New Inverter/Charger

Phoned the West Marine last week and got a quote for:

Magnum Energy MS2812 (MAG MS 2812). 2800 watt Inverter/125 Amp Charger
MS Series Inverter/Charger - Magnum Energy, Inc.

Magnum Energy ERC50 control panel (MAG ME RC-50)
ME-RC Remote - Magnum Energy, Inc.

and the Magnum Energy Battery Monitor Kit (MAG ME-BMK)
Battery Monitor Kit (ME-BMK) - Magnum Energy, Inc.

Also the SiTex MDA1 AIS.

Phoned today and the quoted prices in Cdn $ that were 15% higher. Asked for last weeks prices and got it! Whew!

Just picked these up. $2,700 later!

Going to be a bit of a challenge to figure out where to mount it. The I/C unit is 55 lbs. don't want that flying around when seas get rough!

The current Freedom 20 is installed in al location such that the DC cabling (AWG 2/0) is 24' long. Going to try and cut that down to 12' if possible. The Freedom 20 weighs 52 lbs.




Jim
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Dilemma time. Any thoughts on going from generator to inverter/chargers? My genset is 4.5kw and thinking of taking it out as it is inoperable at the time. I still need to do assessment of my power usage on board my MT 44. Anyone have comments on this issue?

Thanks

I think you would want both power sources, such that you can run A/C loads either from the generator (when on) or from the inverter. The generator would be a charging sauce when away from shore. That's how many boats are set up.


Jim
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Agree If it's repairable, have it repaired.

Also removing the generator will have a negative impact on the value of your boat when you go to sell it.

JDCAVE said:

The current Freedom 20 is installed in al location such that the DC cabling (AWG 2/0) is 24' long. Going to try and cut that down to 12' if possible.

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Wow!! Twenty four feet is a long run to an inverter. If the inverter is pulling 150 amps which is what it would take to power a 1,500 watt coffee maker for example, you will have a 5% voltage drop. Try hard to reduce that run to 12'.

We have a Freedom 20 and a 4.5 KW genset on our boat. Since the stove tops are electric we always run the genset for a half an hour or so to cook dinner and again in the morning to fix coffee. The batteries are recharging when it is running and 45 minutes of run time probably puts 50 amp hours back in.

Some people think starting a genset is inconvenient for that use, but it takes just a few seconds to start it, and then let it warm up for a minute or two before putting a load on it.

The only time we really use the inverter is to nuke something in the microwave. That might take a couple of minutes and the small 600 watt microwave draws 60 amps DC to power it, so the total amp hour draw is negligible.

Actually I need the 100 amp charging capacity of the Freedom 20 more than I need the 2,000 watt inverting capacity.

David

David. You're right. It's probably more than I need. We won't likely need the full capability of the 2800 watt inverter, but was nervous that the Freedom 20 was getting to the end of its life,so decided to take the plunge. Also wanted to upgrade to an AIC transceiver, from the receive only unit.


Jim
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I've got a Freedom 25 that has done a good job but I'd like something with True Sine Wave. My refer no longer recognizes the inverted output, and keeps trying to switch to propane. No problem, but the TSWunits are easier on the various chargers. The Link 2000 is also giving bad readings, so maybe it's time for a change.

What made you choose the Magnum?

Larry: Yes, my monitor is showing erroneous amp-hours used right now. Not sure if it's operator error or not.

I chose Magnum because all the marine electricians I talked to (several) felt it was an excellent unit. It's a lot cheaper than Mastervolt. I talked to one Krogen owner over here who just installed one and he's very pleased...and Krogen uses them on their new builds. So it must be okay. I sure hope so :-|. Its a Pure sine wave unit as well.

djmarchand said:

...Actually I need the 100 amp charging capacity of the Freedom 20 more than I need the 2,000 watt inverting capacity.

David

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That seems to be a pretty common situation; inverting vs. charging. When we upgraded our system, we looked more at the charging capacity knowing that the inverter capacity would more than cover our demands. We could have gone with 2 systems but the simplicity of one combination unit sold us.

A propane reefer with an electrical element is about the poorest setup in terms of energy inefficienct that can be imagined.

Propane is a great heat source , a tank should run a month or more.

Electric sucks as a heat source , even a 12V element in stead of a 120 thru inverter would suck cost far too much juice.

RV reefers are designed to operate on propane , down the road the 12V element is fine as there is no flame , so the RV can be refueled in a gas station.

At a campground usually unmetered power allows operation with no cost to the camper.

To operate as an electric unit while on the hook is NOT the way to go.

Really like my Magnum Energy inverter charger. Leave it on 24/7 when away from the dock. Has a very low power draw when in stand by and just like the ability to keep my electronic devices charged while underway. May turn it off if I anchor for several days, but really like the dirt house convenience of 24/7 120ac availability. Like that it automatically switches to charge mode and switches ac loads when it senses the genset or shore power.

Ted

Inverter spec is commonly in VA, not watts, as they can quote a larger number that way. Also, output drops as temp increases so try to avoid having your inverter in your engine room if possible. And of course keep the length of cable to the battery bank as short as possible.

Insequent said:

Inverter spec is commonly in VA, not watts, as they can quote a larger number that way. Also, output drops as temp increases so try to avoid having your inverter in your engine room if possible. And of course keep the length of cable to the battery bank as short as possible.

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Yes, maximum 23 amps at 120 volts. Way more than we would use. We are thinking of locating the I/C unit in the guest stateroom, as it would provide for much shorter cable runs as there is no room on the forward bulkhead wall in the engine room. Not really keen putting it in the Guest stateroom as it's a big honking white box and not particularly nice to look at.


Jim
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Think I would reconsider the guest stateroom between the fan noise and the heat. Mine is fine in the engine room. I will run the ventilation fan whenever the engine or the genset are running and for an hour afterwards if necessary. Seeing as you are in Canada, keeping the engine room cool shouldn't be an issue. Also heat is really only an issue with heavy use of the inverter or charger. If the charging mode is putting out a lot of heat, the engine has likely been off for quite a while meaning cool engine room.

Ted

Jim
Have the identical Magnum set up on Bay Pelican, also a 1985 Krogen 42. The Magnum is mounted directly above the battery boxes in the engine room. Distance is less than 2 feet. Realize the heat issue.

The Magnum 2812 is better than the 2000 watt unit as you may want a washer/dryer on your boat. The 2812 will power a Splendide (wash not dry) whereas the 2000 watt unit will not.

Yes, we bought the 2812. Not sure we'd run the washer/dryer on the inverter, though. We tend to run the genset for that operation. We have the old top loading units that probably came with the boat.

I've got 10 T105's in one box of six and one box of four, on either side of the engine. These are wired as one large bank, with AWG 2/0, so large cabling. As mentioned in another post, we have 4 new aluminum fuel tanks, and the current, Freedom 20 unit is mounted on the aft wall of the port fuel tank (on some backing). The cabling runs from the I/C unit, over the fuel tanks, and over to a buss bar in the the DC electrical "locker" on the forward bulkhead in the engine room. Cables then run from that buss bar to a remote Blue Sea switch for the house bank and then to each of the two battery boxes that comprise the house bank. Here the various DC loads are spit off. The overall cable run is 24 feet. I would like to cut that in half.

Now, I am going to get in a Marine electrician to look at this and we will come up with something. There may be some compromises somewhere.


Jim
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Here's a photo of the DC "Locker"


There is no room on that forward bulkhead to mount the new unit, as I have a fuel polishing system and Dual Racor 900's taking up that location. I thought that mounting the new unit in the guest stateroom on the otherwise of that bulkhead would provide for a very short cable run to that DC locker. On the other hand there is the aesthetic issue with having a honking great white thing I the stateroom.

Another option would be to mount them on some backing attached to the fuel tanks. The unit weighs 55 lbs so you want it to be secure.

Jim
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How about going floor to ceiling in front of the fuel tanks rather than attaching anything to the tanks. That way you do not bother the tanks.

Two 2 x 4 treated and painted. Unistrut would be good too. If the verticals are secured top and bottom they need not be huge.

Inverters don't care about orientation, do they? Can it be mounted to the ceiling in an accessible area?

Inverters with internal FANS do not care about position.

Smaller ones with no fan require mounting to the mfg spec.

Inverters work hard and do get warm.

I'm a big fan of Magnum inverters.

C lectric said:

How about going floor to ceiling in front of the fuel tanks rather than attaching anything to the tanks. That way you do not bother the tanks.

Two 2 x 4 treated and painted. Unistrut would be good too. If the verticals are secured top and bottom they need not be huge.

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That's what I was thinking. There is already some sort of structure around the tanks that holds the insulation and a couple of small items. I would want to be sure that this framing would be sufficient to hold a heavy unit.

All possibilities are on the table right now. Not sure which way I will go yet.

Jim