A 12vdc Boat - KISS ?

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by motion30

Are the 12v microwaves any good how much power do the consume?

Since I didn't see a response to this I'm repeating what I heard. Please pipe up if you have real knowledge.

12 volt microwaves have their own internal inverter. True? I dunno.

I bought one and never installed it. Traded it away because I aquired an inverter. But the leads on the one I bought seemed huge. Like inverter sized.

[MarkJ]

Microwaves.... heres some interesting stuff!

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/microwave_oven_12v/

WARNING! This piece of equipment must be fitted directly to the vehicle's battery. Under no circumstances must it be connected to a power source via a lighter socket.

Interesting?

This item draws approx. 65 amps on full power

A good idea not to use it for cooking the Thanksgiving turkey

[dana-tenacity]

Originally Posted by Eleebana

About a week ago I started a thread seeking advice regarding how to make a boat compatible with different shorepower voltages worldwide. My current project is a 42' mono that the builder is half way through. The best advice I was given was to buy a copy of Nigel Calder's Mechanical and Electrical handbook. Having taken the advice and now read the electrical sections of the book, I am convinced that there are definate advantages in building a 12 volt boat without a generator or even an inverter, but simply a charger that can hook up to 110v - 240v shore power. I prefer to build the boat with good shade and ventilation rather than install air conditioning. It has huge tankage (1100 litres) and deck infills rather than a watermaker. I can buy a 12 volt microwave and keep my laptop charged with an in-car charger. Everyone, including the builder presumes I will want AC power. Why do I need it? Am I missing something ?

Greg

You're right - you don't need it. I lived for 8 years and 40,000 miles with two 12v batteries.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

are you running so much stuff at once that you need a 3,000watt inverter, because if you don't it is an incredible waste of power. I have two inverters a 200watt and a 700watt. Inverters are most efficient around 60-80%, I use a 200watt inverter for a 3.6cubic foot AC refrigerator/freezer (it only uses 180watts when running).

No, not at all. I was just quoting prices.

[motion30]

I have a small microwave that is 120v run tru the inverter it draws 100amps!

[Highlander40]

Yeah the microwave is a power hog, even though I have an inverter to run it, most of the time the generator goes on for cooking and water heating while the house bank charges.

Some form of power other than the main is needed.
Wind, solar, or a real small generator.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Eleebana

About a week ago I started a thread seeking advice regarding how to make a boat compatible with different shorepower voltages worldwide. My current project is a 42' mono that the builder is half way through. The best advice I was given was to buy a copy of Nigel Calder's Mechanical and Electrical handbook. Having taken the advice and now read the electrical sections of the book, I am convinced that there are definate advantages in building a 12 volt boat without a generator or even an inverter, but simply a charger that can hook up to 110v - 240v shore power. I prefer to build the boat with good shade and ventilation rather than install air conditioning. It has huge tankage (1100 litres) and deck infills rather than a watermaker. I can buy a 12 volt microwave and keep my laptop charged with an in-car charger. Everyone, including the builder presumes I will want AC power. Why do I need it? Am I missing something ?

Greg

You haven't missed anything.

12v appliances, like the microwave, are more expensive. But so is an integrated system.

I have a nice integrated system (came that way) but my last boat didn't. The ONLY 110v stuff we use at anchor/underway are chargers and a big ventalation fan. At dock we use more, but we could do what we did on the last boat - extention cords - which I still have to use on-deck with power tools.

Using a small inverter for power tools is limiting and I found, pointless. We had a tiny inverter for chargers on the first boat - that was good enough and worked well.

If you intend to use either space heaters or AC, that is a different matter. I think most folks that have microwaves use them little - we prefer the stove.

As an option, I suppose a panel with a 110v systems that was simply shore power would be fine. Only a few outlets wold be needed.

[dana-tenacity]

Actually I had never heard of boats having shore power connections til I went to the US around the mid 80's, so I guess there were lots of people living just fine without AC up till then.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by dana-tenacity

Actually I had never heard of boats having shore power connections til I went to the US around the mid 80's, so I guess there were lots of people living just fine without AC up till then.

I can't argue against that, since I did it. A very simple, non-interconected system of a panel with a few outlets would be convenient, inexpensive, simple, and safer than running extension cords. Really, only vital if heat of AC are considered.

[Agility]

We just finished spec'ing out a new boat. We don't have a generator and plan to use only DC. The only AC powered equipment is a washer/dryer which we didn't need but can easily power from our inverter while running the big alternators. We have diesel heaters, a propane water heater, wind and solar but no aircon. I really like this system but did have a little resistance from the builder. The added benefit of this setup is that it works in any country since it's really only connected to a battery charger.

My wife was adamant that she didn't want a microwave and my daughter when asked if we should get one said, "why on earth would anyone ever want a microwave on a boat!" Got to love the influence we had on her when cruising for a year at age 13.

[wolfenzee]

You can get any appliance in 12V....it just tends to be considerably most expensive than the 110v equivalent....I am though wiring my boat so most of my power needs will be 12v.