trickle charge with drain

[gonesail]

i leave my boat batteries on a charger. are there any implications or problems with leaving a 12v. refrigerator running in the boat? thanks.

[drh1965]

Originally Posted by gonesail

i leave my boat batteries on a charger. are there any implications or problems with leaving a 12v. refrigerator running in the boat? thanks.

If the shore power charger can source the amperage needed to drive the refrigerator, you won't flatten the batteries. I'd invest in a good isolation transformer, though.

[Maddog]

My frig runs off of both 110 AC and 12v DC. I belive it is a Norcold and has an internal inverter. When at dock I run it off the shore power with the 12v breaker off. When I leave the dock,I turn the breaker on. It has worked pretty well for the last season. As long as I remeber to trip the breaker.

[jscott]

If the breaker on the shore power fires or fails (or if someone kicks the cord loose)you will have a dead battery and a stinky fridge.

[Vasco]

I leave my 12v fridge and battery charger on all summer. Been doing this for years. No problems at all. We normally sail on weekends. It seems foolish to empty your fridge every Sunday night. Defeats the purpose of having a fridge. As to a dead battery and a stinky fridge, jscott, do you turn off and empty your fridge at home every time you go away for a few days? After all there might be a power outage while you're away.

[jscott]

No I leave my fridge on and full, but then even if the power goes out, it almost always comes back on in minutes (longest I remeber was about 2 hours.

I did come back to my boat on the Saturday of the long weekend to find the power cord unconnected and the batterys low.

[Pura Vida]

Check out this thread. It is a bit long but it discusses the effect of having your boat tied to the grid with the rest of the other boats via a common ground.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rina-8445.html