inverter/chargers

[Bob J.]

I ran thru the thread on battery charging with generators. The boat we're "renovating"
has no inverter or battery charger. I have been looking at the Freedom combo inverter/charger units because I figured by the time you bought a decent inverter & then added the charger into the equation you would tear up a grand.

I plan on being on a mooring so I'd be charging thru this device from a generator like one of the small Hondas.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Stu Jackson]

We have a Freedom 15 and really like it. 75A charging, 1500 watt inverter. Works great, installed in 1998. You should learn about the Power Share feature: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,1474.0.html You'll need a remote controller for that.

There is also the point of view that says a combined unit could give you an issue: if one part fails, you're sol.

When we bought ours, I priced them both: separate and combined. I suggest you do so and then make up your mind. In 1998, they were pretty much the same, so i chose to have the combined unit for less wiring, that was our reason.

You should add in the cost of wiring and connections, and if you're planning on having the SEPARATE inverter hard wired to your AC outlets, you will need a separate switch to assure that AC shorepower or the generator can never be on at the same time with the inverter. http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,833.0.html

The combined units usually come with their own auto transfer switch.

Being on a mooring is also a perfect candidate for a solar panel.

 

[Don12364]

If you are to buy a generator for the Freedom make sure it is a sine wave type. My Freedom 1000 will not charge from the waveform generated by a cheapo 1KW generator.
I contacted Heart Interface who designed it and they said it only works from 3 KW generators an above due to the fact it needs a 'clean' sine wave.
However now that the sine wave types are available in smaller sizes all is well.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Generators

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4394.0.html

discusses "cheapo" generators

Your boat, your choice, but with a Honda and the Power Share feature (if you can get a controller that does that function), it's not an issue.

 

[FourPoints]

Being on a mooring is also a perfect candidate for a solar panel.

agreed. I'm at a slip but I still do 100% of my charging from solar or the engine. My boat didn't come with a shore power system originally, and when I went to build a charging system, I found that solar was an all around more desireable solution, partly because it's working every day for free, regardless of if you are at the boat or not... Plus I saved the cost of having the electricity turned on for my slip (which will actually pay for the solar installation in a couple years)

 

[Bob J.]

Thanks for the input ya'll & the links Stu.

Bob

 

[Maine Sail]

Bob,

Just an observation from one who has installed a fair amount of these things. I see a lot of inverter/chargers go belly up. Just had one last week on a near new million dollar + motor yacht. The problem here is that when the inverter side goes kaput you need to repair the whole unit and send everything out and you lose your charger too. Often times they are no longer serviced and you need a new one.

Inverter/chargers are being made cheaper and cheaper and certain companies are having some pretty serious reliability issues. The fans in these things are mostly junk and not designed nor intended to be used in a 80-95% humid environment for years on end. I had a Freedom I/C on our old power boat that died at year three. The cost to repair was more than 75% of a new unit. This was back in 2003 so it was still one of the older "good ones"....

My preference is to choose a good charger and then a good pure sine inverter...

Victron & Mastervolt are both brands that can currently be trusted to be reliable. I won't mention the brands that can't because I've mentioned the ones I'd currently put on my own boat... If you want to go I/C then I'd suggest Mastervolt or Victron if you want some reliability. If you want to go separates then there are more options.

Many of the high end builders like Morris have chosen to install Mastervolt. Morris stands behind their product and thus chose Mastervolt to help sustain their great reputation. Yes you might pay more now but it's a pay now or pay later scenario so you'll always pay either way......

 

[Stu Jackson]

A crusiersforum posted recently about TrippLite combined I/Cs, to replace their old Freedom combined units.

I agree, as I noted earlier, that separate is usually better for the reasons of failure modes.

I still have our 1998 Freedom 15 working just fine, although we don't have the harsh weather (i.e., high humidity) that many others in different parts of the country experience.

We also rarely leave our boat plugged in when we're not there.

 

[Bob J.]

Thanks for the input M.S.

I'll probably go the separate unit route, 1st w/ the inverter, charger I'll have to decide on. I'm not planning on being hooked up to shore power so the idea of a solar panel is appealing .

Bob

 

[Maine Sail]

Thanks for the input M.S.

I'll probably go the separate unit route, 1st w/ the inverter, charger I'll have to decide on. I'm not planning on being hooked up to shore power so the idea of a solar panel is appealing .

Bob

Bob,

As much as I dislike some of the "X" companies products I installed one of their ProWatt SW inverters on our boat. 2000W true sine wave inverter for under $350.00....

We really don't use it for much but for the price they are actually fairly decent and if it dies at year five I won't be all that sorry about it. Running our laptop off it never even kicks the fan on so it is very quiet for light loads..

I simply wired it to it's own outlets independent of the AC system as I did not want the hassle of an auto transfer switch and properly rewiring the panel to lock out such items as the water heater and battery charger when running off inverter power..

I mostly use it in the off season for my power tools and shop vac but we do charge camera batteries and a few other items off it from time to time. My power tools like the sine wave output a LOT better than our old MSW inverter...

We've only had it installed two seasons so don't get too excited about the reliability cause I have not and will not try and predict reliability on anything Xantrex other than the Echo Charger...

ProWatt SW Inverters (LINK)

 

[Ron20324]

In 1969 I learned the problem with "combined" units. I was in Germany and bought a stereo set from the PX. You know the kind, turntable on the top, AM/FM radio, 8 track (it was 1969) player in the front. One of the functions went bad. It took a month to get it fxed. No music in the meantime. When I got it back, I sold it ASAP and bought a separate-component system.

I completed my solar setup about 5 weeks ago and have not even hooked up the shore power since. Go for it, Bob !

 

[Maine Sail]

I completed my solar setup about 5 weeks ago and have not even hooked up the shore power since. Go for it, Bob !

I did a complete re-wire of our boat two winters ago and the battery charger is still sitting in the barn in the box. We are on a mooring with solar so the only time I'd use it is on the hard, and I just keep plugging in my portable Guest Charger cause it's quick & easy...

People on docks have a hard time understanding how we mooring folk do it.... Solar!!!

 

[FourPoints]

People on docks have a hard time understanding how we mooring folk do it.... Solar!!!

I'm at a dock, and I only charge via solar... I just dont understand how you guys on moorings deal with carrying all the crap to and from the boat every time you want to go out for anything longer than a day trip. With all the different pairs of shoes she packs, It would take 2-3x longer to get loaded up and under way!