Quick electrical question, inv. to shore

fred1diver

fred1diver

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Aug 17, 2013
949
Pearson P30 202 Ottawa/Gatineau
Hey everyone, my wife and I are wondering how and if we can plug our inverter on our main A/C system for when out of port.
We love our coffee maker and would love to find a way not to have to install extra outlets that are plugged to the inverter.

similar to house power to generator switch, but in a small package

thank you in advance
 
dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
4,286
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
I'm sorry, I'm not understanding your question. Perhaps rephrase it? Is your inverter one of these small ones with like a 12v cigarette plug on one end?

dj
 
JoeWhite

JoeWhite

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Mar 6, 2008
1,303
Catalina 1999 C36 MKII #1787 Coyote Point Marina, CA.
If your inverter has a built in relay, you can connect it's output into the house circuit breaker input. This will provide 110VAC to all the existing outlets. You must provide a switch to turn off the 110VAC charger. The coffe maker needs over 500 watts.
Or you can plug in a power strip to the inverter and use it that way.
 
fred1diver

fred1diver

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Aug 17, 2013
949
Pearson P30 202 Ottawa/Gatineau
I should have given more info, sorry about that
I have a 3000w inverter on board, it has a single standard outlet, it is mounted on the other side of the boat compared to the galley which houses the said coffee maker.

when on dock I can use shore power for the coffee maker, but we would like to be able to use it when away from dock, we don’t want to have to run power cords , so looking a way to plug the inverter to the existing breaker
 
JoeWhite

JoeWhite

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Mar 6, 2008
1,303
Catalina 1999 C36 MKII #1787 Coyote Point Marina, CA.
You have plenty of watts, Fred. An inverter of that size usually has a relay that automatically disconnects the shore power and uses the house batteries to produce 110VAC. You can then connect the output of the inverter to the existing circuit breaker and use the existing electrical outlets.
If electricity is not your forte, you may consider asking for someone for help. But it is easily doable.
I would recommend running your engine while the coffee maker is on as your house batteries will deplete quickly.
 
Terry Cox

Terry Cox

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Dec 25, 2000
5,912
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Hi Fred. Our Freedom 25 Xantrex (2,500 watts) charger/inverter has an AC inout/output wired directly to all AC onboard outlets. That way shore power bypasses directly to these outlets, but switches to the inverter when not. I use the Link 1000 to manually select or turn on the inverter when I want AC while away from shore power. A marine electrician can help you set it up properly, if above your pay grade, like it is with me.

I'm assuming your house bank and starter battery are separate. How many amp hours does your house bank have? Some care here, because using the inverter to make coffee using your AC coffee maker can consume quite a few amp hours. It takes a lot of 12 VDC power to run a 120 VAC appliance. I always use our gas stove to make coffee/tea, etc. Much more efficient.

But then again, I'm now on a black cold coffee kick that I really enjoy. Never much cared for hot black coffee, but cold coffee, a different story. And it does not take any electricity, other than when grinding the beans. Just like making sun tea. Let it steep for a day in my coffee press, then chill in the fridge. Ice cold coffee/tea;: Yum!
 
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dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
4,286
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
What inverter do you have? It's unusual for a 3Kv inverter to only have one outlet. I'm wondering if there are hard wire connections somewhere on the unit.

dj
 
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colemj

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Jul 13, 2004
492
Dolphin Catamaran Dolphin 460 Mystic, CT
Which inverter do you have? I've never seen one that large that did not have wiring outputs in addition to the plug output.

If it does not have AC inputs, then it will not have a transfer switch. You would need to wire separate outlet circuits to it that are powered only by the inverter. These would need a breaker.

If it has AC inputs, then likely it has a transfer switch, and you can just connect it into your existing AC circuits.

Mark
 
fred1diver

fred1diver

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Aug 17, 2013
949
Pearson P30 202 Ottawa/Gatineau
I do not remember which brand or model we have, next time on the boat I will look it up.
Thank you all for the great replies
 
Captain Larry-DH

Captain Larry-DH

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Jun 14, 2010
2,292
Robertson & Caine 2017 Leopard 40 CT
colemj said:
Which inverter do you have? I've never seen one that large that did not have wiring outputs in addition to the plug output.

If it does not have AC inputs, then it will not have a transfer switch. You would need to wire separate outlet circuits to it that are powered only by the inverter. These would need a breaker.

If it has AC inputs, then likely it has a transfer switch, and you can just connect it into your existing AC circuits.

Mark
Click to expand
This! If you don't have electrical knowledge, the only safe way to DIY is to plug in the shore power cord to the output of your inverter. That will send the AC output through the boat's shore power breakers and distribution wiring.
You probably need an adapter plug or cable to connect the inverter's output socket and shore power cord. The prongs are likely different.
Edit - if you post a picture of the shore power plug and inverter socket we could offer more specific advice.
 
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fred1diver

fred1diver

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Aug 17, 2013
949
Pearson P30 202 Ottawa/Gatineau
Ok, so I looked at all my boat pictures, managed to find one with the inverter.
It is a Xantrex X power 3000
 
Don S/V ILLusion

Don S/V ILLusion

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Sep 25, 2008
7,351
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Captain Larry-DH said:
… the only safe way to DIY is to plug in the shore power cord to the output of your inverter. That will send the AC output through the boat's shore power breakers and distribution wiring.
You probably need an adapter plug or cable to connect the inverter's output socket and shore power cord. The prongs are likely different.
Click to expand
PLEASE delete this recommendation. It is highly unsafe!

Using a cable with dual male connectors exposes the user to potentially lethal voltage.
 
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Johann

Johann

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Jun 3, 2004
479
Leopard 39 Pensacola
Don S/V ILLusion said:
PLEASE delete this recommendation. It is highly unsafe!

Using a cable with dual male connectors exposes the user to potentially lethal voltage.
Click to expand
He is saying plug the shore power cord (with a 30A to 15A adapter) into the inverter outlet. Similar to how you would plug into a portable generator. Nothing about a dual male cable. But if you were going to do that just running an extension cord would probably be better.

Heres the manual


looks like it does have a hardwired option.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,997
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Johann said:
looks like it does have a hardwired option.
Click to expand
It does, but no automatic transfer switch. This will require Fred to install switches and develop an UNDERSTANDING of how boat electricity works, both AC and DC.

fred1diver said:
similar to house power to generator switch, but in a small package
Click to expand
Fred, you can't do this without manual switching and you MUST learn how to do so. You CANNOT have two sources of AC present at the same time.
 
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dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
4,286
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
Stu Jackson said:
It does, but no automatic transfer switch. This will require Fred to install switches and develop an UNDERSTANDING of how boat electricity works, both AC and DC.


Fred, you can't do this without manual switching and you MUST learn how to do so. You CANNOT have two sources of AC present at the same time.
Click to expand
THIS!!!

A +1 is insufficient....

dj
 
Captain Larry-DH

Captain Larry-DH

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Jun 14, 2010
2,292
Robertson & Caine 2017 Leopard 40 CT
Don S/V ILLusion said:
PLEASE delete this recommendation. It is highly unsafe!

Using a cable with dual male connectors exposes the user to potentially lethal voltage.
Click to expand
That is NOT what I wrote. Read it again. My suggestion was not at all unsafe. Battery —> inverter —> shore power plug from boat is no more unsafe than plugging shore power plug into a dockside power pedestal or generator (with or without adapter for plug prong configuration if needed but NOT double-male “suicide“ adapter).
 
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C

colemj

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Jul 13, 2004
492
Dolphin Catamaran Dolphin 460 Mystic, CT
Stu Jackson said:
It does, but no automatic transfer switch. This will require Fred to install switches and develop an UNDERSTANDING of how boat electricity works, both AC and DC.


Fred, you can't do this without manual switching and you MUST learn how to do so. You CANNOT have two sources of AC present at the same time.
Click to expand
He doesn't need any switches to do what he wants, and it is OK to have two sources of AC present at the same time - just not on the same outlet.

Since that inverter does not have AC input, he can install a separate outlet(s) where he wants them and wire them directly to the inverter, while the other outlets run off shore power.

Or he could do what Larry suggested, since his original post stated he didn't want to install outlets. This would give him whole-boat AC from the inverter.

Or like you suggest, he could install a manual switch that selects shore or inverter, but not both. This would also give him whole-boat AC.

Mark
 
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