookup to recharge to avoid damaging your batteries if they are "undersized" for the load. Sounds like you'd have to hook up every other day to input what you'd discharged.

A small TV and a small microwave may not need a 1,500 watt inverter. Again, suggest you do the math.

Edited by - Stu Jackson C34 No. 224 1986 on 04/23/2003 17:07:08

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5908 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2003 : 17:04:57

I agree with Duane. A power inverter works o.k. in an automobile because an auto engine has enough generating power to supply a power hungry 110 volt device, but our 7-10 hp outboard motors don't have enough generating power to keep up with very much of a demand. I bought a little 12/110 volt tv with a 5" screen that I can use on the boat if I wish, or on the kitchen counter, or in the garage, or it can even operate on D-cell batteries, and it draws very little current.

Steve Milby "Captiva Wind" C-25 T/FK #2554

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MikeM
1st Mate

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72 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2003 : 17:14:21

I have a power invertor ($30), my motor (8 horse) has an altenator and I have an 11w solar panel for charging on the mooring. I found the power invertor to be relatively useless as it drains the battery big time.

I agree with the posts above, its better suited for a large battery bank or an automobile. If you are just charging a cell phone then it my be worth the salt.

Mike M
Marblehead, MA
C25 #1212

Edited by - on

John V.
Admiral

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USA
559 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2003 : 20:37:11

I use a 1000 watt inverter on Nin Bimash II. I use it for power tools a small fan and a 700 watt microwave. I have two 105 AH deep cycle batteries. The 9.9 honda produces a 60 watt current so the auxiliary will not keep up with battery use. I have considered getting a 400 watt wind generator but for now while cruising a stop at a marina is needed every four days or so. The inverter is not hooked into the shore power system but has one outlet which is labeled as such. It remains disconected from the batteries until it is needed. It is handy but I really use the micowave when on shore power. (it needs to be re-pluged to the shore system)

John V. Nin Bimash II
77 C25 sk/sr #153

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2003 : 22:24:31

'boat25'

I agree with Stu Jackson, energy budget calculations are essential. Once you do the math for your situation, the answer will be apparent.
I once had a 120w inverter in a custom van. I very quickly discovered that I needed to install a second battery and charging combiner, much like on a cruising boat.

I'm just not convinced that inverters are a good idea on a boat this small. I try to get the 12VDC versions of every electrical toy I think I need. On my C-25, I have two flooded cell group 27 batteries as a house bank, two 10w solar panels, a 5A or 10A alternator on the motor, and a 20A smart charger. I have shore power at my dock. I try to use the stove for all heating tasks. (But don't suggest she dry her hair over the open flame.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>)

I plan to carry a small gasoline powered generator on trips longer than a few days. The idea would be to anchor before sundown, start the generator (if needed) to run the battery charger, do any other chores that require 120vac, shut down the generator before sundown, relax for the night.

Not to sound like Henry David Thoreau, but I think you'll find it much less trouble and expense to learn to reduce your electrical needs, rather than produce more electricity.<img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

-- Leon Sisson

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 04/24/2003 : 09:01:39

This issue of recharging batteries is a real problem where I keep "Quiet Time". Folsom Lake Marina does not provide shore power in either the slips or dry storage, so careful energy budgeting is essential, unless you want to drag heavy batteries on and off the boat to charge them at home. I have found that a 30 watt solar panel will just maintain the battery, at least in the summer months, as long as I don't forget to turn everything off at the end of the weekend when I go home. Other than the factory-installed electrical equipment, which was just the cabin and navigation lighting, Quiet Time has only low-power gadgets: Stero, a Garmin 125 GPS/sounder, and a VHF. The outboard is non-electric-start, although that will be changing in a few months when I save enough BU's to buy a new one. Next summer when I go to the San Juans, I will be taking a microwave oven, laptop computer, and digital camera, and expect to have to plug into shore power at marinas every other day to recharge. The Honda 10 outboard only puts out 5 amps, and that is only at 3000 rpm or more, so it is practically worthless for charging batteries. On the last San Juans cruise I did, last summer, I ran the battery flat on three different days, despite having run the outboard for three or four hours every day. I figured out that the average power draw during the day was about 2 amps, for the GPS/sounder and VHF radios, which were on constantly. Then at night, power draw was about 3 amps, for the anchor light, GPS, and my CPAP (a medical gadget for sleep apnea). The GPS was left on in "anchor drift alarm mode" whenever we were anchored out. So, in 24 hours, I was using maybe 50 to 60 amp-hours for minimal load, which is almost half the total capacity of the size 27 battery on the boat.
If I had been trying to run other devices like power tools, microwave oven, or a TV, off of an inverter, it's not hard to see that the battery would have probably been exhausted every day, in just a few hours. This is where the few C-25's that were built with the inboard diesel really have an advantage: they have a much larger alternator than any outboard, standard 50 amps I think, just like a car engine. One of the C-25's in our club, an '89WK, has the diesel with a 100 amp alternator. Anyway, I agree with the other posters in this thread, that most sailboats don't have enough recharge capacity to support a lot of electrical gadgets running off of an inverter, unless you can plug into shore power every day to recharge.

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25 #1205 "Quiet Time"
Sacramento, CA

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