I am wondering if there is any sort of adapter or converter that can be used with an outboard engine (8hp with 4 amp alternator)) or the 12v batteries in order to have AC (110v) power on board my CD25. I will be making a film on board CHLOE this summer and will need to be able to charge video camera batteries, laptop batteries and cell phone batteries while on board. Thank you all in advance for any thoughts, advice or experience you have in this matter.
Evan
s/v CHLOE
CD25
New York City
Eeames@aol.com
AC power from outboard?
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Jeff Funston
Re: AC power from outboard?
You can but those inverters fairly cheap, ~100 bucks in the 300-500 watt range. I have a 300 that will not run a big color set but does run chargers and a small B&W TV. If you can try to find a 500, but remember ohms law, Your 4 amp alternator will never keep your batteries charged if you are using the full 500 watts out of your invertor, at 100% efficiency 500 watts At 120 volt would equal around 40 amps dc. but a small charger setup on a invertor would probably only use around 50 watts max which would equal out to ~4 amps.
jefff@pinn.net
jefff@pinn.net
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Ken Coit
Re: AC power from outboard?
Evan,
There are many inverters sold for just that purpose: converting 12VDC to 110 VAC, 60 cycle. With the inverter, you can use your 110 VAC chargers for whatever batteries you want. You can even run the laptop off the 12 V battery. Figure out how much power you need, get an inverter, plug in the charger and you are on your way. Don't forget to leave enough energy your arm or the battery to start that outboard. We all tend to overtax our DC systems, even with more than 400 AH of capacity.
Most inverters and chargers were not intended to be used in marine environments, so keeping them dry is important to their longevity.
The latest Practical Sailor has an article on this which includes a sidebar on charging directly from your 12 V batteries, but that is likely more trouble than it is worth. Apparently Radio Shack is about to introduce a "TravelCharger" that works directly from 12 VDC, but it is not reviewed in the article.
Enjoy that filming experience!
Ken
S/V Parfait
Raleigh, NC
parfait@nc.rr.com
There are many inverters sold for just that purpose: converting 12VDC to 110 VAC, 60 cycle. With the inverter, you can use your 110 VAC chargers for whatever batteries you want. You can even run the laptop off the 12 V battery. Figure out how much power you need, get an inverter, plug in the charger and you are on your way. Don't forget to leave enough energy your arm or the battery to start that outboard. We all tend to overtax our DC systems, even with more than 400 AH of capacity.
Most inverters and chargers were not intended to be used in marine environments, so keeping them dry is important to their longevity.
The latest Practical Sailor has an article on this which includes a sidebar on charging directly from your 12 V batteries, but that is likely more trouble than it is worth. Apparently Radio Shack is about to introduce a "TravelCharger" that works directly from 12 VDC, but it is not reviewed in the article.
Enjoy that filming experience!
Ken
S/V Parfait
Raleigh, NC
Evan wrote: I am wondering if there is any sort of adapter or converter that can be used with an outboard engine (8hp with 4 amp alternator)) or the 12v batteries in order to have AC (110v) power on board my CD25. I will be making a film on board CHLOE this summer and will need to be able to charge video camera batteries, laptop batteries and cell phone batteries while on board. Thank you all in advance for any thoughts, advice or experience you have in this matter.
Evan
s/v CHLOE
CD25
New York City
parfait@nc.rr.com