Inverter Question

I picked up a xantrex 458 inverter 2000 watt. I really just want to run the fridge and make a cup of coffee without have to start the genset. I have 50amp shore power coming in will it have any effect on the charger on the inverter?

You need to wire one leg of the 220v/110v shorepower through the inverter’s transfer switch. It needs to be the leg that supplies the fridge and coffee maker outlets.

That way if shorepower is available it will pass through to that leg and if also a charger, will charge the batteries. If no shorepower then the inverter will supply that leg.

David

Inverter doesn’t care if it’s 30a or 50a coming in. It will take up to 17 amps and either pass it on or send it to the battery depending on loads and needs. Only add the necessary circuits to the inverter the rest of the circuits stay the same.

When larman said he had 50 amp shorepower, 95% of the time that means 50A/220/110V which is a four wire system with two hot legs of 110 to neutral, a neutral and a ground all providing 220V between the two hot legs.

A single 110V inverter (unless it is a two leg 220V one) can't handle two legs of 220V but it can handle one of the 110V legs. Amost all boats with 50A/220/110 power split the legs and feed two separate 110V busses on the main electrical panel. You just take one of those 110V legs that go to the panel, reroute it to the inverter's transfer switch and then feed the 110V inverter output back to the panel.

One caveat is that most 110V inverters have a 30A rated transfer switch. There should be a master breaker on the main panel for each leg. If it is 50A then replace it with a 30A one to protect the transfer switch from excessive current. That may limit what you can power from that leg. There is a solution but it gets too complicated to discuss here.

But if the OP isn't entirely comfortable with AC wiring, get a marine electrician to do it for you and determine exactly what kind of AC system you have.

David

Or run a sub panel.

Have one main panel breaker off one leg/buss feeding the inverter that feeds the sub panel.

Yes, that was sort of the solution I was alluding to above. You can also split the existing panel into two parts- one fed by the shore power directly and another fed by the transfer switch. Requires cutting the + bus in the panel and having a spare breaker spot to feed the inverter's transfer switch.


David