Since I don't have refrigeration and my electrical loads are modest, the largest draw on my boat seems to be the laptop computer. When I'm anchored out, which is most of the time, and spending a lot of time online, the battery monitor goes down pretty quickly. I either have to run under power or idle the engine (which I hate to do) every other day if I don't ration my computer use.
I've been running the laptop with a 150 watt, plug in, inverter from West Marine. I just got Universal Car DC Adaptor, 15-24 volts, 6A, 90W which comes with a set of plugs that automatically set it to the right voltage when plugged in. It has an LED display to confirm the voltage.
Plugging the computer into my old set up with a CD running, I see about 2.45 amps on the battery monitor with everything else on the boat turned off. It fluctuates a bit according to what the computer is doing.
Plugging in the new adaptor, I only see about 1.6 amps on the monitor. The computer battery is fully charged since I've had it connected to shore power AC for my time here but it's pretty clear that the conversion penalty of the inverter is substantial.
This device should pay for itself in fuel and wear and tear on the engine eventually.
Http://www.BattDepot.com
Part No: ACUNV90CR
$56.99
I'll have to confess, because I was thinking "computer" instead of "boat" I didn't think to check if SBO has such a thing. It looks like a good piece of boat equipment. With 8 different adapters, it should run almost anything that needs 11-15V DC and less than 6 amps.
I've been running the laptop with a 150 watt, plug in, inverter from West Marine. I just got Universal Car DC Adaptor, 15-24 volts, 6A, 90W which comes with a set of plugs that automatically set it to the right voltage when plugged in. It has an LED display to confirm the voltage.
Plugging the computer into my old set up with a CD running, I see about 2.45 amps on the battery monitor with everything else on the boat turned off. It fluctuates a bit according to what the computer is doing.
Plugging in the new adaptor, I only see about 1.6 amps on the monitor. The computer battery is fully charged since I've had it connected to shore power AC for my time here but it's pretty clear that the conversion penalty of the inverter is substantial.
This device should pay for itself in fuel and wear and tear on the engine eventually.
Http://www.BattDepot.com
Part No: ACUNV90CR
$56.99
I'll have to confess, because I was thinking "computer" instead of "boat" I didn't think to check if SBO has such a thing. It looks like a good piece of boat equipment. With 8 different adapters, it should run almost anything that needs 11-15V DC and less than 6 amps.