Where have you fitted your inverters?

[Tree]

Morning all,

I've just recently managed to win a 1500w inverter on eBay but now I'm struggling where to fit it so I can access it easily.

Any suggestions where you've fitted yours on your 28's are appreciated.

Lee

[DougSea]

We had a Charger/Inverter on our 28. It was in the space under the cabin steps, to port, and was accessed through the cover over the water tank.

[Pitou]

In my 28 I chose to mount my inverter inside the head vanity cabinet beneathe the sink secured to the companionway wall. Out of sight and fairly accessible.

~ Wiring was run from the house battery to an ANL fuse block set near the house batteries.
~ From the fuse block I ran battery cable to a Perko On/Off switch inside the companionway step.
~ From the On/Off wiring was run directly through the companionway wall to the inverter.
~ From the inverter wiring was run from the inverter through the wire chase into the bulkhead beneath the foot of the helm and back through the helm area and dropping the ceiling in the head and cabin area over to the AC panel area where I installed a Blue Seas 30 Amp Breaker and then over to a 3 way Blue Seas Selector Switch: Shore / Ship (gen-set) / Inverter. In the absence of a gen-set a 2 way Selector Switch should be used.

3.jpg

The Inverter AC Breaker is the small switch on the right and my 3 way switch is on the gen-set panel

Caveat: The above install description is the brief version. Proper wire sizing and grounding will be specific to your install location and inverter requirements. If you are not comfortable nor understand electricity I would advise that you hire / consult a local expert.

It's always nice to have AC power when away from the dock!

Enjoy your new inverter.

[Tree]

Perfect! Looking at the connections, 4swg cable should do the job. The bigger te better so far as I'm concerned. I really wanted to fit it under the companion way steps but it's a bit big for that! One place I did consider was mounting it under navigator seat. I could remove the drawers to ease access for fitting then have a remote on/off switch by the battery isolator.

Not ever having AC power at sea before, I assume general rule of thumb, heavy cable and lots of air space around the inverter.

We can then fit the 240 volt battery charger and that with the inverter will give us shoreside power in small amounts (microwave, kettle) as and when we need it.

[Chris & Dale]

Tree,
Here's a link to a post I did about our 2000W inverter. I chose this location for 2 main reasons:
1. Easy to install, run wires to battery, etc.
2. Easy to get at fuse behind the microwave without having to get down in the bilge/battery area.

Hope this post is of use in your decision making.

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=5952
Good Luck!

[Bidgood]

I put a 2500 watt inverter under the "co-Pilot" seat. Simply remove the drawer assembly to take a look. There is plenty of room back there and also easy access to run the wires to the control box/breaker panel. I also cut down the drawers to make them a little shallower. There are two 8D's that will run a drop in AC (not the Marine AC) for about 5-6 hrs.

Tom

[Mark C]

I have a 2005 28 flush deck and my 2500W inverter/charger is mounted under and aft of the throttle. I'm sure this was a original install from the dealer. To get to it by removing the drawers / cabinet assembly behind the helm seat. It's not easy to get to but it is out of the way.

I want to say these boats are great boat to cross the Columbia river bar!

[Tree]

Well It's finally fitted!

I've installed it on the bulkhead under the berth by the fridge - there is an access hatch there and it fitted perfectly - I've run it direct from the batteries with its own isolating switch so it is only running when its needed.

The output power is then offered up to a three way switch just like Pitou has done - infact the set up is very similar except location.

The three way switch now has the option for genset, shore power via a transformer and inverter.

Thankfully, after doing a lot of homework due to the 50hz/60hz power supply problems, it seems that the battery charger and the heating element in the hot water tank are both dual 50/60hz - the only issue was the microwave being 60hz.

Turns out that had it been a more modern microwave then there may have been issues but as it is a basic model, the motor that turns the the plate is a DC motor anyway. The only thing is that it will now cook 1/6th slower but the power will also be reduced by 1/6th. I am really not that concerned about that!

So in a nutshell, for the first time of owning an Albin I can finally say that at present, the batteries are currently being charged as they are supposed to be and I can put a Pie or a Pasty in the microwave when out fishing on these cold winter days!


Right, I need another project now.


Lee