inverter

[Guest]

when fitting an inverter to power a 240volt tv, can you place invertor near to battery then run cable from socket to tv(like an extension lead?)or do you run cable from battery, length of boat(approx 28ft) to invertor.

dont really want inverter on display all the time.

wouldnt do it myself but just thought i would ask.

thanks

basil44

[Guest]

I'm no electrician but I believe it is best to get the 12V side of things as short as possible so keep the inverter near to the batteries and run the 230V AC wires the length you require. Be aware, of course, that 230V AC is potentially a lot more hazardous than 12V DC (according to Stephen Fry they fry elephants with nasty AC current) so appropriate precautions need to be taken.

[senator]

Believe Simon is right, something to do with increased amperage with low voltage but if all you want to power is a TV, Freewiew and a DVD then you only need a 150w inverter, we do the same and elected to put in a 300w inverter to give a bit of spare.

Fitting a small inverter is a simple DIY job and you can pick up something sufficiant from the likes of Maplins for under £50.00

If you want to power the vacumme and Microwave then you are going to need serious cables and lots more batterys.

Ian

[kfurbank]

The above answers are indeed correct. You get much less voltage drop at higher voltages, which is why overhead power lines work at such high voltages. Therefore the 12v run should be kept as short as possible, Then run the 240V to where ever you need it. Remember to run it using three core double insulated multi strand flexible cable, never use the solid twin and earth cable you would use in a house. Finally remember to either put it in it's own ducting or clearly mark it as 240V cabling. If using a high power invertor to power multiple sockets and perhaps an immersion heater for hot water, remember to include a consumer unit and RCDs. It is then a fairly simple task to include either a manual or automatic switchover switch and add an outside waterproof shore power socket for a complete 240V setup.

[Heron]

I fitted an Inverter last week and according to the instructions it should be placed as close to the battery as possible, so far so good.

There are 2 leisure battreries on my boat, and I have connected the inverter to only one of them, + to+ and - to -. Should it be connected to both batteries and if so does anyone know how it should be wired?

Will be grateful for any guidance.

Ken

[senator]

Hi Keith,

Assuming that your lesiure batterys are linked then a ++ -- fitting is fine, have you got a way of isolating the inverter as if left switched on it will continue to use power even if you have nothing pluged into it.

Ian

[Heron]

Thanks Ian, presumably if it is switched off it will be OK and not draining the batteries, will have to ensure it is always off when not in use.

Ken

[Antares_9]

Or just buy a 12v telly (most smallish LCD ones are), I found myself inverting 12v to 240v and then back down to 12v for the TV so I just cut out the "middle man".

[senator]

Bought our 240 volt TV with exactly that in mind as it is 12 volt through a transformer, then I found out that while the old CRT tellys are fine the new LCD jobbies are severly damaged by over voltage.

No expert but have been told that the battery on your boat will put out up to 14.8 volts while charging but if it is in poor condition as low as 10.4 volts when at rest, the low voltage wont damage the telly it just wont work.

Invertors give a 240 supply that the transformer can then regulate at 12 volts but they do waste some energy while doing so.

There is a 12 volt regulator specialy made for the purpose which would allow you to do exactly what david says. http://www.amperordirect.com