[C320-list] Inverter - follow-up questions

[Allan S. Field]

Bob - I went with the 12-foot cordset from WM and it worked.  At the time, I
was minutes away from offering the Honda at a fire-sale price when our
favorite "Uncle" Orlando gave me the idea for the shorter cordset.

To digress, one must often wade through a ton of coal on this list to find
the occasional diamond but when that diamond is found, the list is
oh-so-worthwhile!  I often reflect that had I known of an Ericson 30 list
like this years ago, I'd probably still be sailing an Ericson 30! - Allan

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Robert
Seastream
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 9:08 AM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Inverter - follow-up questions

Allan, how long is your cord and did you make or buy it?  We also may  
power an air conditioner from our genset someday.  The shortest  
cordset I could find was 12' at WM for $49; longer than needed.  I was  
thinking to make a 5' or less cord, as I'll have the gen next to the  
power inlet or behind the helm.  Won't be saving much money by DIY.   
Home Desperate and Loews have the female 125 V 30 A twistlock  
connectors for around $27-45.  The male twistlock plug is ~$20.  Ten  
gauge, three wire cable is ~$1.5 per foot.

Bob Seastream
Intuition # 906

On Mar 12, 2009, at 8:11 AM, Allan S. Field wrote:

> While it is true that diesels should be good for many hours with  
> proper
> maintenance, proper maintenance includes running under load which  
> means
> running in gear, hard to do at anchor.  I have been advised by several
> diesel mechanics over the years not to run the engine continuously in
> neutral as diesels are happiest when working.
>
> I also have been advised not to run anything off an inverter that  
> creates
> heat, such as hair dryer, toaster or microwave, as heat producing  
> appliances
> create a tremendous load on the battery.
>
> On both of these points, I only have what I have been told to go on  
> but they
> make sense to me so I follow them.
>
> On Sea Shadow, we do have a Honda 2000 generator that we have used  
> sparingly
> so far although with a short electric cord, it will power the A/C at  
> anchor.
> When rafted, Linda has used the generator to run the microwave and  
> we have
> used it only 1-2 times for battery charging.
>
> We also have a very small 100 watt inverter that will power the TV/DVD
> player for the grandkids; that is all we have used the inverter  
> for.  We
> also installed 3 additional chart liter plugs for charging cell  
> phones.
>
> At the end of the day, for the type of cruising we do, all of our  
> power
> needs are met.
>
> Allan S. Field
> Sea Shadow - #808
> Columbia, MD
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of
> crashley at gte.net
> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:41 AM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Inverter - follow-up questions
>
> Here's my last input on this one, no pun intended.
>
> The detraction (for me) with the external generator approach on a  
> C320 is
> that you have to store it, haul it out, connect it, keep it fueled,  
> and put
> it away when actually sailing, which after all is the primary  
> purpose of the
> boat. I'm sure these things are not monumental tasks and if you are  
> going to
> be moored or anchored for many days at a time it might be worth it  
> but for
> me the simplicity of having a battery powered inverter is more  
> attractive.
> Actually, the main reason I installed my inverter/charger is that I  
> had an
> OEM Pro-Mariner charger which I've heard can fail and kill your  
> batteries. I
> installed a small Magnum Energy MMS1012 1000W pure sinewave inverter/ 
> charger
> which actually fits in the same place that the original charger was  
> located
> without any additional wiring except for the AC lines back to the AC
> distribution panel. I got an unbelievably good price on mine (I  
> think it was
> a mistake) but I think they go for about $1100, which admittedly is  
> a lot
> more than the price of a battery charger only. It has temperature
> compensated battery charging (probably pretty standard nowadays)  
> which my
> original charger did not have and I wanted badly when I replaced my  
> original
> flooded batteries with (more expensive) AGMs. Actually, I have yet to
> actually use the inverter function but I know it works. If you're only
> planning on using a couple hundred watts of load (TVs and such) I  
> think an
> inverter like I have is the way to go. Note: I don't have a  
> microwave oven,
> so that might lead to a different conclusion.
>
> The concern over running a diesel engine for a couple or hours a day  
> to
> recharge batteries is unfounded as they should last at least 10,000  
> hours
> minimum. Okay, if you're a cruiser and run your engine an extra 2  
> hours
> charge every day it might be a concern. But in that case maybe you  
> should
> have a larger boat with an internal generator, or at least solar  
> panels.
>
> CR Ashley
> Rosebud C320 Hull #882
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Dean  
> Vermeire
> Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 7:50 AM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Inverter - follow-up questions
>
> Thanks.  That's pretty much what I figured.
>
> At this point, I'm thinking a long extension cord from the boat to  
> the dock
> is good enough for me.
>
>
> crashley at gte.net wrote:
>> Dean,
>>
>> I'm not sure anyone answered this but here's one for you.
>>
>> An inverter converts 12 VDC from the battery to 115 VAC @ 60 Hz (in  
>> the
>> U.S.) for the AC loads like a microwave. Most inverters also  
>> provide a
>> battery charging function when they have an external source of AC  
>> (like at
>> the dock).
>>
>> The generator option (which I don't have) has the advantage that  
>> (when it
> is
>> running) it provides 115 VAC for the AC loads and can run the on- 
>> board
>> battery charger as well. It's true that running the boat's engine  
>> does
> this
>> too, but the efficiency of the generator is probably better. The  
>> generator
>> also uses a different fuel, gasoline, which you probably need on  
>> the boat
>> anyway if you have a gasoline engine for the dinghy outboard. Cost- 
>> wise
> I'm
>> not sure which one is better but inverter/chargers cost upwards of  
>> $1000
>> (sometimes a lot more) and also usually require some additional heavy
> gauge
>> DC cabling to be added depending on where you locate it. The external
>> generator is more of a "plug and play" approach.
>>
>> CR Ashley
>> Rosebud C320 Hull #882
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
>> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Dean
> Vermeire
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 9:32 AM
>> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
>> Subject: [C320-list] Inverter - follow-up questions
>>
>> Hi again.
>>
>> Thanks for all the good input so far.  I hate to ask really stupid
>> questions, but somebody's got to do it.
>>
>> It seems to me that I've got two choices - put in an inverter that  
>> takes
> DC
>> from the batteries and runs them down while converting to AC, or  
>> put in a
>> generator that uses some other energy source to run a motor that  
>> generates
>> AC.  I look at the existing systems onboard, and I see a diesel  
>> motor that
>> runs an alternator that produces DC to recharge my batteries.  I  
>> also have
>> shore power (AC) that recharges the batteries by way of a battery  
>> charger,
>> which I see listed in catalogs as a "battery charger / inverter".
>>
>> Stupid question #1:  Are they calling the battery chargert an  
>> inverter
>> because it is changing AC to DC?
>> Stupid question #2:  Why is a generator less expensive than a DC-to- 
>> AC
>> inverter, when the generator must have similar circuitry in it?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dean Vermeire
>> Moonstruck II (#847)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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