I have a 1990 Passage 42 and am somewhat confused by the electrical system. My boat has a switch that the generator and shore power A circuit feeds into and is then connected to the Inverter. This means the generator feeds power thru the inverter to one side of the panel (cannot run air conditioning from the generator). The panel looks like both shore inputs and the generator should feed directly to the panel and then to the inverter. Any thoughts and schematics of the panel back would be appreciated.
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Sounds right ...
Hard to tell exactly what's going on, but it makes sense to me that the AC power supplies lead to the inverter, which probably also has an AC battery charger. If there is AC power going into the inverter, and its not charging, it basically just passes the current thru to your AC panel. The switch at the AC sources should be to make sure you never have AC power from two separate sources (ie your generator and shore power) going into your system at the same time -- that is a no no. Assuming your generator puts out enough watts to power your air conditioner, you should be able to run it off the generator as well as shore power.
Hard to tell exactly what's going on, but it makes sense to me that the AC power supplies lead to the inverter, which probably also has an AC battery charger. If there is AC power going into the inverter, and its not charging, it basically just passes the current thru to your AC panel. The switch at the AC sources should be to make sure you never have AC power from two separate sources (ie your generator and shore power) going into your system at the same time -- that is a no no. Assuming your generator puts out enough watts to power your air conditioner, you should be able to run it off the generator as well as shore power.
If I remember correctly
The A side is all the typical house AC stuff: microwave, 110v outlets, etc. This runs through the inverter. Unfortunately, this side also had the water heater on my boat, which should be changed. The B side runs the AC. It does not run through the inverter. The A and B circuits are separate from each other and can be fed by either shore power or the genset. So, if you're powering up the boat you would first chose the power source (shore or genset) then switch on either the A or B circuit. I never did this, but you may want to explore moving the water heater to the B side, if it will take the load. It shouldn't be wired through your inverter, as an accidental loss of shore power will rive the water heater off your batteries, thereby wrecking them. I can personally attest to that!
The A side is all the typical house AC stuff: microwave, 110v outlets, etc. This runs through the inverter. Unfortunately, this side also had the water heater on my boat, which should be changed. The B side runs the AC. It does not run through the inverter. The A and B circuits are separate from each other and can be fed by either shore power or the genset. So, if you're powering up the boat you would first chose the power source (shore or genset) then switch on either the A or B circuit. I never did this, but you may want to explore moving the water heater to the B side, if it will take the load. It shouldn't be wired through your inverter, as an accidental loss of shore power will rive the water heater off your batteries, thereby wrecking them. I can personally attest to that!
Schematics
I have schematics I'd be happy to share. It would probably be easiest for me to mail you a copy or scan them in and e-mail them to you in TIFF or JPG format. My e-mail is chriskat@ricochet.net
I have schematics I'd be happy to share. It would probably be easiest for me to mail you a copy or scan them in and e-mail them to you in TIFF or JPG format. My e-mail is chriskat@ricochet.net
AC FROM THE GENSET
THERE IS A SWITCH ON THE PANEL THAT LET'S YOU OPERATE BOTH A & B SIDES FROM ONE SOURCE AND THIS HAS TO BE ACTIVATED TO THE RIGHT TO RUN THE AC FROM THE GEN-SET.
THERE IS A SWITCH ON THE PANEL THAT LET'S YOU OPERATE BOTH A & B SIDES FROM ONE SOURCE AND THIS HAS TO BE ACTIVATED TO THE RIGHT TO RUN THE AC FROM THE GEN-SET.
Electrical Challenge
The Passage is a bit of a challenge, especially if a previous owner, in my case, has modified factory equipment and wiring. Without going into all details, which I could at a later date, the shore/genset power is wired to separate AC breakers on your panel, the output of only the one selected is wired directly to the inverter input. If one of the shore/genset breakers is active then the power is routed out of the inverter through a built in transfer switch back to the main 120VAC distribution panel. On my boat, 1992, the power going through the transfer switch is only wired to the low draw circuits such as wall outlets and microwave. The hot water tank AC breaker is tapped off before the input to the transfer switch. This way the hot water tank can't flatten your batteries if shore power is lost. I have a schematic from the previous owner for my boat, once I confirm all the details and correct some errors I would gladly FAX it to you. You can E-mail me at rickag@home.com if you would like to receive this. Rick
The Passage is a bit of a challenge, especially if a previous owner, in my case, has modified factory equipment and wiring. Without going into all details, which I could at a later date, the shore/genset power is wired to separate AC breakers on your panel, the output of only the one selected is wired directly to the inverter input. If one of the shore/genset breakers is active then the power is routed out of the inverter through a built in transfer switch back to the main 120VAC distribution panel. On my boat, 1992, the power going through the transfer switch is only wired to the low draw circuits such as wall outlets and microwave. The hot water tank AC breaker is tapped off before the input to the transfer switch. This way the hot water tank can't flatten your batteries if shore power is lost. I have a schematic from the previous owner for my boat, once I confirm all the details and correct some errors I would gladly FAX it to you. You can E-mail me at rickag@home.com if you would like to receive this. Rick
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