batteries and inverters

[steve4063]

Hiya

Right i now have a sterling pro charge 3 outputs

2x 1 engine batteries (i have 2 engines)

and 3x110ah leisure

 

i have a sterling 1800w inverter which i wired up yesterday

how i have done it is

 

i have 240v coming into a small household fusebox with 2 outputs

1 to the charger and the other going to a couple of 240v sockets that will run the microwave, hairdryer etc

basically big stuff that i'm not sure the inverter will cope with

 

and then i have the 2 main 12v wires from the inveter going to the battery bank

and then a 3 pin plug coming from the inv into another household fusebox

and from this to the rest of the electric sockets

(i have double rcd's on both fuseboxes)

 

the trouble is i'm finding is that the charger fan is really going for it most of the time

not a propblem just don't want to break it

and that there are a couple of things that don't seem to like the inverter

the dab clock radio for one hums like anything

and the lpg combi boiler hums too

and the clock on the cooker seems to be gaining 10 mins an hour

strange hey but never done it while on shore power

 

is there a way i can wire it up so that i can use 240v shore power when i'm in the marina but switch it over to inverter when i go out

 

this is all new to me

many thanks for your help

[wonderdust]

This might help.

[steve4063]

thanks for the 1 reply lol

annoying because i really needed help with this one lol

 

steve

[Chris Pink]

is there a way i can wire it up so that i can use 240v shore power when i'm in the marina but switch it over to inverter when i go out

 

One RCD protected fuse box feeding all sockets.

 

One 16A ceeform bulkhead mounted plug hardwired to fuse box.

 

One adaptor; 16A ceeform line socket to 13A plug for inverter.

 

One cable; 16A ceeform line socket to 16A ceeform line plug for your shore connection (caravan hook-up lead)

 

Plug in the one you need.

Edited October 17, 2009 by Chris Pink

[steelaway]

Hiya

Right i now have a sterling pro charge 3 outputs

2x 1 engine batteries (i have 2 engines)

and 3x110ah leisure

 

i have a sterling 1800w inverter which i wired up yesterday

how i have done it is

 

i have 240v coming into a small household fusebox with 2 outputs

1 to the charger and the other going to a couple of 240v sockets that will run the microwave, hairdryer etc

basically big stuff that i'm not sure the inverter will cope with

 

and then i have the 2 main 12v wires from the inveter going to the battery bank

and then a 3 pin plug coming from the inv into another household fusebox

and from this to the rest of the electric sockets

(i have double rcd's on both fuseboxes)

 

the trouble is i'm finding is that the charger fan is really going for it most of the time

not a propblem just don't want to break it

and that there are a couple of things that don't seem to like the inverter

the dab clock radio for one hums like anything

and the lpg combi boiler hums too

and the clock on the cooker seems to be gaining 10 mins an hour

strange hey but never done it while on shore power

 

is there a way i can wire it up so that i can use 240v shore power when i'm in the marina but switch it over to inverter when i go out

 

this is all new to me

many thanks for your help

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi

Try this

 

Clicky

 

Which charge controler are you using

 

Alex

[steve4063]

thanks for the replies chaps

that link looked spot on for what i want

steve

 

one other thing i am struggling with

i have a sterling procharge 3 outputs

and a sterling 1800w inverter

battery wise 3 x 110ah leisure and 2 engine batts

all brand new apart from the inverter which came off a canal boat (working)

 

every few hours or so the inverter alarm comes on saying low voltage and the volts drop to about 9v

the charger then kicks in again and boosts it back up to normal

 

i was under the impression that the pro charge monitors the batts and charges as necesary

i run sterling.......... he said have it on 2 hours and hung up

never seem to get a lot of joy when i ring them.

 

many thanks in advance

[denboy]

thanks for the replies chaps

that link looked spot on for what i want

steve

 

one other thing i am struggling with

i have a sterling procharge 3 outputs

and a sterling 1800w inverter

battery wise 3 x 110ah leisure and 2 engine batts

all brand new apart from the inverter which came off a canal boat (working)

 

every few hours or so the inverter alarm comes on saying low voltage and the volts drop to about 9v

the charger then kicks in again and boosts it back up to normal

 

i was under the impression that the pro charge monitors the batts and charges as necesary

i run sterling.......... he said have it on 2 hours and hung up

never seem to get a lot of joy when i ring them.

many thanks in advance

After reading the threads about sterling customer service over the years i think you were privileged for them to speak to you at all

[steelaway]

thanks for the replies chaps

that link looked spot on for what i want

steve

 

one other thing i am struggling with

i have a sterling procharge 3 outputs

and a sterling 1800w inverter

battery wise 3 x 110ah leisure and 2 engine batts

all brand new apart from the inverter which came off a canal boat (working)

 

every few hours or so the inverter alarm comes on saying low voltage and the volts drop to about 9v

the charger then kicks in again and boosts it back up to normal

 

i was under the impression that the pro charge monitors the batts and charges as necesary

i run sterling.......... he said have it on 2 hours and hung up

never seem to get a lot of joy when i ring them.

 

many thanks in advance

 

 

 

 

Hi

 

If you are connected to a land line why are you using the inverter?

What alternator(s) do you have on the engine?

What are you trying to achieve?

Oh and Charles Sterling is a bit caustic, you're not the first to notice

 

Alex

[paulcatchpole]

the trouble is i'm finding is that the charger fan is really going for it most of the time

not a propblem just don't want to break it

and that there are a couple of things that don't seem to like the inverter

the dab clock radio for one hums like anything

and the lpg combi boiler hums too

and the clock on the cooker seems to be gaining 10 mins an hour

strange hey but never done it while on shore power

 

The inverter is a modified-sine-wave type, I believe? Producing what amounts to a slightly rounded square-wave with an RMS of about mains voltage.

 

They'll power most stuff, but certain motors won't like them, and will just buzz, the frequency is well off and hence anything using it as a timebase will be iffy (your clock on the cooker), and the DAB will probably have a fairly cheap amplifier inside which is passing harmonics of the dodgy mains waveform into the output audio.

 

The combi boiler is an interesting one. We have a domestic gas boiler (modern one) and apart from the pump and mid-position valve not working (unsurprisingly) on the MSW inverter, the actual boiler doesn't like it either - the flame failure circuitry doesn't detect when it's fired, even though you can hear it light up... Running from the genny also causes the same problem. It'll work from a 150w pure-sine which we used to use for that exclusive purpose until it blew up, and it'll run from a chinese 1500w pure-sine but only if there isn't a big inductive load on it at the same time - so we have to turn off some audio amps to get it to work!

 

I suggest you'll have to swap to a pure-sine supply, via a second or replacement inverter, before you'll get those things to work.

 

is there a way i can wire it up so that i can use 240v shore power when i'm in the marina but switch it over to inverter when i go out

 

Yes, you can use a single mains fusebox/consumer-unit, and feed that from a manual (or even automatic) switch that'll select between the shoreline socket and inverter output. We have a manual version of this, and just turn the inverter on, and switch it over, when cruising. Dead simple.

 

HTH, PC

[steve4063]

Hi

 

If you are connected to a land line why are you using the inverter?

What alternator(s) do you have on the engine?

What are you trying to achieve?

Oh and Charles Sterling is a bit caustic, you're not the first to notice

 

Alex

 

i'm using the inverter because our leccy is charged at 15p a unit so anything i can do to reduce that would be great

thats why i fitted a combi boiler last year we had electric oil rads

ouch was all i can say

 

as for alternators i'm not 100% sure to be honest

but we don't really use the engines

i haven't started them since easter lol

we live a board and have a permanant moorings in a marina so don't need to move

 

one day tho we will actually get time to travel on the broads and use the boat for what its intended.

 

so basically i am trying to get the boat to a point where its cheap to use stuff and that if we did want to go down the river we still can without losing all the power

 

i think what i might do is put another plug socket from the mains input f/b near the inverter and then just unplug the plu from the inverter and put it in that skt until i want to move

 

and then just switch the inverter off at the master safety switch thingy that way no power will be getting to it and drain the batts hopefully

sounds a weird set up but shud work

[Gibbo]

i'm using the inverter because our leccy is charged at 15p a unit so anything i can do to reduce that would be great

 

This is someone having a giraffe right?

 

But if not.............

 

The inverter uses power got from the batteries. The power in the batteries comes from the shorepower. Charging the batteries introduces some losses. Taking power from the batteries introduces yet more losses.

 

Using your shorepower costs you 15 pence per unit. If you uses the electricity to charge the batteries, then use the batteries to power the inverter I guarantee that the electricity you finally use will be costing you at least 25 pence per unit instead of 15 pence.

 

Charging from the engine will cost even more.

[tomsk]

Hi

 

If you are connected to a land line why are you using the inverter?

What alternator(s) do you have on the engine?

What are you trying to achieve?

Oh and Charles Sterling is a bit caustic, you're not the first to notice

 

Alex

 

 

Mr Sterling has every right to be caustic.

 

As a leading importer of Chinese goods and bulk purchaser of sticky lables his time is finite. Sterling is a sales driven/high profit/high turnover organisation, as it's Figurehead, The Great Man has little time for anything else than sitting in his Counting House and eating huge portions of Blackbird Pie.

[steelaway]

Mr Sterling has every right to be caustic.

 

As a leading importer of Chinese goods and bulk purchaser of sticky lables his time is finite. Sterling is a sales driven/high profit/high turnover organisation, as it's Figurehead, The Great Man has little time for anything else than sitting in his Counting House and eating huge portions of Blackbird Pie.

 

 

Wow! He must have rattled your cage.

 

Even if he is abit blunt - he is a clever cooky and who ever is making his products - they are pretty damd good.

He has every right to make a profit - I wish I'd thought of it first.

 

Alex

[FadeToScarlet]

and the clock on the cooker seems to be gaining 10 mins an hour

 

This might be the crux- is the output 50Hz or 60Hz? Digital clocks, in the UK, are often designed to tell the time by using the frequency of the power supplied. If you're on a higher frequency, the clock will run 20% fast.