60 hertz to 50 hertz fix?

[Rainman]

Originally Posted by SV Demeter

Now for the 60hz 50hz issue. Here are the existing AC components on the boat which of these will be damaged if I run them with 60hz shore power?

Compressor for fridge cold plate system 230v 50hz
High Pressure pump for watermaker 230v 50hz
Electric stove 230v 50hz
Mastervolt 12v 80amp battery charger 230v 50hz
Combo washing machine 230v 50z

Not sure which watermaker you have, but if it's a Rainman, we wouldn't be excited about running a 50Hz system at 60Hz. The induction motor would spin 20% faster, cause the pump to push 20% more water, do 20% more work, and try to draw 20% more current. If running off a Honda 2kva generator, or similar sized inverter, this may push the load over the top and trip the breaker. Even if you have a larger generator, it would heat the motor faster and shorten the life of it. You might be able to get away with it if you were a light user, but some of our commercial or military customers run the system eight hours per day or even round the clock.

With the Rainman system, the differences between the 50Hz and 60Hz systems is the throw length in the General Pump WM (or now the newer WMR) pump. The 50Hz system has a slightly longer throw length, so it pumps the same amount of water as the 60Hz system.

[SV Demeter]

The watermaker is an old HRO unit with a CAT pump designed to be on 50hz. I suspect it wont like running on 60hz for the same reasons Rainman's unit wont.

The 230v compressor for the fridge is part of an old Grunert holding plate system. Its also designed for 50hz. I wonder how its going to like 60hz?

We have a 50hz generator but Im not planning to run that twice a day at the dock to pull down the cold plates in the fridge. Likely will be converting to 12v Danfoss compressors soon.

Hot water heater and stove I dont think will care about frequency.

The washing machine Im guessing will do like most and get stuck at the end of the wash cycle and not be able to pump out the water and go into the spin cycle on 60hz. Not the end of the world there as we can run the washer on the generator when needed.

The outlets in the boat I will need to do something about tho. They are european outlets and Im guessing meant for 230v. I plan to modify the shore power cord at the boat end to turn our marina's 4 wire 240v power into a 3 wire 240v by joining one of the 2 120v hot legs with the neutral as discussed earlier in this thread. The issue with the outlets though is I want 120v at them for US style outlets. Also Im concerned about the wire size running to these outlets and will probably need to use a smaller maybe 10amp breaker.

[a64pilot]

If your actually converting to 120V, you right the wire size needs of be determined.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if it may be sized for 110V though, that would make it easier to build one boat for both markets.
Years ago when I toured the Porsche factory I asked how they handled windshield requirements and other differences in different markets, and was told that Porsche built a “World” car, that is all cars met the most stringent requirements for any Country so that any Porsche could be shipped and sold anywhere.

[geoleo]

A friend is looking to buy a French built boat that has a 220 volt 50 hertz system -It also has a 220/50 marine generator aboard. It does not have Air Cond. . He wants to install it. Plans are to home base in Florida where he will plug in for electricity. So he needs advice on what to do for the Ac units which certainly will be the 220/50 and a step up transformer to change the Marinas 30 Amp/120/60 to 220/50. Help please.

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by geoleo

A friend is looking to buy a French built boat that has a 220 volt 50 hertz system -It also has a 220/50 marine generator aboard. It does not have Air Cond. . He wants to install it. Plans are to home base in Florida where he will plug in for electricity. So he needs advice on what to do for the Ac units which certainly will be the 220/50 and a step up transformer to change the Marinas 30 Amp/120/60 to 220/50. Help please.

My advice would be to consult a marine electrician... But yes the transformer should do the trick to step up the voltage but it will not change the frequency. Most new Air Con units will run on either 50 or 60hz. You will need to check what ever other equipment is on the boat for its compatibility with 60hz power. There is the option of frequency converters but I cant comment from experience.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

If your actually converting to 120V, you right the wire size needs of be determined.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if it may be sized for 110V though, that would make it easier to build one boat for both markets.
Years ago when I toured the Porsche factory I asked how they handled windshield requirements and other differences in different markets, and was told that Porsche built a “World” car, that is all cars met the most stringent requirements for any Country so that any Porsche could be shipped and sold anywhere.

My Mahe 36 was set up for 220V but the wire size is all good for 110V presumably under that theory. Not sure if all Fountaine Pajots are like that or at least all relatively newer FPs. Minimal cost to do at the build point so it makes perfect sense.

[boom23]

Originally Posted by geoleo

A friend is looking to buy a French built boat that has a 220 volt 50 hertz system -It also has a 220/50 marine generator aboard. It does not have Air Cond. . He wants to install it. Plans are to home base in Florida where he will plug in for electricity. So he needs advice on what to do for the Ac units which certainly will be the 220/50 and a step up transformer to change the Marinas 30 Amp/120/60 to 220/50. Help please.

The Air Con on my French built boat runs on 50Hz or 60Hz. Your friend wants dual frequency Air Con unit(s). In addition, he can install the Victron Isolation Transformer (doubles as galvanic isolator), which can up-convert 120V to 240V, but leaves the frequency unchanged. It works and it requires minimum changes.

[a64pilot]

I believe that pretty much all motorized appliances designed for 50 Hz will actually run a little faster and cooler at 60 hz

[boom23]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I believe that pretty much all motorized appliances designed for 50 Hz will actually run a little faster and cooler at 60 hz

That is my understanding also. It is better to run 50Hz appliances at 60Hz than the other way around. Many appliances though (everything on my boat except the Microwave and Clothes Washer) are spec'ed as 50/60Hz capable. A little homework to find the right appliance can help.

[a64pilot]

Every thing we took to Germany in 89 I guess it was from the vacuum cleaner to the microwave, TV etc ran just fine. The microwave sounded different, but worked fine. We were there for three years and came back and I don’t think it shortened the lives of the appliances or anything.
I don’t thing anything was made to be Hz flexable