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Post by mphem on Dec 16, 2013 17:34:53 GMT
I have owned my 2003 43DS since May and am still learning how everything works (mostly by trial and error, pondering over the owner's manual or from this forum). Our boat is always connected to shore power at the dock and when we get to the boat we flip "ON" the breakers we need. When it is hot, the first thing we turn on are air conditioning/reverse heat units, which will start regardless of whether the inverter is on or not. This weekend I noticed, for the first time (hard to believe I haven't noticed this before) that my 110 volt a/c outlets (which normally only power the TVs and in the mornings a coffee maker) won't work unless the inverter breaker is turned on. This makes sense to me, since you could use the a/c outlets without shore power, but my Hunter Owners/Dock Mates shook their heads. Is this correct or have I inadvertly flipped some switch that causes the outlets to be fed from the house battery bank though the inverter, instead of straight from shore power? Would appreciate any help I can get.
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Post by Tafika II on Dec 16, 2013 19:30:50 GMT
Sounds wrong. Our 110V outlets work when connected to Shore power or on Ship power with the inverter on and no Shore power. We have a ON-OFF AC outlet switch on the electric panel. Not sure how our boat is wired, but if you are interested I can check the diagrams next visit.
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Post by windward54 on Dec 16, 2013 19:35:57 GMT
My boat was wired the same way. The breaker originally was for the battery charger, and the inverter was most likely added as an option by the dealer when the boat was purchased or later as an add-on by the orignial owner. I've never had a problem with it as the system is wired to prevent my water heater from being run by the inverter.
Don't worry about those Hunter Owners, they don't get it right either. My last boat was a Hunter, and the dealer wired the inverter in straight through. When the inverter went out and was replaced, the electrician that put the new one in nearly fried himself cutting an AC wire thinking it was wired correctly!
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Post by mphem on Dec 16, 2013 20:54:52 GMT
I have a switch on my panel for the inverter and a switch for the a/c outlets. What I noticed Saturday was that I had to have both switches on for my a/c outlets to work (I have not noticed this before). This would seem to indicate that my outlets must go through the inverter for 110 volts. It that is not how it is suppose to work, then there must be another switch, which I can turn if I want the outlets to receive direct shore power or turn to another position if I want the outlets to be served by the inverter (in which case the inverter would need to be on). I also suppose that there could be a electronic switch which could detect if I had shore power and switch so I did not need the inverter.
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Post by mphem on Dec 16, 2013 20:57:32 GMT
I have a switch on my panel for the inverter and a switch for the a/c outlets. What I noticed Saturday was that I had to have both switches on for my a/c outlets to work (I have not noticed this before). This would seem to indicate that my outlets must go through the inverter for 110 volts. It that is not how it is suppose to work, then there must be another switch, which I can turn if I want the outlets to receive direct shore power or turn to another position if I want the outlets to be served by the inverter (in which case the inverter would need to be on). I also suppose that there could be a electronic switch which could detect if I had shore power and switch so I did not need the inverter.
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Post by windward54 on Dec 17, 2013 15:58:21 GMT
My 49DS is in the same model run as mphem's 43DS, so I was assuming his electrical panel was most likely similar to mine. There is no AC power on/off switch at the panel at the Nav station. The main breaker is located in the aft port lazerette, behind where the shore power enters the boat. So when the inverter was installed on my boat, the installer ran the AC power through the inverter. That way the old battery charger breaker had to be on to feed the AC power through the boat, keeping the water heater separated from the inverter. I use the remote panel for the inverter/charger to control inverter and charger on/off functions.
When I bought the boat, the surveyor went through the system and passed it with no issues.
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Post by Trevor on Dec 17, 2013 21:20:15 GMT
The issue is made a little complicated because the inverter does not have enough power to handle airconditioning or the water heater. The supply to the A/C or heater will not ever be powered by the inverter. The general purpose power outlets however are powered by the inverter. When the shore power is on, the heater and A/C can be switched on, and the power outlets are powered through the inverter which is now in bypass mode. When shore power is removed, the A/C and heater are off and the outlets can be powered up by turning the inverter on.
That is how it works on my boat. If the inverter does not have an automatic bypass mode when shore power is availble, I guess you may have to turn the inverter on to power up outlets even when shore power is available but that is not how my Xantrex unit works.
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Post by mphem on Dec 17, 2013 23:49:02 GMT
I believe that is what I am seeing, the hot water heater and air conditioning units are not powered through the inverter, but I believe that the a/c outlets are powered through the inverter.
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Post by windward54 on Dec 18, 2013 16:22:24 GMT
Hey Trevor, you sent me scrambling back to my manual to check. I have a Prosine 3.0 which is a Xantrex product.
On my installation, the 30 amp breaker in the aft lazerette is used as the Main AC disconnect for the unit. Most likely it was done this way as there is no AC main breaker on the panel. The power panel at the nav station then becomes the AC sub panel. This way the inverter can automatically switch between using shore power when available and batteries when needed. The breaker labeled Charger actually becomes the AC breaker for the AC power to the outlets. On mine, this breaker can be in the off position, and I still have charging to my batteries. So this breaker is only controlling the AC to the outlets. Hope that makes sense.
My Prosine has the capability of suppling power to the water heater (I don't have air conditioning), but it is not wired into the inverter system. While the inverter has the ability, it certaily would be a battery killer!
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