Charger or inverter

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msailorsteve1

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Oct 13, 2011
4
pearson 34 galveston
Has anyone replaced the inverter with a charger. I havea Hunter 36 with a bad inverter. Don't ever use it so I was going to use the existing DC wiring and add a charger in place of the inverter. I have all ready rewired the AC panel so it is powered from shore power and not the inverter output.
Thanks Steve
 
Ed Schenck

Ed Schenck

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Jun 2, 2004
5,802
Hunter 37-cutter, '79 41 23' 30"N 82 33' 20"W--------Huron, OH
What is the exact make and model of the inverter? Are you certain it is not a combo charger/inverter? It would be unusual for a boat to not have a charger I think. If it is really as you say, a boat with an inverter and no charger, then you are starting over with the wiring.
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,711
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
msailorsteve1 said:
Has anyone replaced the inverter with a charger. I havea Hunter 36 with a bad inverter. Don't ever use it so I was going to use the existing DC wiring and add a charger in place of the inverter. I have all ready rewired the AC panel so it is powered from shore power and not the inverter output.
Thanks Steve
Click to expand

If you don't ever use the inverter that can work fine. I would be surprised however if a 36 Hunter did not already have a charger somewhere?

I did have a customer this past summer who killed two battery banks. "The charger is on." Yep the charger was on, or at least the idiot light on the AC panel told him so, but the factory had never actually installed a charger, just the breaker and idiot light... He also went through 3 alternator belts because his house batteries were always at 0% state of charge..

I felt bad when I went to check his charger and discovered the boat never had one installed.....
 
M

msailorsteve1

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Oct 13, 2011
4
pearson 34 galveston
Ed Schenck said:
What is the exact make and model of the inverter? Are you certain it is not a combo charger/inverter? It would be unusual for a boat to not have a charger I think. If it is really as you say, a boat with an inverter and no charger, then you are starting over with the wiring.
Click to expand
Ed,


What the boat had was a freedom 20 inverter/charger. The inverter was wired directly to the main input breaker with the output of the inverter powering all the AC circuits except the water heater. With shore power available the charger charged the batters and shore power powered he AC circuits.. When shore power was not available the inverter turned on to power the AC circuits. The inverter sustained water damage and I really do not use it, I on a small lake, so not to incure the cost of a new inverter I removed the inverter, purchased a Xantrex 40 amp charger and wired it to the inverter DC input. The cables run directly from the two 4D batters to the main DC breaker then to the inverter. I added a couple of large lugs screwed to the bulkhead to terminate the the large battery cable and connect my charger. I can not find a wiring diagram of the inverter installation so I wanted to see if there could be any problems with this installation.

thanks Steve
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,175
CC 30 South Florida
When asking a question is best to start with all relevant information. I was wondering myself what kind of oddball inverter installation the PO may have done for the boat. The Xantrex charger requires a 120V AC input and will not work off the 12V input leads previously used for the inverter. I'm sure the freedom 20 had to have 120V input leads. Make sure all shorepower is off to avoid an accident and identify all leads and follow the installation instructions for the xantrex. There is the possibility that you may be confusing the 120V input leads for the Freedom and perhaps think they were 12V but in any instance the output leads of the Xantrex should go to the batteries you are wanting to charge. Working with 120V electricity can be hazrdous so if you are still not clear I would strongly suggest you hire an electrician.
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,711
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Benny17441 said:
The Xantrex charger requires a 120V AC input and will not work off the 12V input leads previously used for the inverter.
Click to expand
You just reverse the leads. The AC output for the inverter becomes the AC input for the charger and the DC input for the inverter becomes the DC output for the charger. The DC wires and AC wires will likely be bigger than what you need but that never hurts..
If he's not using the inverter he can save some money one wiring if it is sized appropriately. Obviously the AC input wires for the charger will need to be moved to the load side of the AC panel and get their own dedicated AC breaker labeled BATTERY CHARGER..
 
M

msailorsteve1

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Oct 13, 2011
4
pearson 34 galveston
Maine Sail said:
You just reverse the leads. The AC output for the inverter becomes the AC input for the charger and the DC input for the inverter becomes the DC output for the charger. The DC wires and AC wires will likely be bigger than what you need but that never hurts..
If he's not using the inverter he can save some money one wiring if it is sized appropriately. Obviously the AC input wires for the charger will need to be moved to the load side of the AC panel and get their own dedicated AC breaker labeled BATTERY CHARGER..
Click to expand

Thanks,



I guess what was confusing was the inverter/charger DC leads were routed through the battery selector switch. I have never have seen this. If you turn off the battery selector switch the batteries will not charge. I was hoping to find a factory wiring diagram for the DC and AC systems and check if the wiring has been changed. If anyone has one in an owner manual I would love to have a copy. It’s a 2007 Hunter 36 with the inverter option installed.

Thanks again for all the help. Steve
 
M

msailorsteve1

.
Oct 13, 2011
4
pearson 34 galveston
Maine Sail said:
If you don't ever use the inverter that can work fine. I would be surprised however if a 36 Hunter did not already have a charger somewhere?

I did have a customer this past summer who killed two battery banks. "The charger is on." Yep the charger was on, or at least the idiot light on the AC panel told him so, but the factory had never actually installed a charger, just the breaker and idiot light... He also went through 3 alternator belts because his house batteries were always at 0% state of charge..

I felt bad when I went to check his charger and discovered the boat never had one installed.....
Click to expand
Thanks again. steve
 
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