Shore power questions

[wduncan50]

I have a new to me boat that has an alternator and solar power but no shore power. The previous owner removed the shore power. I would like to put the shore power back in, the outlets and shore connection are still there but no panel or charger/inverter.

1.Should I buy a combo charger/inverter or seperate units?
2. Do I need true sine wave for the inverter? I will be using it for a laptop mainly I think.
3. Can anyone make any suggestions on charger/inverter brands. What about the fairly cheap Xantrex HF 1800? I have two battery banks of flooded lead batteries.
4. What do I do about the solar power currently charging my batteries when I turn on my charger? Is there a AC panel that would control this?
5. Will having a totaly seperate AC panel cause any problems?
6. I have 2 750 amp group 27 batteries on one bank does that mean I have 1500 amp hours on that bank?

This is a picture of my current DC panel, if it attaches correctly.

Thanks,
Will

[kd3pc]

What has been done, appears to have been well done....and the Blue Seas gear is top rate.

Others will chime in, but I would simply add the 110v shorepower and a decent battery charger/inverter....there are many, but I would use a midline Xantrex unit.. I would get the pure sine wave unit.

A small 110 volt panel to support some convenience outlets and the charger may be all you want. If you see yourself needing more 110 volt gear, now would be the time to assess how many and how much current you think you will need.

Best of luck

[mitiempo]

Will

Your batteries if group 27 are about 85 AH each so the bank is about 170 AH total.

If your main use for the inverter is the laptop a small 300 watt inverter is all that is necessary, if that large. Or better yet but a 12 volt adaptor for your laptop which is more efficient than any inverter.

Your battery bank will not properly support an 1800 watt inverter like the Xantrex HF1800 anyway. It will pull 180 amps at max output and that would only last about 15 minutes on your bank. Even if your battery bank was large enough for this the larger the inverter the more power they consume if on without a load.

As far as an AC panel, I agree with the previous poster that the Blue Seas panels like your DC ones are excellent quality. I'm not sure how many circuits you need nor how much space you have. The Blue Seas 8027 shown below is the same size as one of your DC panels and would probably have enough circuits for now with a spare or 2.

[AdamLein]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

Or better yet but a 12 volt adaptor for your laptop which is more efficient than any inverter.

Are you thinking of something like the iGo got this purpose?

[mitiempo]

Adam

Not specifically, but there are many 12 volt car adapters for laptops. I think most are between $25 and $50. Or there are DC to DC converters for more $. All are many times less than an inverter and the extras it requires.

Inverters are fine but for a large one you need a large battery bank which the op doesn't have. People often don't realize that a 1000 watts from an inverter is about 100 amps battery draw. The stated AH of a battery is at the 20 hour rate - for a 100 AH battery that is a 5 amp draw. When you pull 100 amps you get a lot less from the battery. A 1000 watt microwave will not run off a 1000 watt inverter either, it needs more wattage.

My suggestion if anyone is thinking about an inverter is to give a lot of thought about what you really want to run from it. There are many who have installed inverters and upgraded their battery banks all to run something they don't really need - at great expense. To add to the cost there is the heavy cabling and fuses. Sometimes it makes sense but often it doesn't.