240 volt ac on a boat - why?

[yabasayo]

Is there any real need to have mains voltage on a canal boat ? Just about every gadget you may wish to have on board is available to run on 12 or 24 volt dc.

The only exceptions I can think of are electric immersion heaters and mains powered battery chargers.  

There are options for water heating and if really needed what's wrong with a portable battery charger similar to that used for a car.

I've had seagoing yachts for 40 years and lived on board for months at a time quite happily without mains electricity.

Mains voltage, water and steel hulls are always a combination best avoided if possible. Is mains power really worth the added expense and complexity ?

Edited November 29, 2018 by yabasayo

[TheBiscuits]

Fridge and washing machine. 

 

Yes, you can get a good 12v fridge for 600 quid, but a better mains one is 100 quid. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by TheBiscuits

[mrsmelly]

It depends wether you are a liveaboard or hobby boater. As a liveaboard and not being called Fred Flintstone we have nearly everything on mains voltage. It is MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper to set up than 12 volt stuff and allows a HUGELY greater choice of equipment in both size and quality than 12 volt stuff. I havnt found many serious sized washing machines or tumble dryers running on 12 volts. Just as a very quick for instance my mains fridge and freezer were 170 pounds each as against about 600 each for the previous 12 volt crappy models. Just those items alone saving buys a good inverter. I run off grid most of the time from my inverter which is never switched off from 4 by 110 a/h batteries. My fridges use a similar amount of leccy to what my 12 volt models did.

[Robbo]

Microwave, washing machine are a few things that 12v would be crap at. 

[system 4-50]

9 minutes ago, yabasayo said:

Mains voltage, water and steel hulls are always a combination best avoided if possible. Is mains power really worth the added expense and complexity ?

I don't have much difficulty in avoiding combining mains volts with water or with the steel hull, on my boat, they are all handled correctly.  It is remarkable how people set against a particular technology, for some it is gas, and others 240VAC.  As long as they are installed correctly I see no problem.  Handling high currents at 12V would also add expense and complexity. Or of course you can go for the simple life.  Each to his own.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, yabasayo said:

Is there any real need to have mains voltage on a canal boat ? Just about every gadget you may wish to have on board is available to run on 12 or 24 volt dc.

The only exceptions I can think of are electric immersion heaters and mains powered battery chargers.  

There are options for water heating and if really needed what's wrong with a portable battery charger similar to that used for a car.

I've had seagoing yachts for 40 years and lived on board for months at a time quite happily without mains electricity.

Mains voltage, water and steel hulls are always a combination best avoided if possible. Is mains power really worth the added expense and complexity ?

No, there is no actual need.  Your intimation is correct.

 

 

[Ray T]

240v is useful if boat is kept in a marina when not in use - battery charging, a low wattage oil heater to keep the chill off in winter and using other electrical gadgets.

[Bee]

Of all the things I could scrimp on 240 v is right at the top of the list. I lived on for 12 years without 240v and seldom missed it. The present boat is 12 volt but we have a cheap little inverter that powers the telly and runs the various chargers for cordless tools, phones, camera chargers etc. We would not like to be without that. Its the gross users of electric that we decided to do without. A washing machine takes up a lot of space, needs hundreds of pounds worth of batteries and inverter or generator and although it might be nice to have one its not a lot of bother to wash a few bits by hand and save the big stuff for launderettes.

[Trento]

25 minutes ago, yabasayo said:

Is there any real need to have mains voltage on a canal boat ? Just about every gadget you may wish to have on board is available to run on 12 or 24 volt dc.

The only exceptions I can think of are electric immersion heaters and mains powered battery chargers.  

There are options for water heating and if really needed what's wrong with a portable battery charger similar to that used for a car.

I've had seagoing yachts for 40 years and lived on board for months at a time quite happily without mains electricity.

Mains voltage, water and steel hulls are always a combination best avoided if possible. Is mains power really worth the added expense and complexity ?

And now on the canal, do you,use oil lamps for lighting.?

Each to his or her own, but as mentioned above mains electrical appliances are cheaper more reliable than dc equivalents. Why would you not embrace new world technology ?

[mrsmelly]

10 minutes ago, Bee said:

Of all the things I could scrimp on 240 v is right at the top of the list. I lived on for 12 years without 240v and seldom missed it. The present boat is 12 volt but we have a cheap little inverter that powers the telly and runs the various chargers for cordless tools, phones, camera chargers etc. We would not like to be without that. Its the gross users of electric that we decided to do without. A washing machine takes up a lot of space, needs hundreds of pounds worth of batteries and inverter or generator and although it might be nice to have one its not a lot of bother to wash a few bits by hand and save the big stuff for launderettes.

I take it you dont have a washing machine in your house then and just nip round the launderette?

[cereal tiller]

16 minutes ago, Bee said:

Of all the things I could scrimp on 240 v is right at the top of the list. I lived on for 12 years without 240v and seldom missed it. The present boat is 12 volt but we have a cheap little inverter that powers the telly and runs the various chargers for cordless tools, phones, camera chargers etc. We would not like to be without that. Its the gross users of electric that we decided to do without. A washing machine takes up a lot of space, needs hundreds of pounds worth of batteries and inverter or generator and although it might be nice to have one its not a lot of bother to wash a few bits by hand and save the big stuff for launderettes.

If you come across a Cordless  or 12 Volt Hot Air gun please let me know.

[mrsmelly]

Just now, cereal tiller said:

If you come across a Cordless  or 12 Volt Hot Air gun please let me know.

I dont think its anyones fault but the ops question is too vague. There is a humungous difference between hobby boating and living aboard that some people dont understand. It would help if we knew if the op was intending to live aboard or if its a hobby. I dont expect anyone in a house to make do with 12 volts and fail to see why I would want to do with 12 volts only on my boat.

[GUMPY]

25 years ago I lived aboard without 230v, then my gas fridge broke and I bought a 230v one with an inverter, next the moorings owner put in power to each mooring that was the begining of the slippery slope its been down hill from then on

Now the only things that are 12v are lights, Eberspacher, usb chargers and pumps.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Loddon

[nicknorman]

55 minutes ago, yabasayo said:

Is there any real need to have mains voltage on a canal boat ? Just about every gadget you may wish to have on board is available to run on 12 or 24 volt dc.

The only exceptions I can think of are electric immersion heaters and mains powered battery chargers.  

There are options for water heating and if really needed what's wrong with a portable battery charger similar to that used for a car.

I've had seagoing yachts for 40 years and lived on board for months at a time quite happily without mains electricity.

Mains voltage, water and steel hulls are always a combination best avoided if possible. Is mains power really worth the added expense and complexity ?

There is no need to have mains voltage on a boat. For years we borrowed my mate’s boat which had no generated mains - you could plug it into shore power in the marina and it had a couple of sockets for the vacuum etc , but for our 2 weeks away there was zero mains power.

 

However we now have our own boat with mains power. A Combi inverter, and a Travelpower. Things that are mains powered on the boat include the TV, the recording HD Sat box, the table lamp, the ignition and fan for the oven, the electric kettle, the toaster, the Nespresso coffee machine, the bread maker, the electric food mixer, the washing machine, the tumble drier, the electric blanket, the immersion heater, various power tools, inspection lamp, soldering iron. Do I need to go on?

 

So there is no need to have mains power on a boat. There is also no need to have an engine (get a horse) or electric lights (get some candles). However, when you do have mains power, it can be very useful.

Edited November 29, 2018 by nicknorman

[TheBiscuits]

3 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

So there is no need to have mains power on a boat. There is also no need to have an engine (get a horse) or electric lights (get some candles). However, when you do have mains power, it can be very useful.

I suppose there's no need for a steel hull either - wood or grp.

 

Oop Norf even the water has been optional this summer!

[sueb]

1 hour ago, Bee said:

Of all the things I could scrimp on 240 v is right at the top of the list. I lived on for 12 years without 240v and seldom missed it. The present boat is 12 volt but we have a cheap little inverter that powers the telly and runs the various chargers for cordless tools, phones, camera chargers etc. We would not like to be without that. Its the gross users of electric that we decided to do without. A washing machine takes up a lot of space, needs hundreds of pounds worth of batteries and inverter or generator and although it might be nice to have one its not a lot of bother to wash a few bits by hand and save the big stuff for launderettes.

I fully agree. 25 years without a washing machine, TV and had a gas fridge. I did have an inverter and I used it for the hoover but I also used 12v for a carpet cleaner.

[MtB]

2 hours ago, Trento said:

And now on the canal, do you,use oil lamps for lighting.?

 

Being a Luddite myself, I have gas lights in my boat. 

 

 

[bizzard]

35 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Being a Luddite myself, I have gas lights in my boat. 

 

 

I have a spare needle valve control for one of those. The stand alone type going cheap. I think its Wade with the black plastic knob.

[MtB]

1 minute ago, bizzard said:

I have a spare needle valve control for one of those. The stand alone type going cheap. I think its Wade with the black plastic knob.

 

Mine are Morco Coronets. I don't trust the needle valve so have proper plug cocks in each gas supply pipe, next to each lamp. 

 

 

[bizzard]

1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Mine are Morco Coronets. I don't trust the needle valve so have proper plug cocks in each gas supply pipe, next to each lamp. 

 

 

This is stand alone to screw to a wall to fit into the feed pipe

[MtB]

Ah I see what you mean. Nah I deffly have no use for one of thems. Thanks though!! 

[bizzard]

I read Sherlock Holmes books by the light of my oil lamp, why I've now got one eye and a Whelk. I was standing at a bus stop the other day. There was a chap waiting there with a glass eye. Suddenly he clawed it out and started bouncing it up and down on the pavement.  I asked him what he was doing.  He said,, There a bus coming, I'm trying to see if there's any room on top.

[MtB]

I once knew a bloke with a glass eye. 

 

When he thought meetings were dragging on a bit, he would sit there tapping his eye with the end of his Biro.

[Dr Bob]

We lived aboard a GRP boat with no room for a washing machine for 3 years. It was a step above camping. We now live on a NB with a washing machine powered by 240V. So so so much more comfortable. Living vs existing? Choice is yours. What's the downside of 240V? Of course you don't need 240V but 99% of what we do or use now is not 'needed'.

[Sea Dog]

11 hours ago, yabasayo said:

Is there any real need to have mains voltage on a canal boat ? Just about every gadget you may wish to have on board is available to run on 12 or 24 volt dc.

The only exceptions I can think of are electric immersion heaters and mains powered battery chargers.  

There are options for water heating and if really needed what's wrong with a portable battery charger similar to that used for a car.

I've had seagoing yachts for 40 years and lived on board for months at a time quite happily without mains electricity.

Mains voltage, water and steel hulls are always a combination best avoided if possible. Is mains power really worth the added expense and complexity ?

I'm not going to try to persuade you of the merits of 240v ac in your boat.  It's not compulsory matey - don't have it if you don't want it.