220v Shore Power

[lanceolson]

Hi - I Have A 1986 63 Cpmy. I'm At A New Marina This Year And It Has The Old 'y' Electical System Which Supplies 208v. My Boat Is Down The Line A Little Bit And I Am Only Reading 200v At Times On My Electrical Panel. Do You Think This Will Cause Problems? Thanks In Advance.

[Ross Macdonald]

At our marina in San Diego we are all getting 208v on 50 amp. Hasn't been a problem. The only thing I did was lower the input voltage setting on the inverter to just below 208v so it wouldn't sense the voltage was low and switch over to the inverter. Not being a marine electrician, I don't know if 200volts would be a problem. Good Luck, Ross

[fixin-to-cruise]

See if you can change the input tap connection on the input/isolation transformer. Mine had a lower voltage tap that was used when it was outside the US. Open the wiring access cover on the transformer and you might find instructions or a wiring diagram there.

[REBrueckner]

Adjusting the power tap if you have one is the best option. Low voltage has been discussed here before and I recall it being a problem for some.....try a search such as "shore power" and see what you can find.

[spcoolin]

Voltage below 200 volts is very hard on A/C compressors...

If you have digital Cruisair A/C controls (SMX) below 200 volts for more than 3 minutes is the threshold that will make the controls shut down the system & display LO/AC...

You can lie to the controls by going into the programming mode and setting the reading higher than what it actually is, but you are taking a big risk there too...You are defeating the protection...Hopefully the SMX controls have been calibrated to the incoming voltage to each A/C unit...But most times they are not...

Be careful to look at your voltage with the A/C running...30-40 amps of load at the end of a dock that only starts out at 208 can easily drop that voltage below 200 volts....

Before SMX we had many more compressor failures from folks running on low voltage & not knowing it...

Steve~

[REBrueckner]

Here is one prior discussion:
http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/sho...+power+voltage

and another of relevence:

http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/sho...+power+voltage

[Walter P]

I solved my problem with 208 by buying a voltage booster transformer that was made by Wards Marine Electric of Ft Lauderdale. It boosted by incoming by approx 10%, which is fine.

The problem as I have been told with changing the wire connections to the other pins in your built in isolation transformer (Hatteras orig) is that while it will boost your 208 to the proper level at your marina, but what about when you travel and the next marina has 240 v coming in? It seems to me that with the pin setting on the high side you will be probably getting somewhere between 260 and 265 v which would probably damage some systems. I don't know for sure as I am far from qualified to make determinations regarding anything electrical. It just seems logical. Can anyone expand on this please?

Walt

[Ross Macdonald]

Walt...How much did the unit to boost voltage cost? That sounds like the ticket. I saw a number of big yachts with those units down in Mexico last season. Does the shorepower plug come from the dock connection to the booster and into the boat? And is the unit sitting on the dock? We don't run A/C as much out here on the West Coast as you folks do back there, but it would be a great thing to have when we head to Mexico again this year. Ross

[sandspur1966]

It seems to me that with the pin setting on the high side you will be probably getting somewhere between 260 and 265 v which would probably damage some systems. I don't know for sure as I am far from qualified to make determinations regarding anything electrical. It just seems logical. Can anyone expand on this please?


My OEM transformer is rigged with a switch at the main panel so I can select boost or not. One of the few things that the PO did right.

[Canuck Dennis]

My iso tsfrmr has a switch to select the shore voltage, if 240 at shore then set to 240 and stays 240, if 208, set to 208 and it boosts to 240.