[C38] Invertors

[Tom T.]

Hi Paul,

With the excellent reply from Les, there isn't much left to add but I'm
going to try with just two small suggestions.

First, if you can find a good buy on an inverter with a remote switch or
condition panel, it will make it much more enjoyable to use.  I have a
Heart with just a remote switch but it allows me to control the inverter
from a convenient location and put the inverter in another place.  This
brings me to my second suggestion.

On the Catalina 38 there is a void under the pantry between the sink and
port side where I put my inverter.  It's hard to install the inverter there
but it is out of the way, protected from the elements, centrally located
and near the house battery bank.  I made a piece of plywood to mount on the
frame holding to the end of the drawers.  I then premounted the inverter to
this plywood and hung them both on that small bulkhead at the end of the
drawers.  I replaced the access port in front of the sink faucet with a
perforated speaker grate so air could flow up from the inverter area.  I
installed another vent at the aft bulkhead under the sink lightly to port,
near the oven.   These two vents allow gravity heat flow from the inverter
with no additional loss of electricity.

I put a 120 volt outlet in my sail locker for the inverter.  I also
installed another 120 outlet under the galley lift table near the battery
bank and a third outlet under my nav station.  All three of these outlets
are on a transfer switch so they can be used on either 120v shore power or
inverter.

A cheap and easy way to rig a transfer switch is to us a heavy duty 3 way
light switch for a transfer switch.  Run the common leg to the loads and
connect one switched leg to shore power and the other to the inverter.  
Works like a charm, lightweight, cheap, easy to install and small.  If your
loads exceed the power limitations of the 3 way switch, use multiple
switches with one for each load.

Good luck,
Tom Troncalli
Renata #95

> [Original Message]
> From: Les <hlhowell at pacbell.net>
> To: Catalina 38 Listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
> Date: 1/23/2009 2:26:41 PM
> Subject: Re: [C38] Invertors
>
> Hi, Paul,
> 	Nancy and I have an 1800 watt inverter.  It is a modified sine wave
> type (the signal goes 0,120,0,-120,0 to create sort of a stepped
> sinewave.) This type is OK, but the newer real sinewave types are much
> easier on electronics, because that stepped waveform really beats the
> heck out of modern powersupply transformers and input circuits, in fact
> some devices just plain won't work on it.  If I had to do it over (and I
> do someday) I will get the real sine wave type of inverter.  They are a
> tiny bit less efficient, but the difference is worth it.  Another note
> is that using it with my new engine running the fusible link blew and I
> lost charging ability.  It was a major job to replace it and the
> mechanic charged quite a bit (I thought I had blown the alternator).  So
> there are some caveats about inverters and engine usage I guess.  I will
> be looking at a better solution shortly.
>
> 	Before I replaced the engine I had a 100A alternator on the engine, so
> it was no sweat to run the inverter while the engine was running.  I
> will probably reinstall that alternator this year.
>
> 	Make sure the leads from the battery to the inverter are short, and
> HEAVY.  the inverter draws about 11.5 times the current from the
> batteries that it is required to produce.  Thus with a load of say
> 1000W, (my coffee pot, one must have priorities) the current is about
> 8.5 A at 120 and about 93.5A on the 12v side, give or take a bit.  
>
> Also cooling is vital.  Another annoyance to Nancy is that I have bad
> hearing , but Nancy says the inverter "sings" at a very high frequency,
> worse when the battery voltage falls off.  I have 420A of house battery
> (4 t-105 Trojans).  Make sure you have plenty of house reserve.  High
> demand eats the battery even faster, check out the 100A cycle on your
> battery bank.   If  you don't know the curves, check the website for
> your battery manufacturer.  Trojan makes it easily available on theirs,
> some you really have to hunt to find the discharge characteristics (and
> the worse their discharge characteristics, the harder you have to hunt).
>
> Regards,
> Les H
> On Thu, 2009-01-22 at 21:46 -0800, PAUL NOTTE wrote:
> >  
> > Hi All :
> >  
> >   Iam going to buy an invertor for Impulse in the 2 to 3 thousand watt
> > range ,any input from any one would be appreciated as I am suffering
> > from info overload and a great fear of making the wrong choice.
> >  
> >  
> >  
> >    Paul
> >  
> > _______________________________________________
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>
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