Of course, running your generator 7x24 is expensive and won't do much for your reputation on the dock either. These devices must be completely disconnected or at least shut off at a circuit breaker.Īnother approach is to simply not depend on the shore power supplies at all and run an on-board generator whenever the local shore power is incompatible with your equipment.
That's because many electronic devices are actually in a "standby" mode when they're switched off. Covers over critical circuit breakers should be installed to avoid accidentally turning on devices with incompatible power.Īlso, keep in mind that many electronic devices, such as TV's and computers must not be connected to incompatible power, even if they're left off. All of your permanently installed equipment must either handle the various shore power inputs or be disconnected. It's easy to forget and plug something in that won't handle 50 Hz power or different voltages. The disadvantage to this approach is that you must be extremely careful to keep track of what equipment can be safely operated on the shore power you're currently connected to.
The advantage of this approach to shore power management is that it may be the lowest cost (though equipment that will run on a different frequencies and line voltages may be more expensive than other, more common models). Whatever line frequency is on its input will be reflected by the output of the transformer. Also, the transformer will not convert the frequency. Running a transformer designed for 60 Hz only on a lower frequency will cause it to draw more current and run hotter, so be sure that the transformer is designed to work with 50 Hz or 60 Hz. Remember that if you're cruising in areas with different shore power frequency than your home, the transformer must be specified to work with 50 Hz or 60 Hz. There are important safety reasons for installing an isolation transformer anyway, so if you're cruising to areas with different line voltages, consider a transformer with taps and a boost function so that it can handle a variety of input voltages and help isolate your boat from some of the fluctuations of the incoming shore power. Another useful feature is an automatic "boost" function that will provide some automatic compensation for line voltage fluctuations.
#Boat shore power converter manual
Some transformers have "taps" that allow you to configure the transformer to step-up or step-down the shore power voltage by changing the input and output connections with either some manual re-wiring or a switch. down from 240V to 120V or up from 120V to 240V). If you elect this approach, you'll probably also need a transformer to convert shore power voltages into the correct range for your equipment (i.e. The key in selecting equipment is to read the specifications carefully. This equipment must also be selected to handle both frequencies if you want to take this approach to shore power preparation. For example, the air conditioning system on our Selene Trawler will operate on 50 Hz or 60 Hz, but it runs a bit slower on 50 Hz, since this type of motor depends on the line frequency to determine its speed.ĭon't forget your battery chargers and other permanently installed equipment. Some devices with electric motors will run on 50 Hz or 60 Hz, but they'll run slower on 50 Hz and might be a bit less efficient. Be careful, however, if the appliance has a heating element and a motor-like a hair dryer, since the heating element will probably work fine on 50 Hz or 60 Hz, but the motor may not. Most heating appliances-electric heaters, frying pans and toasters, don't really care what frequency they run on, though they typically require a fairly narrow range of operating voltage. Many of the small plug-in transformers that we use to power our laptop computers, digital cameras, and cell phones, for example, will run on just about any power from about 100V to 250V and 50 or 60 Hz. Be sure to check the specifications for frequency range as well as voltage. If you're careful and selective, it is possible to find equipment that will run on most international power. In this second part, we'll look at three approaches to preparing your boat for international shore power and outline the advantages and disadvantages of each.
In part 1 of this article, we discussed four key factors to consider in preparing for plugging into international power: This article was republished by permission from Passage Maker Magazine. Preparing a Selene for International Shore Power (Part 2)
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