Inverter installatiom

[jpk55]

I'm finally getting around to installing an inverter in my 61 Motor Yacht. I ordered an Outback
3232 and the mate, I could use a little advice on placement and wiring routes.
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[SKYCHENEY]

On my 53, I mounted the inverter right next to the battery bank that its connected to. Make sure you fuse it as indicated in the installation instructions.

The 120v wires went right up from there to the main panel and I just added a slide breaker and treat it like a second generator source. It's worked great like that for several years now. We love it; probably the best addition to the boat since we've owner her (12yrs).

 

[davidwigler]

Sky, could you post a pic of the slider switch installed in the panel?

I assume you have to remember to turn off the inverter/charging circuit to avoid a loop situation? And of course all of the 230 V items including the water heater must be manually shut down.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Sky, could you post a pic of the slider switch installed in the panel?

I assume you have to remember to turn off the inverter/charging circuit to avoid a loop situation? And of course all of the 230 V items including the water heater must be manually shut down.

Yes, you are correct on all accounts. I can get a pic this weekend. The slider allows either the gen breaker or the inverter breaker to be closed but obviously not both at the same time.

 

[MikeP]

I did the same as Sky re placement of the inverter. I elected to use the "pass through" option on the outback. It makes inverter operation totally automatic which I prefer but others prefer the setup as Sky described. I combined my battery banks when I installed the inverter in '05 and it charges all batteries.

 

[tracy]

Two question were did you purchase the outback also shy what is a slider breaker

Tracy
1978 53 ft hatteras

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Two question were did you purchase the outback also shy what is a slider breaker

Tracy
1978 53 ft hatteras

Similar to this:

http://parts.samsmarine.com/PartSearch/LinkPart.cfm?ItemNmbr=27035

Select the generator on or the inverter on but it keeps both from being selected at the same time.

 

[BOATER BOB]

If you have room set up a separate panel with only the 110v circuts you want the inverter to run that way with the flip of the switch your done.

 

[luckydave215]

Mine (5kw) is also a pass-thru setup. If the power fails the inverter takes over automatically.
The panel the inverter feeds has the frigde(s), TV/stereo stuff, 110Vac bait tank/washdown pump, and some of the engine room lights on it. Things I want to work when the power fails, a gen quits by surprise, or we're sleeping on the hook.
One nice feature of that setup is that I don't have to worry about cold and frozen food if the dock power fails when I'm not there. It will pull the refrigeration loads (less icemaker, which we seldom run anyway) for at least 36 hours. With the galley side-by-side, pump room deep freeze, fly bridge cold box, and cockpit well freezer, there are a lot of them.

 

[davidwigler]

I have been thinking about feeding Ships Service III with the inverter and using the automatic pass through. It already has all of the lighting and 120 V circuits and most of the galley circuits. The only thing that must be removed is the battery charger. There is room then to move the water pump and microwave circuits from Ships Service I.

The only problem is the entire panel would be limited to 30 amps. I would have to run some new circuits from the other panel for portable heaters.

 

[Dan Mapes]

Pass through is the only way to go. I broke out circuits we depend on regularly and pulled them over to a new and separate panel. Next, the inverter drives that panel, and a large AC breaker drives the inverter AC line.

If at all possible, locate the inverter outside the bilge proper as their efficiency goes down with heat. There are limits, but once they heat up they can only provide so much power.

Given the size of the unit, your DC cable connections are important. I prototyped ours using vinyl tubing. Then I farmed the cables out because crimping 4/0 cable is not something I do for a living.

 

[GJH]

I went with the pass through / separate inverter panel as well, for the sake of as close to no-brainer operation as possible for both Ann and myself. It made it easy for anyone to see what was on the inverter circuit.

On my boat, there was a nice full sized panel-sized space right under the panel by stairs (I think it was SS #1) to the galley that had most of the circuits i wanted, and easy to pull the additional circuits from the panel in the stbd engine room. We put the inverter remote (which on the Magnum also served the battery monitor and Auto genset start) on the same board as well. Plus a few miscellaneous items like the bow thruster bank Xantrex charger remote, the waste tank level , and the shore power breakers (the inlet for stbd shore power was directly behind these). The Magnum was set up to accept and pass through both legs of a 50 amp 240 service, thus the two panels. And yes, we straightened them up before final install, it's sitting on the helm seat in this pic.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I don't like the pass thru. I like to be able to run anything and everything with the inverter. I don't want to plug into an outlet just to be reminded that it is not one of the circuits on the pass-thru. It is also easier and cheaper to not have to set up the subpanel.

We have run the washing machine off of the inverter, the dishwasher, the 120v water pump, and, of course, all of the usual stuff that most put on the subpanel like tv, microwave, lights, plugs, etc. It's just more versatile.

 

[GJH]

I don't like the pass thru. I like to be able to run anything and everything with the inverter. I don't want to plug into an outlet just to be reminded that it is not one of the circuits on the pass-thru. It is also easier and cheaper to not have to set up the subpanel.

We have run the washing machine off of the inverter, the dishwasher, the 120v water pump, and, of course, all of the usual stuff that most put on the subpanel like tv, microwave, lights, plugs, etc. It's just more versatile.

See Sky, we were just the opposite; I didn't want anyone having to remember to turn off certain HVAC units or the block heaters or battery chargers or other battery bank killers. We lived on moorings for weeks at a time and anchored out for a week or two at a time; I didn't want anyone to have to do any thinking or remembering if at all possible. I also liked that if shore power went off, the fridge and other key items still worked. We used an Automatic generator start/stop a fair amount when on board so it was nice to have that auto switching too. People have different ways of thinking, and that's what suited us.

 

[Boatsb]

The happiest owners of inverter's I've dealt with had a full boat system that was set up 100% transparent. Unplug and go. The inverter and generator took over until plugged in again.

I would not want to lose the ability to use air conditioning or hot water for a few dollars of savings in fuel. I like my comforts.

I guess I don't t think like a sailboater. Neither does Sky. Why would someone spend all the time and money on a comfortable vessel and not use the comforts they worked so hard for.

 

[Salty Dame]

The happiest owners of inverter's I've dealt with had a full boat system that was set up 100% transparent. Unplug and go. The inverter and generator took over until plugged in again.

I would not want to lose the ability to use air conditioning or hot water for a few dollars of savings in fuel. I like my comforts.

I guess I don't t think like a sailboater. Neither does Sky. Why would someone spend all the time and money on a comfortable vessel and not use the comforts they worked so hard for.

I couldn't agree more. And the bigger the boat the bigger the battery capacity. Size does matter.

 

[MikeP]

I agree that Sky's method eliminates the concern of which outlets are inverter - IOW, while cruising w/o the Genny running, the "switch" method means that AC power is available everywhere, just as it is with the Genny/shore power WITHIN the limitation of the inverter's wattage capability. But you don't have to wonder, "does this wall outlet have power right now?

OTOH, if you run selected circuits, you pretty much know what circuits are available - either you had them set up or you set it up yourself so you already know that if you need to charge your phone (or whatever) while underway, you need to plug it into a specific outlet. Yes, any guests on the boat would have to be told which outlets are available.

Since there is no difference in available inverter power (Basically 30A at 120VAC for the Outback 3232)) whether it is pass through or switched, it all comes down to which method you prefer for routine operation. The pass through requires considerably more installation work since a separate inverter neutral buss is required for circuits using the inverter and the breakers for those circuits must be electrically connected to the inverter, NOT the panel's hot buss. The "switchable" inverter setup does not require that.

With the Outback 3232 the battery charger uses some of that 30A availability. Obviously if you don't use the inverter as a battery charger, then that has no impact at all. However, we DO use it as our charger for the main batts though the "limitation" if the batteries are charging has never shown up in actual use. But if you did need to run heavy AC loads, battery charging time will increase. In the default mode, which can be changed, up to 19A of 120VAC power will be used to charge the batts, leaving 11A for other uses. If you exceed 11A, the power available to the battery charger section is reduced accordingly. IOW, if you draw 20A from the inverter, 10 will be available to the charger. Of course, The battery charging power availability is unrelated to pass-through or switched operation so that's a different consideration.

 

[Dan Mapes]

I know one boat that had two Prosines in tandem so he could run 250v appliances. Slick set up with plenty of batteries.

No need for pass through but it's not reasonable if you do not have the space.

 

[Colwyn D]

I have selected circuits run to a separate inverter panel for the reasons MikeP suggests. Wouldn't it be an issue if you started a washing machine cycle say, left the boat, and there was a power outage on the dock. Wouldn't that leave you with a dead battery bank?
I would like the inverter available more when we are running and have the alternators to charge the batteries. I'm currently under some pressure from the admiral to have the watermaker added to the inverter panel. Sea Recovery Aqua "Whisper", now that was a joke!

 

[Boatsb]

I have selected circuits run to a separate inverter panel for the reasons MikeP suggests. Wouldn't it be an issue if you started a washing machine cycle say, left the boat, and there was a power outage on the dock. Wouldn't that leave you with a dead battery bank?
I would like the inverter available more when we are running and have the alternators to charge the batteries. I'm currently under some pressure from the admiral to have the watermaker added to the inverter panel. Sea Recovery Aqua "Whisper", now that was a joke!

A full install would switch to inverter when dock power fails or use the inverter to augment dock power if amperage is needed. Also when the batteries drop the genny would start and recharge the Batts until dock power comes back