2000 H380 Freedom Inverter Charger

viper

.
Jul 31, 2016
131
Hunter 380 Cape Coral, Fl
My charger portion seems to work fine, is 100 amp, with a 2000 watt inverter.. just don't know where it is located

The Freedom panel, does not light up or function. I have had a lot of electric work done. Added a second bank of house bats (where Gen would go) , solar panels and all new electronics..

Where is the Freedom Inverter Charger located. Don't see a place for it given its size. Don't see any vents in the under sofa bat department where my 8d and starter bat are stored or an area for the inverter. It has to be close to the nav station.
.

Want to replace with a 2500- 3000 watt inverter Xantrex/freedom or much higher as I bring on 2 more 160 watt solar panels, to bring me up to 500 watts 1. Need to check out the room available for the existing Freedom and what can fit there. The best choice cost wise would be to get a separate Inverter .. 21lbs for 10,000 watt (900 bucks) and a separate charger, auto transfer switch. However means more wiring, work eating up any savings although a better solution if I can fit a charger/or inverter and transfer switch in stern Gen area..


If you know the location and which panel to remove, pls let me know.

Regards and thanks,

Viper
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Where is the Freedom Inverter Charger located.
The wiring from/to the inverter is HUGE. 2/0 at least, if not bigger. It should go to the house bank. If not, someone wired it to the back of you 1-2-B switch if you have one. Go find those huge wires and trace them back to the inverter/charger. It shouldn't be too far.
 
Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
Yes should be close to batteries or 1/2 both switch or follow the wire from freedom remote panel looks just like telephone plug in cable,very large battery cables go to inverter/charger from batteries /1/2 both switch
I changed from 2-4D's to 4-6volt and 2-195 watt solar panels.
Mounted the panels off arch above the bimini.
Nick
 

Attachments

Dec 25, 2000
5,702
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Hi Viper, the Xantrex Freedom 20 is a pretty large unit and should be easy to find on your boat. Our boat is different than yours so where it would be on a 380 is a question.
 
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viper

.
Jul 31, 2016
131
Hunter 380 Cape Coral, Fl
I mounted one on my Davit... will mount the next 2 over rear bimini with a bracket. Will replace with a new 8D with AGM, if I can find one... To get same performance would take 3, GRP 24s. looks 2 tight.

Have 2 AGMs, Grp 27, in stern.
..
The Owners manual, does not show where its located and at 70lbs.. it s/b obvious.. its the charger that adds the size and weight

And thanks to everyone.. hoped some would have a 376,380 or 386, so I would not have to hunt to find the correct panel to remove. So many wires, so little time...

Regards
 
Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
I have the Freedom 20 and have seen the Freedom 25 and 30 and the metal cabinet is really the same size.
I will try taking photo of my Freedom 20.
I would look in one of your seats under the cushions in some storage area
and close to where the batteries or1/2 both switch and they would keep the large wires in short length.
My inverter/charger is less than 2 feet my 1/2 both switch and than longer runs of heavy wire to batteries so thinking must be more closer to the 1/2 both switch

Nick
 
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viper

.
Jul 31, 2016
131
Hunter 380 Cape Coral, Fl
Thanks very much... I know its got to be close to the seat of my pants at the nav station... I cant even hear the fan for the charger. I would bet it has to in the same area as yours on the H36.

Regards,
Viper
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
so I would not have to hunt to find the correct panel to remove. So many wires, so little time...
I cant even hear the fan for the charger.
The fan only runs when the bank SOC is low, otherwise it's quiet.

You don't have to remove any panels, find the big wires.

I think you're making this much harder than it really is. As I said, the wires are huge and should be pretty short. You do know where your house bank is, right?:):):)
 

viper

.
Jul 31, 2016
131
Hunter 380 Cape Coral, Fl
Yep under my couch, nav seat... big 8D , along with my starter battery I replaced and a small solar controller... just no charger/inverter in sight.. Been under there many times in the last 6 months... Hardly enough room to get the battery case tops back on... the On/OFF bat switches are at my feet to the side, and the Remote Heart Freedom Interface in front of my Knees, dead...

When my house bats ran down due to losing shore power one time, the 100 amp charger and bats put out a lot of heat.. the fiberglass base of the couch got very warm..., I took off cushions and opened up the area till the bats were charged back up... you would think there would be a vent to blow the hot air from the charger fan out... have not located such a vent.

Regards,

Viper



Regards,
Viper
 
Jun 1, 2009
1,735
Hunter 49 toronto
If you are going to replace this, I would reccommend going with Magnum Energy instead.
The control panel is much better, and overall reliability is better by far.
It's also painted white, so it will be easier to find.
 
Sep 24, 2017
31
Hunter 380 Alameda
Hi:

I have a 2000 380 and I have a Hart Interface 2000 located under my port setee with my starting battery. In the settee as well is my house bank. So far it works like a charm, however, would love to have an easier place to have another bank of batteries without too much hassle.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
.

Want to replace with a 2500- 3000 watt inverter Xantrex/freedom or much higher as I bring on 2 more 160 watt solar panels, to bring me up to 500 watts 1. Need to check out the room available for the existing Freedom and what can fit there.
If you tell us a bit more about what you are trying to achieve, or do with your system, it would help us help you with this..

The question I have is why do you believe you need such a large inverter? An inverter even approaching 2500W-3000W will need to be mounted as close to the batteries as is humanly possible, within 2'-4' of MAXIMUM total DC circuit pos & neg wiring, to ensure the wire can handle the load without excessive voltage drop.

At face value an inverter of this size can easily draw in excess of 310A and that's not accounting for any surge or in-rush that can easily put a short term draw over 400A. An inverter of this size would ideally need a battery bank in excess of 1000Ah and preferably low Peukert AGM or TPPL AGM to minimize battery voltage sag. You'll also need to get this energy back into the bank.


The best choice cost wise would be to get a separate Inverter .. 21lbs for 10,000 watt (900 bucks) and a separate charger, auto transfer switch.
I have customers who go around the world without any inverter let alone 2500-3000W. A10,000W inverter would need a battery bank suitable for powering an entire house for off-grid living....

I have one customer with a 600Ah bank of flooded deep cycle batteries who self-installed a 3000W inverter because he wanted to run his microwave, have his wife dry her hair, heat hot water and use his electric stove top too. He never called me or asked about this install until he began complaining that his new inverter charger was defective because it kept shutting off. It was shutting down because he failed to do the math and size the system correctly.

  • He had undersized the wire at 2/0 for a 3kW inverter
  • His wire run between bank and inverter was too long
  • He had the wrong type battery bank (extreme thick plate deep-cycle flooded)
  • The battery bank was simply too small due to plate design
  • The parasitic draw of the inverter was close to 2A
  • Between wiring voltage drop & battery bank voltage sag the inverter would tap out on low voltage in under 2 minutes use.
  • He had a stock alternator, only capable of about 30A, so what he took out he had no chance of getting it back in.
  • The Peukert of his bank made the inverter load to the batteries massive and reduced usable capacity immensely.....

My point here is you need to do the math and fully understand it. Any large inverter needs to be installed as a system.

Safe Inverters for Marine Use:

The only inverter you want to purchase, for safety reasons, is a "UL 458 / SA marine inverter/charger" from a legitimate supplier of marine inverters. Magnum Energy, Victron & would be the most reliable choices. Do yourself a favor and google X@ntrex and key words reliability & customer service before you buy!

Again, you only want to install a UL-458 marine inverter or marine inverter/charger, especially if it will be directly connected to your vessels AC system. Any installed marine inverter or inverter/charger should meet UL458 and ideally UL-458 SA. "SA" is the marine supplemental portion of UL-458. I know of no stand alone marine inverters that meet UL-458-SA.

The 10 kW inverter you reference, based on description, I suspect is not a marine unit and most of these stand alone units are not intended for marine use. Most stand alone units will have a floating ground when operational. A floating ground, when the inverter is operational, does not comply with US marine safety standards. You would need to wire in a rotary transfer switch, such as a Blue Sea/Kraus and Naimer to make this work and now you've added another $300.00 +/-. Also neutral to ground bonding of a floating ground/floating neutral inverter may void any warranty. You'll need to understand how to wire one of these switches, and the inverter, for proper neutral/Earth bonding for shore and inverter.

It goes without saying that any 3 kW to 10 kW inverter will eat your bank for breakfast and still be hungry.......

However means more wiring, work eating up any savings although a better solution if I can fit a charger/or inverter and transfer switch in stern Gen area..
Viper
There's not much you can't do on 12V these days.. The best plan is to minimize all 120V loads so you can get by with an under 2kW inverter/charger.

IMPORTANT:

If you're attempting to wire an inverter into your vessels AC system..

WHEN UNPLUGGED FROM SHORE POWER:
WHEN UNPLUGGED FROM SHORE POWER, AND USING THE INVERTER, THERE MUST BE AN AC NEUTRAL/GROUND CONNECTION/BOND ON-BOARD THE VESSEL

WHEN PLUGGED INTO SHORE POWER:
WHEN PLUGGED INTO SHORE POWER THERE CAN NOT BE ANY ON-BOARD AC NEUTRAL/GROUND CONNECTION/BOND ON-BOARD THE VESSEL

AC SOURCES: (Inverter, Generator or Shore Power)
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE MORE THAN ONE AC SOURCE CAPABLE OF FEEDING THE AC PANEL AT ANY TIME

Wiring & over-current protection must also be sized for the SURGE loads not just the maximum running watts. This is a mistake far too many folks make. For example a typical 2800W I/C from Magnum can deliver 3900W for up to 5 seconds and 3800W for 30 seconds. The wiring needs to be able to handle these surge loads without causing excessive voltage drop. Thus the wire needs to be much larger than folks often assume it is, and with large inverters can often require doubled up 4/0 wire runs.

For a small 800W (output) microwave a typical calculation would look like this when accounting for battery voltage sag and and inverter & conversion inefficiencies of about 20%:

1350W (input) / 11.8V (Bat-V under load) = 114.4A X 1.20 = 137.3A

Bump that to a 2000W load and..

2000W / 11.6V = 172.4A X 1.20 = 207A

Bump that to a 3000W load and..

3000W / 11.4V = 263A X 1.20 = 315A

Let's not forget surge loads..

3900W / 11.1V =351A X 1.20 = 421A
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
From a nautical design look I was trying to understand what MaineSail was describing in electrical components on a sail boat.

First off it is your boat and your choice.

It seems we are trying to make our boats the image of our daily lives with all the tools/toys and conveniences afforded to land based abodes. So we add power, charging system, solar, wind, and electrical storage. Then we convert all this and use wires the sizes of a large thumb to move our power all over the boat.

What does this do to the boats center of gravity and the associated sailing performance in good weather let alone in bad. With Vipers 38 foot boat sporting a 6133 lb keel, my rough guess is MaineSail’s specification for electrical parts means about 800 lbs of materials will be located at or about the waterline in the boat. That is a 15% shift in the boats keel weight. I wonder what that does to the CG and Righting Moment of the boat design.

When we add to our boats do we consider these things in the process?
 

rfrye1

.
Jun 15, 2004
589
Hunter H376 San Diego
Like TucsonSailor.. on my H376 mine is located under port settee between house and start battery.
Bob.
 
Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
I have 2000 watt inverter/charger with 4-6volt house bank with start battery for Yanmar &Gen only any way my wife has used hair dryer and the microwave no problem and it is the size of your battery bank that will deplete from a big draw and when using a microwave or dryer you will see your batteries empty pretty fast.
I do have 2-195 watt solar panels charging my batteries and do have Gen as backup and on a real sunny day here in Fl. I tell my wife to go with the inverter/ charger until 50% and than go to the Gen.
My solar allows us to use the Gen a lot less and run the Gen at night as backup.
Nick
 
Aug 28, 2006
564
Bavaria 35E seattle
WHEN UNPLUGGED FROM SHORE POWER:
WHEN UNPLUGGED FROM SHORE POWER, AND USING THE INVERTER, THERE MUST BE AN AC NEUTRAL/GROUND CONNECTION/BOND ON-BOARD THE VESSEL

WHEN PLUGGED INTO SHORE POWER:
WHEN PLUGGED INTO SHORE POWER THERE CAN NOT BE ANY ON-BOARD AC NEUTRAL/GROUND CONNECTION/BOND ON-BOARD THE VESSEL
Mainsail,

Can you expand a bit on this? I'm not sure I fully understand how the bond on board can easily be changed when using the inverter on shore vs. offshore.
Thanks.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
I'm not sure I fully understand how the bond on board can easily be changed when using the inverter on shore vs. offshore.
This is covered in the front and/or back of the manual. It's automatic inside the Freedom I/C.
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
I'm not sure I fully understand how the bond on board can easily be changed when using the inverter on shore vs. offshore...
You really need to get a book on marine electricity needs. There is just too much that you want to do and do not know the basics. The book will be cheaper than burning up your wiring system and/or boat.
 
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