Inverter for TV/DVD, Fridge, radio a good idea??

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Waynepj4

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Oct 13, 2008
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30904
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Hello All,

I own a 2001 Bayliner 285. I have a fridge, tv/dvd combo, microwave and like to run the radio. I'm debating whether I need an inverter or generator to run these appliances while on the hook. What do you recommend?

Have any of you had experiences with an inverter on a similar size boat?
BaylinerInterior1.jpg
 
How much battery power do you have? I see you have an LCD tv, it can run directly off 12 volt power. You could get a 12 volt DVD as well.

The fridge should be AC/DC.

So all you really need is to run the microwave, do you really need to use it? If not, save your money.
 
Generators are noisy and spew out CO. Inverter are quiet although capacity depends on large battery banks and does not do well under large loads and/or long drain periods.

I have a 1.5KW inverter fed by 2 large 12V batts. I have 4 batts total: 1 for engine, 1 for house, and 2 dedicated for inverter. I usually have enough capacity for a weekend running microwave, coffeemaker, and laptop.
 
DO the inverter cheaper no fuss no mess no smell no fumes and keep it for your next boat.I have both and use the inverter on the hook.
 
It depends on what your battery bank is like. The fridge is the biggest power user and can easily consume up to 90 amp/hrs per day during the summer. 90 amp/hrs is the full charge available from one group 27 deep cycle battery. If you want deep cycle batteries to last, you don't want to fully discharge them. Deep cycle batteries have a much longer life if not discharged to less than 60% of capacity.

Like Hogan mentioned, your fridge probably runs from AC or DC and doesn't need an inverter. If you have appliances that run from AC only, you need an inverter to run them at anchor.

If you don't have a large battery bank, what you probably need is a genset to keep your batteries charged at anchor. Marine gensets are expensive and noisy but may be the best solution for your boat.

When I restored my old 27 ft. cruiser as a Delta cruiser I set it up to use very little electrical power, on the order of 30 amp/hrs from batteries per day while at anchor. I use a solar power set-up to keep the batteries charged. It's two 32-watt thin film flexible solar panels that I strap onto the cockpit canvas before long outings. From spring through fall I can stay anchored out and self-sufficient as long as my supply of block ice holds out (six days, maximum). The cockpit on the boat is pretty roomy so we keep two 50 quart Igloo MaxCold ice chests there instead of a refrigerator. I don't even need to turn the engine over for recharging. I've got enough solar power to run lighting, sanitation, LCD TV/DVD and radios.

http://www.boatered.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=104061
 
quote:
Originally posted by vnar

Generators are noisy and spew out CO. Inverter are quiet although capacity depends on large battery banks and does not do well under large loads and/or long drain periods.

I have a 1.5KW inverter fed by 2 large 12V batts. I have 4 batts total: 1 for engine, 1 for house, and 2 dedicated for inverter. I usually have enough capacity for a weekend running microwave, coffeemaker, and laptop.

Click to expand...

I like your set up. I currently have 2 gel cel batteries. I suppose I am going to need more. So you are able to dedicate certain battery banks to certain equipment ie one batt bank for recepticles, another for engine starting, another for appliances or what have you. I will probably need a marine mechanic to do that.
 
Email me: vince41 at comcast dot net and I'll go over all my details.
 
I didn't realize you could run LCD's off 12 volts. Do you know where I might find more information on this? I do have one LCD that is running 12 volts but just assumed it was a 12 volt model as it was already on the boat when I purchased it. I have just purchased a 32" LCD for the Salon and 26" LCD for the master and would like to run these off of 12 volts if possible.

A marine inverter set up can be very pricy. I would also suggest looking into setting up you boat to run soley on 12 volt. The microwave might be a tough one without a larger battery bank but the rest of your equipment should work pretty well. I have a generator and run it when I want to use the microwave or range. Most of the time we will just bring food that can be prepared using the BBQ.

My boat did not have an inverter on it. I did put in a small 1000W inverter that I use to power the stereo and salon TV when we are not hooked up to shore power or using the generator. We use the generator alot in the summer when we are on the Delta in order to run AC. I will probably add a 3000W inverter/charger later this year which would run the electronics, refridgerator and occasional microwave. I need to do some homework before that to determine where I will add batteries. I am also considering a 24 volt inverter that would run off my thruster bank vs. the house battery bank.

Kris
 
A lot of boaters add batteries, inverters, solar etc. as DIY projects. The main thing to do is figure out how much 12VDC power you want to use for X number of days at anchor and how much battery capacity you need to do the job. You can also deal with ways to charge the batteries at anchor, too. For DIY, you need to learn about the marine grade wire and components you will use. Lot's of good advice is also available at other forums here at BoaterEd.

My boat runs on 12VDC only while at anchor. With my set-up I ended up using three Group 27 deep-cycle batteries. One is used as an engine starter battery only and the other two are house batteries. I use one house battery at a time while the other is charging. The nice thing about having three identical batteries is that charging is made much more simple. There are all sorts of different ways you can set up an electrical system.

I use a 15" Toshiba LCD/DVD that runs off of AC or DC. AC/DC LCD TVs are availble if you look around for them. Techically, all LCD TVs run off of 12VDC internally, but they have AC transformers that allow them to be operated as 115 VAC appliances. Some of the guys on this board have converted their AC powered LCD TVs to bypass the AC/DC transformer and run directly off of 12VDC. I don't recommend taking that route. While you are underway or charging at the boat the 12VDC power is actually quite a bit higher, like 13.6 VDC. That higher voltage can fry a TV if protective circuitry is not used.

The TVs that are made to run on AC or 12VDC will protect against that kind of power variation while a home brew conversion from AC operation will not.
 
Regardless of how you configure your system, if you ALWAYS have one fully charged battery dedicated to engine starting, you can be certain you get back home when the time comes to weigh anchor. Make that your number one priority.
 
yzer......, your set up is almost identical to mine. 2000 watt full sine wave inverter, 2000i Honda generator/inverter, (3) Group 27-deepcycle/start batteries. Make certain to use a full sine wave inverter, this is needed for anything with a transformer/powersupply and a 15" Toshiba LCD/DVD.
I bought my Balmar (Trace) 2000 inverter back in I think 1991, it coat me then about $2000 USD. I first bought an RV inserter from Sears, but it did heat up the food in the microwve, it was a cheap square wave inverter for $400 USD.
 
If you guys really want reserve power why do you use deep cycle 12v batteries that are really only starting batteries? 6V golf carts are the way to go the hold charges longer and don't fall off like starting batteries when being discharged and recover faster, lots of info 'bout true deep cycle verses so called deep cycle starting batteries.
 
You won't really need a good marine mechanic to set something up. A good electrician will do. Gensets are expensive and cost a lot to run. Plus, there is the issue of space. Is there enough room in your engine compartment? Can you take a picture of it?

I have also seen boats similar to yours mounting a small portable Honda generator on the transom platform when there isn't any room in the engine compartment. If you need a generator, this would be the most economical method as well as the safest since all the CO is vented directly into the air.

In your case I think the battery bank should suffice. Most boats that run a genset need it to run the AC which you don't have. A battery bank is the cleanest, most economical, and it should give you the power you need provided you don't run the microwave a lot. If you're going to be out on the hook for an extended period, then I would consider augmenting this arrangement with the portable Honda generator.

But whatever you decide to do, make sure you have one battery committed to the engines only. You don't want to be stuck out there.
 
In reality you can't beat a built in generator, but if you can't afford it or don't have the room, 2nd best is a small portable from either Honda or Yamaha. We used 6 volt batteries, and a Yamaha on our smaller boats along with a 2000 watt inverter. Just had to go easy and be judicious on the use of the power. Every morning we cranked up the generator which was plugged into the shorepower inlet and recharged the batteries, and I may add very quietly. We also tried some solar panels on a 24' pontoon boat and that worked great because we only used that boat on weekends and the N. CA. blue skies were great for keeping the batteries charged during the week. We currently have a 2000 watt inverter on our 26' sea ray with size 31 deep cycle batteries, and we use it to watch tv and also run a 110v vacuum cleaner, and of course a huge blender. We use a 1000 watt yamaha if we are out for more than a day and again plug it into a shorepower inlet.
 
Other inverter issues; you should not install it in an engine compartment with a gas engine since most inverters are not explosion proof rated. Also the inverter should be within 10 feet of the the serving battery bank, shorter the better since you will already be working with very large gauge battery cables. And you will need to re-run your AC from your shore power inlet through your inverter and back to your AC panel. This is advanced stuff for your average DIY project. Usually a good time to add a galvanic isolator if you don't already have one.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Flutterby

Regardless of how you configure your system, if you ALWAYS have one fully charged battery dedicated to engine starting, you can be certain you get back home when the time comes to weigh anchor. Make that your number one priority.

Click to expand...

Flutterby. Thanks for keeping it simple. The advice is great but Im not an electrical engineer. The problem is I feel i need two batts to start the engine. When trying to start on one batt I have to crank it 2 or 3 times. But with both batts selected the engine jumps to life on the first try. I have can switch between batt 1, batt 2 or both on my Bayliner 285. So the question is..if I switch to use just one batt..then that one batt will run my lights and appliances and the other batt will be left completely alone..is that correct?
 
I think you might have a problem with a location if you were to decide to go with a Marine Genset. Most Boats in that size range don't have any place to mount them. Yours may be different and have alot of room but usually manufacturers try to utilize all the spare spaces with whatever they can and usually don't even consider that someone may want to add something like that at a later date.
 
One thing to help you make your decision on what you want to do is to calculate the amp hours you will need for your time at anchor. This link has a handy tool where you plug watts which can be found on the equipment nameplate data on most appliances and multiply it by the number of hours you plan on using the equipment. It will than calculate you total amp hours that you will need. This calculator does it for one week and computes daily usage, but just ignore that and look at line 9 which is the total amp hours you will use. If you aren't sure of the watts on a particular piece of equipment, there is a power consumption reference guide which gives a pretty good estimate.

For your standard size battery I think they make them up to 100 amp hours and you can hook up a couple of these in parallel effectively doubling your amp hours. And while you may not have any room for a gen set, you should at least have enough room for a couple of these. There are some high capacity batteries out there that have a capacity upwards of 300 amp hours, but these tend to be expensive. Not to mention, very heavy.

http://www.bigfrogmountain.com/calculators/dailyamphourusage.htm
 
quote:
Originally posted by Waynepj4

Flutterby. Thanks for keeping it simple. The advice is great but Im not an electrical engineer. The problem is I feel i need two batts to start the engine.
Click to expand...


You should be able to start one engine on one battery on the first crank. It sounds to me like your batteries are no longer fully charged. Either they need to be charger [topped off] while on shorepower or your batteries need to be replaced.

I have two #27 batteries on a Perko switch. I start my engine on one battery, run on that battery until it has recharged. Then I switch to the second battery and continue to my anchorage. The second battery is my "house" battery while I am anchored. When I am ready to start the engine again, I switch back to #1 [my engine battery]. After I am underway, I will switch back to #2 [house battery] so that it gets a good charge on the way home. Either battery can be assigned [engine] and the other [house] for each trip.

Hey, I'm no EE either! Not even an electrician. I'm a retired sales person!!!! I just keep asking and learning as you are doing. [^]
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